Fashion Photography

When is an image a portrait when is it a fashion photograph?

The difference between a portrait and a fashion photograph is that portraits are more about the person/ people in the image and how they are presented as individuals; it is usually about capturing something about that person. Whereas fashion photography is SUPPOSED to be about the clothing and the styles that are being presented to an audience to sell them; in this case the photographs usually show a fake luxury lifestyle that is being sold that is meant to make the audience aspire to. Photographers that take portraits are usually aiming to try and tell a story within there photographs, they try to tell the truth and capture the natural state. This is completely different to fashion photography because there inst a story usually trying to be told it is just about advertisement, and photographs are manipulated way to much to tell any truth to fashion images so they are fake.

To what degree should an image manipulated to go into a fashion magazine?

In fashion photography the image is usually manipulated to a point that it is beyond reality, for example fashion photography is supposed to be aimed at selling a product so the audience main attention should be on that, but alot of the fashion magazines edit the models in the image to make them more thinner, and taller so now the main focus is on the model.

Is there a clash between the creative and commercial side of fashion Photography?

There is a big clash between the creative and commercial side of fashion photography because the creative side is about how the product is being presented to the audience, and the commercial side is what product is being sold; both of these two sides have to overlap and work together to be a successful image. If one of the sides is slightly off or doesn't link in with the other then it will have to be rethought to be successful.