Sports Illustrated Swimwear Style

The Sports Illustrated Swimwear Issue has been fanning the fires of male fantasy since 1964, and is still a benchmark for beauty, style and glamour. The list of cover models, reads like a whos who of supermodels and superstars so, what better basis for some classy shots of yourself?

Recreating the Sports Illustrated Look

Lighting and Location are really the key elements which make these swimwear shots successful, and with a bit of planning and creativity they aren't that difficult to achieve yourself.

Location

These shots usually feature exotic beaches and crystal clear water. In truth though if you don't happen to have a glamourous beach to hand, you can achieve the same effect with an outdoor swimming pool. In this shot of Katie Gee, the photograph was taken at such an angle to exclude anything other than the water... so it could have been taken anywhere.

If you don't have access to a pool, you could use a printed backdrop. These are available with an enormous variety of scenes and work very well provided you keep enough distance between the model and the backdrop to throw the backdrop slightly out of focus. There is more information on controling focus on the depth of field page.

Lighting

The usual rules about shooting outdoors apply - namely making sure you the sun isn't creating harsh shadows on the face. There are more details on the fill flash and reflectors page.

In addition there is one prop that really evokes the Sports Illustrated Swimwear look, and that is a gold reflector. Reflectors are an indispensable prop when working outdoors as they let you put the sun to the side or behind the model and still bounce light back onto her front. In many circumstances gold reflectors can be too warm, but for that exotic look they are perfect, as illustrated in this picture of Maria.