If there is any industry that bears the weight of prejudice, it is without doubt the fashion industry. Anyone outside the world of fashion thinks that the professionals in this world do needless, superficial, and unserious work, and there is nothing that annoys me more than hearing these comments, because they are totally far from reality.
In the fashion industry, the professionals work hard and with great accuracy. In every session that is scheduled there are a lot of people involved who takes care of everything so that is all run smooth and perfect. The production team, the location team, the photographer, the models, the stylists, the make-up artists, etc…are all great professionals who do their best every day.
The photographer has a great weight and a very important responsibility with the rest of the team. Recently more pressure has been added to their work, since when working in analog the client isn’t there to see the photos at the time of the shooting, now the client can see everything instantly, and this can screw up a photo session if something isn’t liked at the beginning.
The models also do a complex job, which goes beyond being photographed for hours. They must be professional, look after themselves physically and mentally, rest and eat well and keep fit.
Another profession that isn’t well known is the profession of the stylists. Their work is essential for a successful photo shoot and to reach the final result, many times up to 15 changes can be made, so they need to present different proposals, wait for approval and also bring extras for unforeseen events.
As for the production team, they are always watching out to take care of the team and make everyone’s job easy going. It’s not always easy, an unexpected change of weather can alter a whole day of work. If suddenly it starts raining and a session is cancelled, changes need to be made to the entire team, such as flights, hotels, etc.
The location managers also have a critical part, since they need to find the perfect spot for each session, keeping in mind the light, the sun, the wind, people, etc.… They are in accordance with the artistic requirements made by the photographer and the art director. Make-up and hair also have to be perfect, and this can take hours to achieve.
We start at very early hours in the morning, we don’t have a 9 to 5 job. The photoshoots usually start around 6.30 in the morning and can finish at around 8 in the evening. This is one of the reasons that annoys me that people have such a different image of this profession, there are a lot of people behind the scenes that work very hard to achieve the best results. We belong to an industry that moves a very important part of the economy and creates a lot of employment. It’s not something superficial, it’s a very hard and exhausting job at times. But for me, it’s the best job in the world.