Number Three Bath is a salon where my paisan Stefan is senior stylist. I’ve been working with them for three years to film behind the scenes at photoshoots, parties and the occasional promo. When filming hair/fashion, the devil is very much in the detail. It’s all well and good to have good looking people stand in front of you but if the footage is merely pedestrian then it’s not going to capture the finer details which shoots of this nature aim to showcase. So shooting with a wide aperture helps to pick out these details at a textural level. Unlike with other events, backstage fashion shoots are very kinetic and tend to feel better when shot at normal speed rather than any slow motion effects, so you need to shoot fast and constantly be positioned to capture a pose or styling technique in a flash with editing tending towards a more pacy rhythm. Whilst you are there to show the styling, the aim is also to portray the salon as a hive of skill and dynamism. So the relationship with the photographer is different as it becomes more important to shadow them, but also to break away to show them along with the rest of the behind the scenes working as would photographers like Peter Lindbergh who would reveal the edges and clips of a backdrop etc.. But despite the imperfection of showing the working, the vital aspect of fashion remains, to perfectly capture the frame, so to strive for technical perfection in the filming is a must.
