Editorial photograpy for DK’s The Fashion Book

Delivering high-impact retro ‘grunge’ visuals for teen brand book publication for Dorling Kindersley

Red and white DK logo with a book design and the tagline "For the curious" below it.

The Brief

A collage of fashion items including various garments, shoes, and accessories with a title "THE FASHION BOOK" and a subtitle "Create your own cool looks from the story of style".

Editorial and product photography for the Fashion Book’s retro-grunge teen edition


DK, a global publisher known for highly illustrated books, needed editorial and product photos for The Fashion Book aimed at teens. Their requirements included fast turnaround times and strict adherence to technical and branding guidelines across multiple formats, as well as being suitable for reuse in their image library.

Photos of student designers and their creations, shot so they could later be edited in a ‘retro’ grunge style.

Product shots with specific requirements for easy post-processing, including cutting out backgrounds.

Fast, 24-hour image turnaround for weekly shoots.

Following the DK ‘look’ and ‘style’. DK needed photos shot in a consistent way in order to be able to manipulate the images easily in post for their layouts, especially as they used images from multiple sources.

The Approach

As the Creative Technical Support Manager at DK, I was approached for this project due to their limited budget and my experience with their technical needs.

01.

EXPERT INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE



As the Creative Technical Support Manager at DK, I was already familiar with their stringent technical and branding requirements. They enlisted my expertise to deliver versatile editorial and product photos for The Fashion Book, ensuring the images met high standards for reuse and adaptability.

A person holding a blue high heel shoe with peppermint candy patterns in a shop environment.

02.

PRE-PRODUCTION


DK briefed me on their vision for high-quality, adaptable images that could be used across various co-edition books and their image library. They required neutral shots that could be easily styled in post-production, including a retro grunge look. The approach involved capturing versatile images with Dutch angles and ample breathing space in the compositions to allow flexibility for different layouts. The aim was to present an authentic, real-world view of student designers while ensuring the photos met technical standards and could be creatively edited as needed.

Open book showcasing a spread on retro tomboy fashion with text and images explaining the history and styling of women's workwear from the wartime era.

03.

PRODUCTION


We shot the fashion students at The London College of Fashion. The location was filled with clutter, and I was asked to include this in the shots to keep the imagery grounded and real. Working closely with the designers, we captured both lifestyle shots and product images, with input from DK’s in-house team. For product photos, I used flash equipment and a grey card to ensure consistent lighting and sharpness for easy post-processing.

An open book featuring a spread on 1950s fashion, with illustrations and text on retro hairstyles, clothing, and accessories.

04.

POST-PRODUCTION




Images needed to be submitted within 24 hours, allowing DK’s design and editorial teams to mock up layouts. The final images were often manipulated by DK’s pre-press team, resulting in a composited, grunge-inspired look with shadows and filters applied to maintain the ‘Polaroid’ aesthetic they wanted.

Page from a fashion book featuring illustrations of vintage clothing, a tribute to an iconic figure in style, and various fashion items and accessories.


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The Outcome

The project successfully provided DK with versatile, high-quality images that met their stringent technical and branding standards.


The photos captured at The London College of Fashion and in DK’s studios were designed to be adaptable for various co-edition books and their image library. By focusing on neutral, detailed shots and ensuring consistent lighting, the images were easily modifiable for different styles, including the retro grunge look, while maintaining a strong, authentic visual appeal.

Red and white DK logo with a book design and the tagline "For the curious" below it.
A close-up view of a publishing credits page, with names of various contributors including editors and designers, with one name underlined in red.
LET’S CHAT

I was asked to leave lots of “room” around my compositions to allow the designers to crop the images to fit their layouts later on, as at this stage they had no idea what size or shape they would need each image to be.

A person working with colorful threads and fabric among various sewing materials on a cluttered table.
A woman closely examining printed contact sheets beside an iMac at a workstation.

As they were going for a ‘young’ teenage style, I took images at slanted angles as well as straight horizon images.

Open magazine spread featuring a fashion student's yearly progress with images of fabric collection, design work, sewing, and fashion show preparation.
A woman concentrating on drafting patterns on paper at a well-lit fashion design studio with sewing machines and colorful thread spools in the background
A person sewing a piece of plaid fabric on a SunStar sewing machine.
Person trimming fur on fashionable shoes in a design studio with materials and tools on a worktable.
A woman pinning photographs and images onto a corkboard in a gallery with various art pieces displayed in the background.

I was often surprised at which images were chosen for the final spread—it wasn’t always the images I felt were best.

A person's hand coloring fashion shoe designs with markers on a paper, surrounded by colored pencils and art materials on a wooden table.
Magazine spread featuring pages 56 and 57 about a shoe designer's workflow and inspiration with images of design sketches and shoe prototypes.
Two women of different generations engaging in a creative project in a workshop with tools and machinery in the background.
A person sitting at a wooden table, opening a shoebox and examining a new pair of shoes, with wrapping paper and office supplies in the background.

As a photographer, I found it hard to like the ‘crushed’ blacks and colour filters applied, but this was essential as they wanted a grungy vibe which was very trendy at the time.

A blonde woman works on fashion illustrations at her desk, with sketchbooks and art supplies around her, looking at a laptop screen displaying a shoe design.
A person on their knees buckling a sandal on another person's foot, with a focus on the hands and feet, against a rustic wooden floor backdrop.

You lose control over the composition and colours for editorial photos—ultimately the image has to ‘fit’ the page and the text.

Various makeup items including brushes, palettes, and foundation bottles scattered on a tabletop.

A makeup artist applying lipstick to a client, viewed from below against a light background
An open magazine feature showing a two-page spread about makeup students with photos and captions about their experiences and studies in makeup artistry.
Two individuals intently reading magazines while standing in a library aisle with shelves of magazines and books around them.
Two young women studying with books and laptop on a wooden table.
Two people walking on a sidewalk in a city, one pulling a suitcase, with a busy street scene in the background.

Photoshoots were done on different days and it was important to get lighting and white balance consistent across all the shoots.

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Do you need editorial photography? I offer fast turnaround to your technical and branding guidelines, as well being able to shoot for ‘cutting out’, so that you can get this work done as quickly and cheaply as possible.

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