What is editorial fashion photography?
Editorial fashion photography is fashion photography made to tell a story or set a mood, in the style of a magazine spread, rather than to document a single product. It differs from catalog photography, which shows each garment clearly and consistently so it can be sold.
The name comes from magazines, where the editorial pages are the fashion stories made by the editors, as opposed to the paid advertising pages. Brands now use the same approach for campaigns, lookbooks, home page banners and social media.
What makes an image editorial
- A concept. A theme, a character or a narrative that runs through a series of images.
- Art direction. Location or set, props, styling, hair and make-up are chosen to serve the concept.
- Expressive posing and light. Movement, strong shadows, unusual angles and crops that would be wrong for a product page.
- The series. Editorial images are planned as a sequence, not as one image per product.
Because the concept comes first, an editorial image can hide part of a garment, mix pieces from different brands or show the clothes only in passing. That is fine for building a brand and wrong for a product listing.
How editorial shoots are traditionally made
- Concept and moodboard. The creative team agrees on the story, references, palette and looks.
- Team and casting. Photographer, stylist, hair and make-up, often a set designer and a producer, plus models chosen for the character rather than only for sample size.
- Location or set. A real place or a built set, with permits, travel and a schedule around light.
- Shoot. Few looks, many frames per look, and room to experiment.
- Edit and grade. A tight selection, retouching and a color grade that gives the series its look.
What drives the cost and time
Editorial work is usually the most expensive fashion photography per finished image. The cost sits in the creative team, the set or location, travel and the time spent on few looks. Usage rights for models and photographers matter too, especially when the images run in paid campaigns.
Editorial, catalog and lifestyle compared
Catalog photography shows every product the same way so a shopper can compare them. A lifestyle image shows a product in a believable setting while keeping it easy to see. Editorial photography is the most free of the three and sells the brand rather than a single item. Many brands use all three: editorial for the campaign, lifestyle for ads and social, catalog for the shop.
Editorial photography with AI, and the NotShot approach
Generative AI makes it possible to try out concepts, settings and lighting without building a set. The difficulty is that dramatic poses, hard light and unusual crops are exactly the conditions in which a generated garment drifts away from the real one. For a brand, an editorial image only helps if the clothes in it are the clothes it sells.
NotShot is a tool for on-model product photography without the photoshoot. Up to 8 garments can go into one render. Every render is judged against your upload. If a render fails the check, you get your credits back. What editorial-style output looks like with NotShot is covered on editorial-grade AI fashion photography.
Related terms
Questions we get asked
- What is the difference between editorial and commercial fashion photography?
- Commercial fashion photography is made to sell specific products, so the garment has to be clear and accurate. Editorial fashion photography is made to tell a story or express a mood, and the products can play a supporting role.
- Is a lookbook editorial?
- It can be either. A lookbook shows a collection as styled outfits. Some are close to catalog work with plain backgrounds, others are shot as a full editorial story on location.
- Can editorial images go on a product page?
- They can support it, for example as a last image or a banner, but they rarely replace clear product and on-model shots, because a shopper needs to see the garment accurately before buying.
- Can AI create editorial images of my real garments?
- AI can render garments on models in styled settings. The test is whether the garment stays exact. Check print, color, logos and hardware against the real product before using any image.