Return of the Genius Photographer

The studio was bustling with activity as preparations for the shoot were in full swing.

Outside the conference room, people were moving about busily.

“Photographer-nim, how should we set up the shooting area?”

Just as I was deep in conversation with Editor Yoon Jung-ah, a photography assistant stepped into the conference room, looking for me. It seemed they had been waiting for me to begin the setup.

“My apologies. I’ll be there right away,” I responded with a nod to the staff member.

Though I still had more questions about the photos I needed to take, I didn’t want to hold up the crew any longer.

“I should get going now,” I said to Editor Yoon Jung-ah, knowing that I also needed to see the layout of the set with my own eyes.

“That works out well. I need to check in with the makeup and wardrobe teams, so I’ll head out too,” she replied with a smile. “I’ll come back to you once I’ve finished, so feel free to ask me anything else then.”

Though she didn’t show it, Yoon Jung-ah was likely the busiest person in the room. Her thoroughness was evident even in her presentation, so it was clear she was juggling multiple responsibilities.

I decided to postpone my remaining questions and followed the staff member out of the conference room and towards the studio.

In the center of the studio, a set had been arranged where several staff members were busily setting up equipment.

Tripods, monitors, a white backdrop, and various props were all being prepared for use. The efficiency with which the crew worked made it seem as if they were preparing for a major operation.

The set had transformed from an empty space into a proper setup in no time, and the sight of it lifted my spirits.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Photographer-nim. We’ve set up all the equipment we could, but how should we handle the lighting?” asked the assistant as soon as I arrived.

“We’ll use Key Light, Fill Light, Rim Light, and Background Light—all of them. I plan to take the photos with maximum clarity,” I explained.

“Understood. Anything else you need?”

“I’ll adjust the rest as we go.”

“Got it. We’ll start setting up the lights right away. Let us know if you think of anything else. We’ll inform you once we’re done.”

Upon arriving at the set, I explained the necessary lighting to the staff member who had been waiting to ask.

From the main Key Light to the auxiliary Fill Light.

The Rim Light needed to emphasize outlines and the Background Light used to eliminate shadows.

While we extremely limited the lighting for the previous special issue shoot, this time I planned to use lighting as abundantly as possible.

As I spoke about the lighting and equipment, the crew quickly set to work, moving in sync. Watching them, I began to visualize the photos I needed to take.

If the May special issue photos I took with Editor Won Soon-chul were closer to art photos centered on a unique concept that merely used fashion as a subject,

This time, Editor Yoon Jung-ah’s intention, as she had mentioned during the meeting, was for a more straightforward fashion shoot.

That meant the approach to taking these photos had to be different from how I handled the special issue.

‘How can I best capture the trendiness…?’

One of the most crucial aspects of this shoot would be how well the photos reflected the trends Yoon Jung-ah had discussed. Fashion magazines, after all, are about conveying trends accurately to the public.

Just as the word VOGUE, the name of the world’s most famous fashion magazine, means fashion or trend.

A fashion magazine is a medium that presents the ever-changing tendencies and trends in fashion through words and images.

However, since trends are not tangible objects, fashion photographers face the challenge of visualizing these trends and making them easily understandable and appealing to the audience.

It’s like offering a forest to those who came to see a single tree. To put it another way, presenting trends in fashion magazine photography isn’t just about selecting trendy items and photographing them. It’s about conveying the overall mood and vibe of those fashion items in a way that is both intuitive and clear to the audience.

This was the challenge I was grappling with.

‘In 2007, the major fashion trends were retro styles, minimalism, and sportiness, right?’

I recalled the popular styles of 2007. There were three key trends: retro fashion that revived the styles of the 1960s, minimalism that embraced simplicity and clean lines, and sportiness that favored comfortable, athletic clothing.

Various outfits from that time flashed through my memory. If I were to choose just one style to photograph, it wouldn’t be difficult. But the challenge here was that Yoon Jung-ah’s shoot included all three styles. This meant I had to unify these diverse styles into a coherent theme.

