August 2014 Curve Expo in New York City

Summer always seems like the season of showrooms and showcases for our New York commercial fashion photographers. This summer was no different with this August’s CurvExpo held in Manhattan’s Javits Center. The New York expo features lingerie, swimwear and sleepwear for both men and women. Expos are integral to the success of fashion brands and are always worth investing in. It’s important to make sure you arrived prepared, so, be sure to read our fashion expo & tradeshow checklist before you go! Held on August 3rd through 5th in New York City, the main focus for expo was the Spring/Summer 2015 market. Buyers arrived to plan what brands and collections they plan on purchasing to sell for next year. If you attended Curve, you may have recognized the lingerie photography for Crème Bralee’s advertisements. We shot the advertisement images for the QT Intimates’s brand and feel so proud that they chose to display the campaign photos we shot for them in our Brooklyn photo studio. Our favorite trend for S/S15 predicted by Promostyl was the “funny trip” trend. This trend describes the “offbeat theme that enchants us with a simultaneously poetic and psycheldic spirit”.  For this 2015 lingerie trend, imagine, “fanciful carnivals, hallucinogenic gardens, surrealistic collages and outsider drawings”. This SS15 lingerie trend is where “…freaks and fairies [take you] for unlimited flights of imagination”. We can’t wait to see how our NYC lingerie designers will interpret this vision for their upcoming lookbooks and campaigns. Le Image Inc wishes to…

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Using Tumblr to Promote Your Business

It’s no secret that social media has become an essential tool to promote business online. The social media industry is taking the world of public relations world by storm and forcing many older successful firms to learn the basics of this new business tool. Some of the most popular social media website to use to promote businesses include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WordPress and tumblr. Even our New York commercial fashion photographers  use it to promote our photography! What is Tumblr exactly? It’s a micro-blogging website that allows users to upload images, text and video to personally designed page. Each user creates their special URL and blog name. Tumblr not only creates a free website of sorts for businesses, but it also provides tons of networking opportunities.  Businesses can tag entries with appropriate hashtags that other users can search. It also helps with SEO, Google Search Engine Optimization for businesses. For example, if our NY commercial photographers posted an image from a photo shoot we would use that brand’s name as a hashtag so other users who follow that brand could see our photos. Also, Tumblr is a great place for submissions. To garner a larger audience, search for pages that host open submissions that correspond to your business. That way, if the host loves your photos, they will reblog them and share them with all their followers. Think of it as a way of the 21st Century’s word of mouth strategy. We hope our Le Image Inc article for tips…

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Summer Tips for Photographers

Summer seems to be finally here after a terrible endless winter in New York City. Summer can be a slow season for the fashion photography industry but fear not, our Le Image Inc team has created a list of tips to make this summer your best summer yet. It’s the perfect time of year to hone your skills, try something new and shoot outdoors. Read our photographer tips below to make this season an important one for your career. 1. Intern!- If you are in the earlier stages of your photography career or if you want to get your foot in the door for bigger companies, this a great season to intern. Websites like Ed2010 list magazine internships that are paid, unpaid and for college credit for photographers. Many companies offer summer internships and then hire those interns for a permanent position in the fall. If you dream of being a photo editor or art director, be sure to investigate your options for summer photography internships. 2. Try film photography!-Most photographers feel more comfortable using digital photography but this is the perfect season to improve your film photography skills. The brighter and longer days mean more time to take photos outdoors and with the nicer weather, you’ll feel more inclined to travel to beautiful places. Our NY Commercial Fashion Photography team loves to use this time of year to scout out new locations for our upcoming lookbook shoots. 3. Assist with Wedding Photography- New York wedding photography is an amazing…

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Top 5 Graduation Speeches for the Class of 2014

