Shoot brief · Photography archive

Surrealist Fashion

One illusion per picture, built in real cloth, with the body, the light and the ground kept completely ordinary

Surrealist Fashion aesthetic photography reference
Photography referencesurrealist fashion
Shoot Brief · Call Sheet● TC 00:00:00:00
AestheticSurrealist Fashion
Roll038
Status0 / 5 Shot
LightConventional and photographic: one soft key, a little fill, a…
WardrobeDuchesse satin, wool felt, leather and boned or wired…
Location / first setupA plain studio wall in bone or flat blue
Palette
Director’s note“Decide what the garment appears to do, then build the construction that actually does it, and write that…”

Shot list

Tap a frame to mark it shot · grease pencil, saved on this device

FR·01A
Full-length shot of a figure in a black wool dress whose skirt appears to fold through its own bodice, the effect built from a wired interlining and a concealed opening, plain bone-coloured ground, even lightsetup50mm
FR·02A
Waist-up shot of a jacket with one sleeve at four times the scale of the other, the oversized sleeve holding its shape on buckram, the wearer's expression neutralsetup50mm
FR·03A
Close construction detail of the wire and buckram armature inside the oversized sleeve, photographed on a table beside the finished garment so the trick is explaineddetail100mm
FR·04A
Close textile detail of shocking pink duchesse satin against black felt, the two surfaces meeting at a hard edge, one raking lightdetail100mm
FR·05A
Campaign scene of a single figure against a flat sky-blue wall wearing a sculptural felt accessory that reads as a familiar object at the wrong scale, nothing else in the framesetup50mm
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Roll
00 / 05
⌁ LightingConventional and photographic: one soft key, a little fill, a… full brief ↓

conventional and photographic:… ✦

⌁ WardrobeDuchesse satin, wool felt, leather and boned or wired… full brief ↓

duchesse satin

Director note
Decide what the garment appears to do, then build the construction that actually does it, and write that construction down so nobody reaches for retouching. Everything except the illusion stays ordinary: the pose, the light, the ground, the expression. Two illusions in one frame cancel each other. The strangeness has to be physically legible, so a viewer can work out how it was made and still enjoy it.
All 79 director’s notes, printable: Director’s Briefs →
Locations
A plain studio wall in bone or flat blueA bare room with a skirting board and nothing elseA pale floor with a visible horizon lineA doorway used plainly, for scale
Omoro Director’s BriefsAll 188 aesthetics: full shot lists, lighting, wardrobe, and director’s notes, in one PDF.
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About this brief
How do I photograph the Surrealist Fashion aesthetic?

One illusion per picture, built in real cloth, with the body, the light and the ground kept completely ordinary.

Decide what the garment appears to do, then build the construction that actually does it, and write that construction down so nobody reaches for retouching. Everything except the illusion stays ordinary: the pose, the light, the ground, the expression. Two illusions in one frame cancel each other. The strangeness has to be physically legible, so a viewer can work out how it was made and still enjoy it.

Director's note

What shots should I get for a Surrealist Fashion photo shoot?

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

  1. Full-length shot of a figure in a black wool dress whose skirt appears to fold through its own bodice, the effect built from a wired interlining and a concealed opening, plain bone-coloured ground, even light
  2. Waist-up shot of a jacket with one sleeve at four times the scale of the other, the oversized sleeve holding its shape on buckram, the wearer's expression neutral
  3. Close construction detail of the wire and buckram armature inside the oversized sleeve, photographed on a table beside the finished garment so the trick is explained
  4. Close textile detail of shocking pink duchesse satin against black felt, the two surfaces meeting at a hard edge, one raking light
  5. Campaign scene of a single figure against a flat sky-blue wall wearing a sculptural felt accessory that reads as a familiar object at the wrong scale, nothing else in the frame
What lighting works for Surrealist Fashion photography?

Conventional and photographic: one soft key, a little fill, a clean shadow. The light must never be part of the trick. If the lighting is strange as well, the eye stops believing the garment.

Light

Where should I shoot Surrealist Fashion photography?

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

  1. A plain studio wall in bone or flat blue
  2. A bare room with a skirting board and nothing else
  3. A pale floor with a visible horizon line
  4. A doorway used plainly, for scale
What wardrobe works for Surrealist Fashion photography?

Duchesse satin, wool felt, leather and boned or wired interlinings, in shocking pink, black and bone with one flat blue. One illusion per look and nothing else asking for attention. No floating objects, no distorted bodies, no quotation of a known surrealist piece.

Wardrobe

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