Cos Sakkas knows a little something about editorial achievement. Starting off his successes with the win of Newcomer of the Year collection in 1999, spanning to his British Hairdresser of the Year nominee nod in 2020, Cos has been in the editorial hair game for over 20 years. As the TONI&GUY international artistic director and head of education, he’s passing on everything he’s learnt to improve the skills of other talented hairdressers.
“Working on a photo shoot is one of the favourite things to do, it gives you an opportunity to be creative, work with some incredible people and push yourself out of your comfort zone,” Cos said.
With the aim of elevating all of our editorial potential, here’s eight lessons from Cos’ 20 years of experience.
1. Work with your model’s personal beauty
“Make sure your models are individual and beautiful in their own rights. Don’t be a follower of fashion but work with their own personal beauty,” Cos said.
2. Go old school with your mood board
“Make a physical mood board rather than collecting images on your phone. It will help with your creativity and be a reference point for everyone on the day.”
3. Tie it all together
“Make sure hair, make-up and clothes all work together,” Cos said. “Remember it is a hair shoot and you don’t want to detract from the hairstyle you have created, so keep everything else simple and understated.”
4. Gather the dream team
“Work with a team who have the same vision as you, but will push you to try new things.”
5. Follow your own vision
“Shoot for you and no one else – don’t shoot for the awards, shoot for yourself. You want a collection that is true to you and shows your skills, passion and vision. If you put pressure on your shoulders to create a winning collection, you will lose your focus,” Cos said.
6. Offer variance
“Shoot in colour and black and white,” Cos advised. “Both will be beautiful but give a different dimension to your finished look.”
7. Stay focused
“Don’t be distracted by whacky ideas. Find your niche and stick to what you’re good at and produce images that are beautiful and trend led.”
8. Pay attention to the crop
“Take your time when cropping your images – full length has a totally different feeling to close up, so choose wisely and don’t rush this process.”
Follow these tips to editorial success.
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