It’s the end of May, making it officially, time for graduation. Whether you’re graduating high school, college or getting your masters, it’s time to celebrate your success and hard work. Friends and family are flocking to school campuses across the country to attend their loved ones graduation ceremony. In New York City, our New York commercial photographers have been busy taking corporate photos for universities looking to commemorate this once a year event. Aside from the tradition of graduation portraits, another graduation tradition for universities and high schools is to select notable speakers to deliver a speech to the graduating students to impart a last bit of wisdom before they officially leave a program.  If you are not a member of the class of 2014, no worries! You can still get those important bits of advice given to grads here in our best 2014 graduation speeches round up. 1. Sandra Bullock at Warren Easton Charter High School in Louisiana- “”Eat something green every day. Do not pick your nose in public. How about we just go get a tissue? When someone who cares about you hugs you, hug them back. If someone doesn’t want to play with you, it’s okay. Not everybody is going to love us”. 2. Secretary of State, John Kerry at Yale University– “You are graduating today as the most diverse class in Yale’s long history, or, as it’s called in the NBA, Donald Sterling’s worst nightmare.” 3. First Lady, Michelle Obama at Dillard University in New…

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Fashion Expo & Tradeshow Checklist

Summer is just around the corner, bringing with it the onslaught of fashion expos and trade shows. What is a fashion tradeshow? Entrepreneur.com defines it as “…an exhibition for companies in a specific industry to showcase and demonstrate their new products and services. Generally trade shows are not open to the public and can only be attended by company representatives and members of the press”. Our New York commercial fashion photographers are working hard retouching and editing images our clients plan on showing at NYC tradeshows this summers. So, what do you need to have a great showing at a trade show? Whether you will be at CurvExpo in August or the Fashion Footwear Association of New York in June, read our list of tips & tricks before you go.  Also, don’t forget to brush up on your fashion marketing terms. (9) 1.    Have Color Copies of Your Look Book Available: Color images sell! Black and white photos of will not convey the exact nature of the fabric or collection. It may sell the mood, but buyers want to move units, not ideas. Many buyers will consider items for their Ecommerce websites and, generally, color sells better online than black and white. 2.    Purchase Large Posters of Your Editorial/Advertisement Images- It’s important that your booth be visible and memorable to buyers traveling around the expo. Buyers who had not planned on stopping on your booth might be tempted after seeing your images. 3.    Bring a Steamer, Stain Remover & Other…

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Businesses that Bloom on Easter

The biggest holiday for spring, Easter, is just around the corner. The Christian holiday traditionally marks the day of resurrection of Jesus Christ three day after his crucifixion. Easter is not tied to a specific date on the calendar but falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the March equinox. For many Americans, Easter has become linked to non-religious activities such as egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, Easter brunch and Easter parades. Many of these nonreligious activities are leftover from the ancient English spring holiday, Eostre. Eostre is a pagan spring holiday that celebrates the great northern goddess whose symbol was a rabbit or hare. Some businesses boom on Easter and plan their commercial photography only around this spring holiday. Our New York commercial photographers at Le Image Inc have created a list of the top businesses that bloom during the Easter holiday. 1. Peeps– This delicious Easter treat was created in 1920s by Russian immigrant, Sam Born. It used to take almost 30 hours to make one single Peep until the 1950s.  The highest selling marshmallow treat for this company is the original yellow chick. 2. Cadbury Crème Eggs– This chocolate Easter sweet is a best seller in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Invented in 1923, these chocolate and fondant creme eggs are only sold between New Year’s Day and Easter. 3. PAAS Easter Egg Dye- Invented by Newark, New Jersey drugstore owner, William Townley, PAAS has been around for over 130…

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Celebrity Spotlight: Ramona Singer

