Last Updated on 04/15/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
All images by Thiago Botelho. Used with Creative Commons permission.
Colors are often a big creative component of fashion, not only in the design process but also in the photography aspect. The latter revolves around making sure the treatment complements the colors of the fashion elements, if not elevate them. One of the trendiest treatments in many fashion editorials involve neon colors, but it’s just one style that Brazil-based Thiago Botelho played with for his street style photography project.
In This is ghetto, Thiago seems to have declared an introduction of his personal project for street fashion brand Styleold. He proceeded to show some pretty strong visuals to highlight the personality embodied by the collection. First, the richness of details in both the setting and the looks themselves bombard the viewer. Then, neon hues flood the frames, making sure there’s a barrage of colors that add an extra dimension to street style at night. It’s a fashion editorial style that works every time, as we’ve seen in the stunning Blade Runner-esque Neon Night series by Elizaveta Porodina.
Interestingly, there’s also a couple of shots that serve as a quick transition from the nighttime mood to the daytime style. It’s as if we’re not only seeing the style as is, but also following Thiago’s characters mid and post-night out in the ghetto. The looks change dramatically from sexy and edgy pieces fitting for a night out, to more relaxed and casual outfits for the day. I find this to be a particularly noteworthy narrative approach to fashion photography and lookbooks.
If you want to try this colorful approach to fashion portraits yourself, you may get an idea in this quick color gel video tutorial.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of Thiago Botelho’s work on his Behance portfolio and Facebook Page.