Styling Beyond Instagram
Take your Prop styling skills from the Square to the Street
Robin Zachary
Schiffer Publishing
As an artist, I seem to battle so many forks. Those who follow this path with me, know that yes a 9-5 career would have been so much more restful - but fulfilling? No. We cannot hope to be good at everything - we have to be our business start ups, funding, artist, writer, promoter…..do we teach within the arts? Do we write? Something is bound to be neglected. So - that is where photography and those who are experienced and trained come in. Do we want to be a stylist or do we wish to employ one? This book considers how we can ourselves strengthen our own styling skills, giving us tips on how to avoid mistakes and really develop a smooth narrative within our art practice. I am just coming to this from an artists point of view. But this book covers all the types of styling - food, art, events, crafts, on the table, interiors.
It is a thoughtful book, for example - have you really looked into capturing food on camera? What are the mistakes? I can imagine if I had a go, it would be a misty outcome, with no thought into hot / cold food….etc.
This book, I must repeat is for all who wish to become prop stylists as a career pathway or if, like many artists, we do not have the budget to employ one of these amazing people, be our own.
The reviews I have so far noted, resonate with my views of posativity, many from those dealing with another type of art - be in food or product styling.
This is a skill worth reading about and Robin Zachary is a true genie - she is a storyteller, a weaver of a narrative and teaches us how we can be too. No, we may not become as polished as Zachary, but reading this book could certainly help whoever we are to up the quality of our work and even online sources, such as websites. I know that as an artist and writer I will be reading this again with the goal of upping my own styling in order to make my practice seem more attractive visually on my own website and when I write articles for magazines.
I enjoyed also researching about this ‘Fashion and Prop Stylist’, her website is aesthetically a masterpiece. Ok, I am just jealous and if it wasn’t considering her experience I would wonder! But on visiting it, it reassured me of her ability…I would trust her to style anything I own.