It’s always a special treat when Le Image Inc has a celebrity walk through the doors of our Brooklyn photo studio.  Last year, our New York fashion photographers had the great honor of photographing Bravo TV Star, Ramona Singer. Ramona Singer, a reality star from Real Housewives of New York City, was in studio having her celebrity portraits taken with her new wine label. Ramona’s star power is so great, she’s the only housewife to hold the “main housewife” title through all six seasons of the reality show. Ramona Singer is a native New Yorker, born and raised in Rhinebeck, New York.  After completing her degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology, she became a buyer for Macy’s. After working successfully for the commercial retail giant, she soon moved into wholesale clothing business with Calvin Klein and French Connection. Currently, the TV star now has her own business, RMS fashions, a company that, “…purchases excess goods from clothing manufacturers and resells them to discount stores”. In the apparel industry, Ramona Singer is considered a “jobber”, a fashion marketing term for a middleman to whom manufacturers sell their surplus fabric.  In addition to her fashion company, she also has her own line of jewelry, True Faith Jewelry, and a skin care line, Tru Renewal, that are sold through the Home Shopping Network. The photos our Le Image Inc celebrity photographers took were of her other business venture, Ramona Wines. The line has been successful and launched in 2011 with her Ramona…

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The Rise of Organic Cosmetics

The cosmetics industry has always been lucrative. This year alone, the beauty industry is projected to make $70 billion in the United States. One trend that is starting to reign in the cosmetics industry is the rise of organic cosmetics. Trend forecasters link the trend to a greater interest in healthy lifestyles. A 2011 Deloitte survey found that 57% of respondents said safety was their number one concern when buying personal-care products. According to research, women may ingest up to four pounds of lipstick in their lifetime. Since make up is so close to delicate skin, what women wear can affect their health in the long run. Many of the synthetic dyes used in lipstick and compact powders contain aluminum-derived chemicals, which have been linked to Alzheimer’s. Independent cosmetic brands are now making customized cosmetics that are organic, vegan, mineral-based and they are not tested on animals. One selling platform that is catering to this niche cosmetics market is Etsy. Our New York commercial photographers have even noticed a surge of independent product shoots for organic cosmetic brands in our own Brooklyn photo studio! Le Image Inc has noticed a widespread rise in all things vegan, not just in the beauty industry. Our NY wedding photographers photograph more vegan weddings than ever before. Many big name cosmetic brands like, Lush and Burt’s Bees, who have been organic since their creation, are now becoming household names, even in the smallest cities in America. Will the organic make up trend take over…

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Businesses Benefit from Saint Patrick’s Day Boost

It’s officially Saint Patrick’s Day and big cities across the United States are celebrating the holiday that commemorates the patron saint of Ireland. Many businesses across the New York area are expecting a boom in business for the March 17th celebration. To make the most of advertising, New York commercial photographers often spend the few months before the holiday photographing Irish bars and costumed apparel to promote theses Saint Paddy’s day centric businesses for the March holiday. So how many Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Somewhere near 133 Million people, do! Saint Patrick’s Day is becoming a big money holiday across the nation, not just in Boston, New York or Savannah. According to the National Retail Federation, St. Patty’s Day celebrations are expected to generate $4.8 billion in the United States. The average person who celebrates the Irish holiday spends around $35.  The businesses that benefit most from this holiday are Irish restaurants and bars, of course. Business owners are rejoicing that the holiday falls on a Monday this year because it encourages consumers to go out on a day they usually wouldn’t. Some revelers are started celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day this weekend, so theses business got 3 days, not just one to earn some serious green. Even those who aren’t of Irish descent love to celebrate the holiday and it shows. The National Retail Federation reports that hat eight out of 10 people said they’ll be celebrating by wearing green and one in five said they’ll decorate their home…

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What is a Video Lookbook?

