Have you ever opened your closet on a gig day and thought to yourself, “Gosh, I really wish someone would design an outfit that I can wear on photoshoots designed specifically for photographers“? Nope, me neither, aside from some winter gloves, perhaps.
But for those few who have, this could be your lucky day. Japanese outfitters Unix Tokyo have “worked closely” with some photographers to design a suit specifically with the wedding photographer in mind. It’s a classic, for sure!
“Are you having trouble photographing your wedding?” the website asked in a somewhat mangled translation from Japanese. The site goes on to list all the problems that wedding photographers have finding suitable clothing to shoot in.
Apparently, wedding photographers all suffer from having to wear formal clothes, which often end up being too tight on the elbows and shoulders. Suit material is often not stretchy, so can be quite restrictive, and they lack suitable amounts of pockets, particularly women’s clothing.
Actually, all of this is somewhat correct, particularly the lack of deep pockets on women’s clothing. I’d love a pocket I could get a 24-70mm lens in!
The jacket is made from a four-way stretch material and has deep pockets that can comfortably fit a lens. There’s also a built-in lens cloth inside the pocket (handy!). The buttons are made from soft silicon, so they won’t scratch your LCD screen or lens.
Rubber pants
The trousers are made from the same material and, according to the website, inexplicably have “Rubber on the back for easy movement and comfort.” At that rate, why not just have a removable incontinence pad insert for all those poor wedding photographers who never have a bathroom moment in the day’s schedule?
In my 15 years of being a photographer, never have I ever thought that I need a rubber panel on my trousers. But maybe that’s just me, and I’m missing something here.
So Unix Tokyo gets a high five for trying to tackle the problem, but I’m not sure that they have quite hit on the ideal solution here. I’m not angry about it like Digital Camera World seems to be, but the whole thing is quite funny.
Let’s not pretend here: the suits look pretty terrible. Even the models in the photos look a little embarrassed to be wearing these. A wedding is a formal event, and as the photographer, you are often up front directing large group portraits. You are visible, and you need to turn up looking somewhat presentable. Despite the high price tag (almost $400 for the jacket and trousers), this suit looks cheap.
Tailoring is important
Unfortunately, a loose-fitting suit made of stretch fabric will never look good. There’s a reason why high-end suits are tailor-made or at least just fitted to the wearer (I worked for a summer in a gentleman’s outfitter’s in my youth). And most women don’t want to look like they are wearing a paper bag either.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve worn a suit to photograph in. The climate in Spain doesn’t lend itself to that attire and there are plenty of more creative, comfortable and elegant options out there that allow me to do my job. And instead of keeping lenses in pockets, I use a bag (shock!).
Still, there might be a few instances where a photography suit might be useful. A suit with a Steadicam rig built in, a pop-up flash stitched into the front handkerchief pocket, a lining that zips out and becomes an extra reflector…
If you do want to try out this suit (with rubber trousers, sorry I cannot get past that detail), then you can head to Bic Camera or buy directly from the Unix Tokyo website. The jacket costs $255, the trousers $140. Bargain.
[via digital camera world]