But how could I do that? How could I photograph these items in a way that clearly communicated the trends and captured people’s interest?

Just as my thoughts began to deepen,

“How’s the shoot preparation going?”

Yoon Jung-ah, who had gone to check on other areas, approached me and asked. She had returned sooner than I expected.

“We’re setting up now. Thanks to the staff’s help, it should be done quickly,” I replied.

“Great. The wardrobe and makeup teams are all set too. Once this is ready, we can start,” she nodded, seeming pleased with the progress.

I had been waiting for her, as I had a question in mind, so her timing was perfect.

“Editor-nim, would it be alright if I take a look at the outfits before we start shooting?” I asked, feeling that just thinking about it wasn’t enough. I needed to see the clothes in person to get a clearer idea of how to approach the shoot.

“Of course. The wardrobe room is over there. Shall we go together?” she answered readily, leading me to the wardrobe room.

The wardrobe room was located close to the set, keeping the model’s route in mind. As we stepped inside, it felt like walking into a giant closet, with clothes lined up on both sides.

“Are we shooting all these outfits today?” I asked, taken aback by the sheer number of clothes. It was clear that everything here had been prepared solely for today’s shoot since the wardrobe room was usually emptied after each session.

“We won’t be using all of them. We’ll pick a few that match the concept and proceed with those,” Yoon Jung-ah quickly clarified, noticing my surprise.

“Honestly, I couldn’t decide which outfits to shoot, so I brought everything that seemed suitable during my research,” she explained with a sheepish smile.

No wonder the materials she provided were so extensive; there was a reason behind it.

“I didn’t expect this many,” I admitted.

“Don’t worry. Apart from the sponsored items, it’s not that much,” she reassured me, perhaps thinking I was concerned about the length of the shoot.

But that wasn’t my concern.

“No, it’s not about the shoot. It’s just… isn’t it a shame to not use most of these outfits?” I asked.

“Huh?” She blinked at me, puzzled by my question.

“You’ve prepared so much, but most of these won’t even be photographed. It feels like a waste,” I explained, my thoughts reflecting the effort that had gone into preparing for this shoot.

Skinny jeans, mini skirts, slim-fit jackets, and sleek tracksuits—so many outfits, all on-trend, with barely anything outdated among them. It was clear that Yoon Jung-ah and her team had gone to great lengths to predict and prepare for the trends, with results that were impressively accurate.

But despite all this preparation, the fact that most of these clothes wouldn’t even be photographed, let alone featured in the magazine, seemed like such a waste.

“It would be a lie to say it’s not a bit disappointing, but there’s nothing we can do about it… the space in the magazine is limited,” she responded with a hint of resignation.

“Even if we feature one outfit per page, there’s just not enough room. And we can’t just fill it with photos of clothes…” Yoon Jung-ah’s concerns echoed my own.

The problem with this project, which aimed to capture the essence of 2007’s fashion trends, was that there was simply too much to show.

How could we condense all these outfits into something more digestible?

At that moment, an idea sparked in my mind.

If it’s difficult to narrow down what to show, why not just show everything?

“Editor-nim, what if we use all these outfits as much as possible?” I suggested.

“What? How?” Yoon Jung-ah’s face showed a flicker of confusion before she shook her head, dismissing the idea. “You’re not suggesting we just line up the clothes like a supermarket flyer, right? That would ruin the photo quality.”

“No, it’s a different approach.”

“Then what is it? The space in the magazine is still limited,” she countered, explaining her thoughts logically, clearly having considered various options herself.

“No matter how many photos we take, we can only fit one or two outfits per page at most,” she added.

But the method I had in mind went beyond what she was imagining.

How could I explain this?

It was a way to showcase a variety of outfits while maximizing their use, all while making the fashion accessible and interesting to the readers.

“Have you ever heard of dress-up games?” I asked.

The answer lay in the concept of a dress-up game.

“Huh?” Yoon Jung-ah’s face was a picture of surprise.