Our New York commercial photography department is no longer solely dedicated to capturing only still photographs of products. Today, commercial photography and commercial videography are often considered one in the same for fashion campaigns. From New York City to Milan, fashion designers and labels must now produce ecommerce product shots, look books, fashion advertorials and look book videos. With the rise in technology, designers must show their products and style in every visual form imaginable. Le Image Inc has experienced this new fashion art form rising to prominence in the past few years and feel that it is now a staple for any fashion brand, big or small. So, what is a lookbook video, exactly? Well, first it is important to familiarize yourself with basic fashion terms , including, ‘lookbook’. A lookbook is a collection of images that show models styled and wearing the items from your collection. The point of the lookbook is to inspire customers with your brands aesthetic and give them ideas about how to wear your collection. A look book can really help illustrate you intended audience and aesthetic direction to buyers. When put into video form, it puts life into your vision and allows viewers to see how your items move. It also further illustrates your fashion viewpoint and creates a specific mood for your collection. Fashion videos are extremely fun to shoot and plan! Our New York commercial photographers advise you to consider what format you’d like for your collection before approaching a photographer…

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What to Include in Your Line Sheet

Fashion Designers often ask our New York Commercial photographers what they should include their line sheets.  For those who don’t know, a “line sheet” is what designers use to promote their collections and give valuable information to potential stockists and buyers in showrooms and expos.  A good line sheet can make the difference between being carried by a big retailer or another year of dead stock. To make sure your fashion collection gets the attention it deserves, read our fashion business tips for line sheets below! 1. Include Look Book Images and Product Shots– It’s important to give a mix of look book shots and product photos in your line sheet so retailers will get an idea of how to merchandise your items and your fashion viewpoint. The product shots give retailers an idea how the item will look on their eccommerce websites and how the collection will sell purely through photos. As a rule of thumb, colorful clothing sells better online than black or dark colored garments. So, if you are going to show one style in a product shot and one style in a fashion editorial image, chose the dark item for the look book and the bright item for the product shot. Also, make sure to brush up on your fashion terms. 2. Include Price Information Under the Images- At the end of the day, buyers want to crunch numbers before choosing your items for their stores. To clarify price points and retail value, include the wholesale…

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2014 Super Bowl Not Benefitting Local Businesses in New Jersey

The most important game for The National Football League, AKA, The Super Bowl, took place this Sunday at the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey. Every year, this important sports game takes place in a different city and brings a boom in business to all of the local businesses surrounding the chosen stadium. When it was announced that the Metlife stadium in New Jersey would host the game, local businesses rejoiced as much of New Jersey is still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy and could use the boost business for the state. The NFL works in tandem with the Super Bowl host committee whose purpose is to “…work with local businesses to coordinate logistics and maximize local economic benefit”. Unfortunately, big economic gains are not to be expected for East Rutherford merchants. There have been many business roadblocks for local businesses marketing their wares for Super Bowl XLVIII. Many are calling the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos game a “commuter bowl”. New York City is less than a half hour drive to the New Jersey sports stadium and has drawn the majority of the fans for hotel rooms and restaurants. Also, NYC has gone into marketing overdrive with Times Square being turned into Super Bowl Boulevard. The area has been made over into a Super Bowl-themed outdoor street fair with official merchandise and interactive experiences for football fans. While bigger businesses have been able to secure the trademarked Super Bowl name and logo, many local New Jersey retailers…

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The Business of Valentine’s Day

Most retailers and service industries consider Christmas their most profitable quarter for the year, but that is not true for all companies. Valentine’s Day spending for 2014 is projected at $18.6 billion in the United States. The average American is expected to spend $130.97 this year, up from last year’s $126.03. Greeting cards and candy are the most popular holiday staple, more so than jewelry. Couples are also expected to spend more on their Valentine’s Day dinner, $77 on average, this year than in years past. Three companies that live or die by Valentine’s day include Hersey, 1-800 Flowers and American Greetings. Those three publicly traded company make up the majority of profit from this ancient holiday. Online dating websites also experience a spike in registration around Valentine’s day. Websites like Match.com and OkCupid consider the period between New Years and Valentine’s their biggest sales period. Two other industries that excel during the romantic holidays include intimacy products, like condoms, and lingerie. Trojan, the market-leading brand in the United States, will be spending more money than ever on their marketing this Valentine’s Day. It’s an aggressive strategy shareholders are eager to profit from. If you will be making your Valentine’s Day purchases on the Internet, be sure protect your credit card online. Our NY Commercial photographers here at Le Image Inc are busy retouching product shots for companies looking to promote their businesses this holiday season. Even our Brooklyn photo studio profits from this romantic holiday! Valentine’s Day is a…

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Why Shoppers Spend More During January Sales

It’s officially January and stores are buzzing with sales. Retailers continue to increase the savings on their products that did not moving during holiday clearance. Shoppers are flocking to these sales, both online and in store and spending more than ever! With items marked down by as much as 75%, shouldn’t retailers be turning over a lower profit rate? Not so, and our NY commercial photography team will explain why. As laughable as it sounds, many shoppers experience an addictive feeling when they see what is perceived to be an extreme bargain. Many shoppers, both in store and online, fear losing out when they see markdowns on clearance as that implies that limited quantity of items are available before they’re gone for good. Sales bring out the competitive nature in shoppers as well. Many see buying the last clearance item of a certain styles as “winning” by beating other shoppers to that purchase, regardless of how much they may or may not want the item. Further more, many shoppers spend time monitoring sales and feel that they need to buy something in order to make their time investment not seem wasted. If you decide to check out the ecommerce sales, be sure to protect your credit card online.  And if you’re still hurting over your Christmas purchases and bills, just remember that most retailers have their semi-annual sales in January and July. So, those savings will be back again later this summer. From our Brooklyn commercial photographers here at Le Image Inc,…

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How To Protect Your Credit Card Online

Our New York commercial photographers often shoot look books and product shots for ecommerce retailers in our Brooklyn photography studio. While we love the world of online shopping, Le Image Inc knows how important it is to be cautious.  More people than ever are doing their Christmas shopping online, credit card safety is more important than ever. Read our list below to keep your credit card information safe when shopping the post holiday sales. 1.    Look for the HTTPS sign in the URL bar When your reach the check out part of your online shopping trip, be sure to check the URL bar before you type in your credit card information. HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure and ensures that your data will be encrypted. HTTPS also denotes an authentic URL, preventing those “man-in-the-middle attacks” which target online shoppers. 2.    Make a Credit Card Account Just For Your Online Shopping  Sometimes credit card data is breeched even on secure websites. Mega-retailer, Target, suffered a bad security breech this Christmas which affected 40 million credit cards and debit cards. This is just one of 600 publicly disclosed date breaches in 2013. So, to prevent what seems like the inevitable, it is best to open a separate credit card account for your online purchases. That way, you can cancel the card the minute you see signs of fraud without affecting your day-to-day purchases and online bills.  3.    Buy a Visa Gift Card/PayPal to Make Purchases Finally, if you are still unsure…

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Black Friday Sales on Thanksgiving Day

Retailers are already prepping for the madness of Black Friday but there’s fear that one new practice may ruin the profit-making day. Traditionally, Black Friday is the biggest shopping day in the United States with stores opening their doors before dawn with amazing deals for customers. This year, more retailers are starting the shopping holiday starting on Thanksgiving Day and not waiting until the following Friday.  Some of the larger retailers open during the American holiday include Target, Macy’s, Best Buy and Toy’s “R” Us. Many retail companies and their workers are against opening their doors this Thursday. In AM New York, family owned and operated company, P.C. Richard & Son, bought a full page advertisement space stating, “It is our opinion that retailers who choose to open on Thanksgiving Day or night show no respect to their employees and families, and are in total disrespect of family values in the United States of America”.  Retail employees work very hard during the holiday season and with the loss of the Thanksgiving holiday, this is just one less day they have off. Also, some are concerned about the unsafe driving conditions that could be created by shoppers staying up all night driving from store to store in winter weather. With that in mind, what are the pros of being open on Thanksgiving? Retailers that open earlier (that is, before the early hours of Black Friday) may get more traffic from individuals that don’t want to stay up all night or wait…

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Best Days to do Online Christmas Shopping

Planning to do most of your holiday shopping online? Make sure you get the best online shopping deals possible this December! Many retailers will advertise great online deals and specials before the holiday rush that aren’t as consumer friendly as they appear. After the tepid fall sales, which we discussed previously, https://www.leimageinc.com/blog/commercial-blog/warm-fall-weather-giving-retailers-the-chills/, online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores will be trying harder than ever to turn around a profit this 2013 holiday shopping season. Le Image Inc has compiled some online holiday shopping advice for you before the madness of Cyber Monday begins! Many ecommerce websites are claiming to have “Early Black Friday” sales and other “door buster” type deals online way before the tradition start of the online holiday shopping rush. For the most part, these aren’t sales that are unique to the retailer for the holiday season. More likely, they are just standard weekly specials repurposed to attract holiday shoppers. As a rule of thumb, don’t participate in these sales unless it’s an item you were planning to buy anyway and it’s marked down by at least 20%. The traditional online holiday shopping rush and rollbacks won’t make their way to cyberspace until November 25th. Everyone has heard of “Black Friday” for in store shopping deals galore, but what’s the biggest shopping day online? Cyber Monday!  Traditionally, on the Monday following Thanksgiving, this is the day for online sales and deals. If you shop online Cyber Monday, you are almost guaranteed a deal. While shopping on Cyber Monday is…

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Warm Fall Weather Giving Retailers the Chills

The month of October is notorious for lackluster profit margins for large retailers. The fall month falls right after the high earning back to school season August- September) and the right before the profitable holiday season (November to December). Another factor that has been lowering the profits for retail stores is the warm weather that has largely been affecting the nation this autumn. The above average temperatures have shoppers turning away from all the cold-weather apparel lining the shelves at most retail stores. Paul Walsh, the Vice President of weather analytics at the Weather Channel, explains, “The weather has a huge [effect] on driving consumer demand—especially this time of year, when people are changing out their closets and getting ready for fall”. Transitional seasons like spring and fall often put retailers at the mercy of the weather. Last spring, Europe experienced a chilly March and April, hurting companies like Zara’s and H&M who banked on skimpy more warm weather friendly apparel designs for the season.  Buyers and other retailers are nervous because they know, “…[once] the weather becomes seasonally appropriate… that in turn drives demand and that in turn drives full-price sales”. So what does this mean for your business? Many fashion designers are taking this slow time to thoughtfully create their advertisements and ecommerce product photos for the upcoming holiday season with their commercial photographers. Other retailers are creating promotions and markdowns for their products to increase foot traffic and sales for their company. Business week and Yahoo! have…

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The Business of Halloween Costumes

The Halloween season is upon us! This unique holiday is a major force in the retail market with a projected spending of $2.6 billion dollars for Halloween costumes expected for 2013. This number is slightly lower than last year’s projections but is still not to be sneezed at. Believe it or not, Halloween costumes for adults makes up the biggest chunk of the expected spending on Halloween costumes at $1.2 billion. The National Retail Federation projects spending at $1 billion for children’s costumes and a cool $330 million on pet costumes. So, what’s the most popular costumes for adults? Prepare to be spellbound this Halloween season as 5 million adults plan on dressing as witches this year. Classic Halloween costumes aside, it appears that more than ever, “…costumes related to TV shows are more popular than ever”, according to Mark Bietz, the vice president of marketing for Halloweencostumes.com. Google Shopping released data this week listing the top 10 most searched costumes. The numbers 2,4 & 7 on the list all involve characters from popular TV Shows. AMC’s smash hit, Breaking Bad is listed at number 2, Duck Dynasty at 4 and Daenerys from Game of Thrones at number 7. TV show Halloween costumes are in and sexy is out according to new data from retailer BuyCostumes.com. CEO, Dev Mukherjee, explains, “…sexy has actually diminished and that seems to have moved over to queen-and-princess-type adult costumes”. Parents of teenage girls, rejoice! The Halloween costume business is huge not only for retailers,…

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America’s Cup Size Runneth Over: Changes for the Lingerie Industry

The average consumer in the United States has changed drastically over the past 60 years. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the average woman, ages 20-74, weighed 140 pounds in 1960. As of 2002, the survey showed that the average woman in that same age group now has an average weight of 164.7 pounds. This steep incline in weight has had its ramifications in the fashion industry. Now fashion designers are embracing plus sizes and fashion photographers are photographing curvy New York fashion models like Crystal Renn. One industry that has seen a huge change is size run is the lingerie industry. As of 1992, the average bra size for an American woman was 34B. Today, the average size is 34DD. This increase in bra sizes is not only attributed to weight gain and rising obesity rates but also to an increase in bra fit awareness and an increase in breast implants. In 2005, Oprah Winfrey held an episode on her daytime show to bring light to the fact that the majority of women are wearing the incorrect bra size. Generally, women are wearing too large of a band size and too small of a cup size. Lingerie appreciation has also increased in the past few years with pop culture’s celebration of burlesque with films, musicals and celebrities like Dita Von Teese. So what does that mean for all the professionals in the lingerie industry? Well, most big name brands have increased their size run for bras. Ecommerce…

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Early Holiday Shopping Advertisements: Helpful or Hurtful for Business?

It’s only early September and the first nationally televised advertisement for Christmas shopping has already aired. Kmart launched its first ad to promote holiday sales 100 days before Christmas Day in hopes of spurring sales and interest in its famous layaway program. The Kmart ad advises viewers, “Don’t let the holidays sneak up on you” in a voiceover while a woman in an office is startled by a huge gingerbread man.  Even though the TV ad’s point is to advertise their layaway program, the company has received a large amount of backlash. On the Today Show, New York co-host, Hoda Kotb, declared, “I’m sorry, it’s too early for Christmas… I don’t care if it’s layaway. It’s really early”. So, why are all these large retailers already releasing their winter holiday deals to the public? Well for one, success in the fourth quarter is integral to a company’s annual performance.  Also, the retailers are now dealing with tougher competition than ever with the US economy still recovering. Most customers now shop around for the best deal around before purchasing a big ticket item. And, the National Retail Federation has found data that shows 40% of shoppers start their holiday shopping before Halloween! In short, early holiday shopping advertisements and deal announcements are not hurtful to businesses. That being said, customers don’t like being bulldozed over with ads for holidays that are months in advance. They may feel it’s an obnoxious overture to get their money and may resent your business, so…

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5 Terms You Must Know as A Fashion Designer Marketing Your Collection

Being an emerging fashion designer can be very overwhelming. You finally finish creating your collection and need it photographed in order to reach a broader market online. So, you contact local fashion photographers with great portfolios and soon they’re throwing so much fashion terminology at you, you begin feel completely unconfident about your new venture into the fashion world. But fear not, new designer, we will spell out the meaning of several fashion photography terms for you. 1. What is a Product Shot? – A product shot is a very plain image of an apparel item on a model against a white background like you have seen on several e-commerce fashion websites. These images serve to show what the item looks like on a person without any distractions. These images help customers imagine what the garment would look like on them. 2. What is a Lookbook?- A lookbook is a collection of images that show models styled and wearing the items of your collection paired with other items from your collection or with other designer’s items. The point of the lookbook is to inspire customers with your brands aesthetic and give them ideas about how to wear your collection. A look book can really help illustrate you intended audience and aesthetic direction to buyers. 3. What is a Buyer?¬- A buyer is the person who picks designers and their items for their stores to carry. These buyers create a look for a store and predict trends in order to make…

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The History of The Hoodie: From the Groovy 70’s to the Tragic Death of Trayvon Martin

Hoodies, or, hooded sweatshirts, have been making headlines lately because of their association with the Trayvon Martin case. For those living under a rock, Trayvon Martin was an African American high school student who was shot in his gated community by the neighborhood watch coordinator, George Zimmerman. The legal case has been featured significantly in the news for its allegations of racism and racial profiling by the shooter, George Zimmer, who was found not guilty by a Florida jury on July 13th, 2013. At the time of the tragic shooting, Travyon was wearing a hoodie and carrying only a bag of skittles. Shortly after the news broke, reporter, Geraldo Rivera created controversy for his comments on the teenager’s apparel stating, “I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly not to let their children go out wearing hoodies. I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as much as George Zimmerman was”. Shortly after the verdict, the “Million Hoodie March” was held in New York and across the country in memory of Trayvon Martin. So what is the history of the hoodie? How did it become such a controversial fashion item? With roots that can be traced back to the hooded capes of Medieval Europe, the hooded sweatshirt was first made in the 1930s by American clothing company, Champion. Intended for outdoor laborers and athletes in upstate New York, this new style of sweatshirt was created to help keep wearers warm in freezing temperatures….

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What is Commercial Photography?

Photography is a relatively new art form with the first camera photos being taken during the 1820’s. Other art forms, like painting and sculpture, have roots in the stone-age, with sculpted fertility dolls and cave paintings. Since photography is a newer medium in art, there are a lot of questions surrounding the different categories of photography. One category in particular, commercial photography, seems to have a lot of grey areas in terms of its qualifications. The most basic definition of commercial photography is an image specifically made to make money. That definition seems a bit obtuse but it is such a large category that one must be general when discussing commercial photography. One example of commercial work in photography is advertising photography. All of those popular ads you see on the subway and on billboards for big brands like, Jack Daniels and Coca-Cola, utilize an advertising photographer. Some of the photographers used for these big commercial campaigns belong to an advertising agency, other times, the brand may choose to use a well-known celebrity photographer, like, David LaChappelle or Terry Richardson to take the photos. Commercial advertising photography can also coincide with fashion at times with product photography. Product photos are those images you see online, when shopping on ecommerce websites like Net-A-Porter or Amazon. These photos are taken in a studio with special care to show the garment or product in its best light so that customers will be more likely to purchase it. Photography marketing is a huge force…

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It’s a Mad-Men World

With AMC’s hit show, Mad Men, premiering it’s sixth season this Sunday, the advertising industry will again move into the spotlight of the public conscious. For all those still living under a rock, the term “Mad Men” is a combination of the words ‘ad men’ (men who work in advertising) and Madison Avenue (The famous New York street where all of the large advertising agencies were in the 1960s). The show does a great job of showing viewers how advertising was created and the various media outlets they used during those times. Television rocked the advertising world when it came into popularity in the 1950s. Before that, advertising consisted of product shots/drawings for newspapers and magazines or they were verbal endorsements/jingles made for radio audiences. In the show, creative director, Don Draper, has to learn to adjust to this new era where television and film grow in importance in pop culture. As you can tell from our work at Le Image Inc. or any towering billboard you see on a daily basis, advertisement photography is not dead. Although more money may go into television commercials than print advertisements, professional commercial photographers need not be afraid. The Internet and online shopping has revived the need for product photography more than ever. According to Business Week, last holiday season resulted in an estimated $586 billion made from online shopping. Now, every commercial photographer is seizing the chance to shoot look books and product shots for e-commerce sites. Shooting for online sites is…

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Conway Retail Photo Shoot – Behind the Scenes

Le Image Inc. presents behind the scenes with Conway & CW Price. We had a great time shooting the Fall collection for their Women’s, Men’s, Plus Size and Children’s collections. Our fashion photographer, Justin Hyte and his tech, worked closely with the retail giant to create a professional, creative look for their apparel. The models were fun to work with and looked great thanks to the talented team of makeup artists and hair stylists on board. The retailer’s advertising agency, Dynamic Advertising was there to help style and organize the models and ensure everything ran smoothly.

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