Shot by a Falmouth University student on a smartphone: House of Holland A/W16 collection
With all of us wanting a well curated Instagram page, and daily life offering plenty of opportunities for snapping street style or getting friends to photograph your ‘just-threw-it-on’ outfits, a smartphone that can double up as a camera worthy of shooting a fashion campaign sounds pretty perfect.
Fortunately, that’s just what Sony is offering in the new Xperia X. No longer will we have to experience the disappointment of a shady photo, poor focus, or grainy images that throw off our social media game.
The Xperia X is designed to capture everything, without compromising on quality. It is fast, intuitive, and easy to use and the tracking feature means no more movement blur (did I mention the battery is also long lasting and it has excellent low light technology?)
In fact, the phone offers such a high quality camera, it was used to shoot the latest House of Holland online look book for the AW16 range. Amateur photographer Sophie Webster entered a social media competition asking budding photography enthusiasts to share their best fashion inspired ‘X Moments’ – the fleeting moments you feel fortunate to look back on – and Henry Holland selected her to shoot his new collection. You can share your own X Moments or stalk other people’s by following and tagging #WhatsYourX on social media.
So, it’s clear the Xperia X is perfect for a fashion shoot – to capture those sharp, energetic, unpredictable, and colourful shots – making it a match made in heaven for House of Holland’s new collection. Don’t take my word for it – check the results out for yourself.
I love the patterns and textures of the new collection – you can always rely on House of Holland to up the fashion game when it comes to this; once again the collection sits perfectly between fun, irreverent, and edgy.
The use of light, unusual angles, and attitude in the shots conveys the uniqueness of the House of Holland collection, which faces autumn/winter with bold colours, glitter, and fun embellishments.
This is a collection I’m looking forward to wearing as much as I was looking forward to leafing through the incredible photographs – everyone has space in their wardrobe for a grey sweatshirt adorned with planets and stars, right? Thankfully, the AW16 collection will be available soon.
On set with Henry Holland, shooting the new collection, Sophie was treated to a masterclass by fashion photographer Ben Parks, and I didn’t think that his photography tips should be kept a secret…
So here are a few of his, and Xperia X photography expert Matt Hass’, tricks (just make sure you credit us all when you’re famous.)
Matt Hass advises that you shoot your subject in natural light for a more authentic feel, don’t settle on the most obvious initial composition – investigate alternative angles and choose from multiple options, and utilize the clever ‘object tracking’ feature of the Xperia X to follow movement without blur compromising the shot.
Ben Parks, discussing fashion shoots, says that props can help create striking images, stresses the importance of casting and picking a supportive, creative, and hard-working team, and states that “It’s vital you can adapt rather than let things slow you down” – sounds like good advice for life, as well as photography.
Watch the video highlights from the shoot and find out Henry Holland’s own “exciting, exhilarating, and also petrifying” X Moment here:
