Art Photography

How to Become a Fashion Photographer?

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    You're interested in pursuing a career in fashion photography, are you? Do you think it will be exciting?

    It's a bonus of the job to get to hang out on boats with models, shoot in exotic locations like the Caribbean and Tahiti, and perhaps even travel to Australia with your favourite model, right?

    I can't even imagine how much fun it must be to photograph models for magazines like Victoria's Secret and Sports Illustrated.

    Who wouldn't like to make a fortune while working with and making friends with some of the most stunning ladies in the world while travelling to far-flung destinations and interacting with some of the world's most stunning women? Everything that is mentioned here is not an accurate representation of what it is that we do.

    In movies and on television, the situation appears to play out exactly like that.

    If you are a young fashion photographer or stylist who is attempting to get into the fashion world, you are probably feeling irritated right about now.

    There is no foolproof business plan that will illuminate the route to success, and there is no simple tactic that will make the journey easier. The road to fame and fortune, as well as the road to financial stability, are loaded with peril for all artists.

    We feel your pain and can totally empathise with you! And if you're just getting started, you're probably about to enter one of the most taxing professional phases of your life — the crucial time when you find your footing and get things moving forwards.

    To ensure that you get the most out of this opportunity, we are here to assist you. This article is a collection of the most important pieces of career guidance that we can offer to aspiring fashion photographers, stylists, makeup artists, and anybody else working in the fashion sector.

    Tips On How To Begin

    Fashion Photographer

    Find An Idea And Get Inspired By It.

    The source of inspiration might come from anything: a piece of music, a random object spotted on the street, or even your younger sister.

    Prepare As Best You Can.

    Make sure that your prospective team understands your ideas by documenting them using tools such as mood boards.

    Learn Basic Photography Skills

    You should get some photography fundamentals under your belt before picking up a camera so that you can grasp how it works.

    Practice With Models

    Take your camera and go out to take shots of models. There are a lot of websites that may connect you with models that are eager to work with you and who reside in your region. Begin your hunt for model websites by conducting a search on the internet.

    When you feel comfortable taking pictures of amateur models and have a book full of great photographs, contact local modelling agencies by phone or email and ask if you can take pictures of their models for their portfolios. This can be done after you have become comfortable taking pictures of amateur models. It is possible that you will be able to strike their models without cost, and there is even a chance that you may be compensated for doing so.

    Build A Team You Can Work With.

    Focus on the kind of shoot you are undertaking and select the artists that can be of the most assistance to you based on that.

    Research Fashion Magazines

    Study the formatting and layout of the publications that you aspire to get published in by reading through them. You'll get to the point where you can shoot just as well as the photographers who work for the mags in due time. When you are ready, send the photo editors of these magazines your work to be considered for publication. The information you need to get in touch with them may be found on the first few pages of the magazine.

    Find A Good Location.

    If you want the end outcome to be effective, paying attention to this detail is absolutely necessary.

    Develop An Original Style

    When you're first starting out as a photographer, it's easy to fall into the trap of attempting to shoot in the style of other artists and replicating the work of other photographers. This is not always a negative thing. Artists of all stripes have flocked to the Louvre in Paris over the course of several centuries in an effort to recreate the Mona Lisa and other significant pieces of art.

    However, once you have completed your practise sessions, it is imperative that you move on and stop putting so much effort into trying to copy the great masters. Instead, emulate life. That is what it does as art. You will be richly rewarded for the effort you put into building your personal style.

    Collaborate And Communicate On Set.

    Never lose sight of the fact that you are the photographer, which means that you are in charge of everything from the makeup to the hair to the style and everything in between. Maintain a nice and welcoming environment within your team, and do everything you can to ensure that everyone feels at ease. Keep in mind that at the end of the day, the first name that people see on those photographs is YOURS, which means that you alone are responsible for maintaining control over each and every aspect of the project.

    Keep Shooting

    The journey to achieving success as a fashion photographer may be a challenging and lengthy one. Try not to give up. In the beginning, shooting should just be a fun pastime that you do whenever you have free time. Make art as frequently as you can. This experience will prove to be priceless.

    Fashion Photography Career Advice 

    You Can't Ask For Your Big Break; You Have To Earn It.

    If only we had a nickel for every time a photographer who had no experience and a portfolio that could hardly be called that contacted us and said something along the lines of, "If you give me a commision letter, I'm going to make you something amazing, just trust me," we would have a lot of nickels. If only we had a nickel for every time a photographer who had no experience and a portfolio that could hardly be called that contacted us and said something along the lines of, " In the really cutthroat labour market that exists today, no one is going to provide you a break simply because you exude an air of enthusiasm and self-assurance about oneself. We are sorry for being so severe, but it is necessary for us to inform you this.

    Everyone else in the world is going to be rather critical of you. The only people who are going to support you because they care about you are going to be the people in your personal circle of friends and family. If the only thing you have to go on is someone telling you, "Just believe me," then you don't have a lot of information to work with.

    When hundreds of other applicants for the same occupation as you have polished portfolios of prior work that indicate what they are capable of, you had better have more than just promises and an enthusiasm for moving on in order to stand out from the crowd and secure the position you desire. When it comes to fashion, "the show doesn't tell" is a useful saying to keep in mind as a rule of thumb to adhere to. If you take significant risks with the work that you do and put in a lot of hard effort, the work that you produce will speak for itself, and you won't have to worry about selling yourself.

    The Key Is Consistency

    This is the magic word that will allow the door to open for you and take you to the opposite side of the room. The one piece of expert advice that, above all others, is probably going to turn out to be the one that proves to be the most significant. Consistency. It is the one and only quality that distinguishes a successful professional from an artist who is just scraping by. Even while no one expects you to hit a home run every time, customers do anticipate a certain level of quality in every shot that you take.

    Also, bear in mind that there are a few items that shoppers will always be searching for, and keep an eye out for those. Your website is simply one example among many others. If your portfolio does not contain a significant number of work that has been published in the past and is of a good quality, potential customers will approach it with caution. They are aware that you have included only the utmost best samples of everything you have ever done in your portfolio and that you have picked these examples extremely carefully. What about the aspects that did not make it into the finished product? How long did it take you to shoot that photo, which turned out to be so stunning? Can you do it again? Did you just happen to have a lot of good luck? You have a better chance of obtaining the contract if you can persuade a client that you can consistently produce work of the highest quality and that you can demonstrate this ability to them. On the other hand, this does not indicate that each and every one of your initiatives have to be perfect in order to be considered successful. It's possible that what people mean when they talk about "consistency" is getting the same look in each shot. Maybe it's the way you light the model in a manner that no one else can, or maybe it's the way you pose the model in ways that no one else has thought of before. But whatever it is, it makes you stand out. You should make it a point to constantly aim for the same tone, whatever that might be for you.

    Don't Follow The Trends, Create Them.

    The influence of trends can be seen in every facet of the fashion business, and, for that matter, in every other industry as well. It appears that we are all susceptible to falling in love at the same moment with the same things. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that; however, you need to be extremely aware of trends in your work and carefully consider how you choose to incorporate them into either your photography or your design.

    For instance, the style of models with damp hair clinging to their faces began to gain popularity around a year ago. You may view it at this location, as well as here and here. It seems like everyone was talking about it for a long. This hairstyle was included in around fifty percent of the photographs that were sent to the Lone Wolf office.

    Even though it's been getting a lot of attention online, it didn't take long for us to become sick of seeing it. To put it another way, you may have been an amazing photographer, but since you used a trend that has been done to death in your magazine, your work has essentially been rendered unnoticeable. To make your work stand out from the crowd and demonstrate to the world that you are one step ahead of the competition, our recommendation is to rework trends and include unexpected features.

    Don't Ignore The Details.

    Do you have wrinkled clothes? An unclean background? Fabrics made of polyester Do not be under the impression that others won't notice. It doesn't matter what sector of the economy we're discussing; the old adage holds true that the devil is in the details. If you neglect the most sophisticated details, you may expect your job to be below average. It can be summed up like that.

    However, elevating oneself above the level of mediocrity in fashion photography is exceedingly challenging since it necessitates that every member of your team has the same level of dedication to excellence as you have. When it comes to lighting, you may be a total perfectionist, but if your hairstylist takes shortcuts, the whole thing will fall apart very quickly. If your stylist is meticulous about wardrobe, and you are a total perfectionist when it comes to lighting, but your hairstylist takes shortcuts, the whole thing will

    Stop Comparing Yourself To The Competition

    You should never compare yourself to anybody or anything other than the version of yourself that you were, say, six months ago. According to what Malcolm Gladwell said in The Tipping Point, the amount of years of experience necessary to be considered an expert is ten thousand. That is, in order to become genuinely outstanding at something, you need 10 thousand hours of practise under your belt.

    It is impossible for you to know where other individuals fall on that spectrum. If they are better than you, it is probably due to the fact that they have been diligently practising, whilst you have been busy scrolling through your Pinterest boards "searching for inspiration." It is absurd to compare your work to that of established photographers. They have an effect that lasts a lifetime on you. When you consider all of the work that you have done in the past, you should be able to observe a discernible rise in quality. If you don't, you're doing something wrong and need to fix it.

    Don't Be A Starving Artist.

    There are a lot of young people who are creative types who romanticise the concept of being a starving artist, but the reality is that this lifestyle can only be maintained for about a year. After that point, it transforms into an intolerable burden that rests on your shoulders. Everyone needs to realise that living in poverty is neither romantic nor attractive, and this is especially true when working in the fashion industry.

    You will find that there are times when you need to wear shoes that do not have any holes in them. The simple truth is that one needs a lot of financial backing to launch a career as a professional photographer. Therefore, you will need to have a firm plan in place for the long term. You may need to complement your work with less attractive assignments (weddings? corporate portraits? Elance?) until you develop your technique and create some strong industry connections till you can establish yourself as a reliable professional.

    Home Is Where Your Dream Job Is

    They say that if you spend your life doing what you love, you will never have to work another day in your life. One of the greatest privileges in life is to be able to say that you enjoy what you do for a living and have a strong interest in the field in which you work. Therefore, it is crucial to comprehend and be conscious of the fact that the location that you refer to as "home" may be preventing you from achieving your full potential. Even while other cities have thriving fashion scenes or film scenes, a place is not the same thing as an industry in and of itself. To have a successful job does not require a particular place at all. That is not to imply that you are unable to achieve it; nevertheless, due to the lack of resources, you will certainly end up becoming upset.

    as well as the assistance that the community is offering you.

    Strive For Simplicity

    There is some truth to the age-old adage that "simplicity is the greatest sophistication." To produce stunning photographs, you need nothing more than a stunning model and one dramatic element at most. Nothing more will do. There are no wacky accessories or layers of hair and makeup put over difficult positions, and the lighting is not sorcery.

    When determining how to design a shoot, attempt to choose only two of these four alternatives, which include dramatic makeup and hair, dramatic settings and lighting, and dramatic apparel; otherwise, you'll have a circus on your hands.

    Action Is The Only Thing That Matters

    It is not as important how you are feeling as it is what you are doing. Naturally, the ideas and emotions you have important, at least to the people who know you on a more intimate level. However, from the perspective of the rest of the world, your interior world hardly really exists at all. It may be unsettling to hear, but becoming a responsible adult requires you to learn this lesson at some point.

    The value of one's actions is the money that drives the world. If you have nothing to show for your efforts, you are wasting your breath if you try to convince someone that you are an incredible, creative, and caring people who is going somewhere, but you do not have anything to show for your efforts.

    The things that you do will be both your greatest gift to this planet and the most important part of your own life. Stop talking and go out and do something (anything) helpful that will have a great influence on the world if you want to stand out professionally. This is the best way to make a name for yourself. In light of this, it is always going to be more remarkable to show individuals you want to work with what you've done (regardless of how little the accomplishments may be) as opposed to telling them what you want to achieve or how enthusiastic you are about your job.

    Work With The Best – Even If It's Not Financially Rewarding.

    Another aspect of working in the fashion industry that should be taken into consideration is the wide gap that exists between the large and the small businesses. The midsection contains an extremely small population. Therefore, if you're new to the industry, you're basically caught between not being good enough for the big guys yet and giving your time to the smaller organisations who are just barely keeping afloat. This is especially true if you want to work for a company that has a strong reputation.

    When you are first beginning your career in the fashion sector, it is imperative that you place a higher priority on networking opportunities than on financial compensation. Have faith that the money will show up at the right moment. For the time being, you should concentrate on partnering with bright unknowns who, like you, will one day become well-known important people.

    Build a portfolio full of high-quality work, publish your writing in reputable publications, and surround yourself with accomplished individuals. Artists just starting out who imagine that they would immediately begin receiving payment for their work are in for a nasty revelation. Unless you were fortunate enough to be born into this field, you will have to work just as hard as everyone else to make it to the top.

    Be An Image Maker, Not An Image Taker

    Anyone with a camera, access to Photoshop, and a stunning model has a fighting chance of capturing a stunning image. However, there is a significant difference between someone who takes a picture and someone who creates the picture themselves. You can't just be a picture taker; you need to be a picture maker. Visualize the end result in your head, then take the necessary steps to make it a reality as quickly as possible. Never put all of your faith in the abilities of your team, and never sit around hoping for some kind of miracle to take place. It does happen on occasion. Sometimes it won't happen at all.

    And it brings us to the heart of the matter. Image takers are analogous to scavenging animals, but image creators are comparable to wolves. The wolf tracks down her vision, pursues it with a hunt, catches up to it, and kills it with his superior hunting skills. The scavenger waits for something extraordinary to fall from the sky, and as they do so, they generally snap hundreds of pictures with a machine gun in the hopes that one of them would turn out to be remarkable. And even in the cases in which scavengers are successful, the finds they make are more akin to creative scraps and very seldom comprise the entirety of the "meat" of an imaginative, properly selected, and skilfully carried out photo session.

    Plan A Fashion Shoot

    Test Shoots

    Fashion Shoots - Props & Sets

    When it comes to fashion photography, large, expensive settings and intricate accessories are not always necessary. Regarding our programmes in fashion photography.

    Making your own backgrounds is still another alternative that is more straightforward. Using products that are available for purchase at your neighborhood's art and hardware stores, you may quickly and easily accomplish your goal. The story of your photograph may be enhanced in yet another way through the use of props. These don't have to be very complicated, but they should correspond with the feeling and concept of the image.

    Sourcing Outfits & Working With Fashion Stylists

    If you have a professional stylist on your team, this part of planning will go much more smoothly. It is recommended that those who do not have the financial means to hire a stylist or purchase outfits approach up-and-coming companies and volunteer to photograph their items or work on test shoots with other aspiring creatives. This is an alternative to purchasing outfits.

    Equipment

    This is a frequently asked questions (FAQ) guide for people who are just starting out in photography. "Which camera is the most suitable for photographing fashion?" Or, "What lenses do photographers use to capture fashion?"

    To put it more simply, you can take fashion photographs with virtually any camera, and you can do the same with practically every lens. A strong understanding of lighting is the single most useful skill that can be had by a fashion photographer.

    Lighting Setups For Fashion Shoots

    Lighting is one of the most important aspects of fashion photography. The mood and atmosphere of your photograph are determined by the lighting; it is this element that may set your image apart from the others.

    There are a variety of fashion photography lighting examples that are suitable for use with any budget. These examples vary depending on whether you are dealing with inexpensive modifiers like softboxes or more costly equipment like paraboloids. In the Fashion and Portrait parts of our website, we provide a broad variety of fashion photography classes, each of which provides several various lighting setup samples that you can test out.

    Conclusion

    A photographer's primary responsibility is to stage shots of a product in such a manner that they attract the interest of potential buyers. This is the essence of the work. Because of this, it is exceedingly challenging to produce "art for the sake of art" within the context of the fashion photography industry. It may sound like common sense, but many aspiring fashion photographers forget that the only reason fashion photography exists is because someone, somewhere, wants to sell a gorgeous designer outfit. They don't realise that creativity must frequently take a back seat to business in the fashion industry, which is the primary reason they got into the fashion industry in the first place. Not only does this have the potential to be an enormous letdown for musicians, but it also has the potential to halt the progression of their career before it has ever begun.

    Content Summary

    • You're interested in pursuing a career in fashion photography, are you?
    • If you are a young fashion photographer or stylist who is attempting to get into the fashion world, you are probably feeling irritated right about now.
    • There is no foolproof business plan that will illuminate the route to success, and there is no simple tactic that will make the journey easier.
    • The road to fame and fortune, as well as the road to financial stability, are loaded with peril for all artists.
    • And if you're just getting started, you're probably about to enter one of the most taxing professional phases of your life — the crucial time when you find your footing and get things moving forwards.
    • To ensure that you get the most out of this opportunity, we are here to assist you.
    • This article is a collection of the most important pieces of career guidance that we can offer to aspiring fashion photographers, stylists, makeup artists, and anybody else working in the fashion sector.
    • Take your camera and go out to take shots of models.
    • There are a lot of websites that may connect you with models that are eager to work with you and who reside in your region.
    • Begin your hunt for model websites by conducting a search on the internet.
    • This can be done after you have become comfortable taking pictures of amateur models.
    • When you are ready, send the photo editors of these magazines your work to be considered for publication.
    • Develop An Original StyleWhen you're first starting out as a photographer, it's easy to fall into the trap of attempting to shoot in the style of other artists and replicating the work of other photographers.
    • Instead, emulate life.
    • Never lose sight of the fact that you are the photographer, which means that you are in charge of everything from the makeup to the hair to the style and everything in between.
    • Maintain a nice and welcoming environment within your team, and do everything you can to ensure that everyone feels at ease.
    • Keep in mind that at the end of the day, the first name that people see on those photographs is YOURS, which means that you alone are responsible for maintaining control over each and every aspect of the project.
    • Keep ShootingThe journey to achieving success as a fashion photographer may be a challenging and lengthy one.
    • Try not to give up.
    • Make art as frequently as you can.
    • Fashion Photography Career Advice  You Can't Ask For Your Big Break; You Have To Earn It.
    • Everyone else in the world is going to be rather critical of you.
    • The only people who are going to support you because they care about you are going to be the people in your personal circle of friends and family.
    • When hundreds of other applicants for the same occupation as you have polished portfolios of prior work that indicate what they are capable of, you had better have more than just promises and an enthusiasm for moving on in order to stand out from the crowd and secure the position you desire.
    • When it comes to fashion, "the show doesn't tell" is a useful saying to keep in mind as a rule of thumb to adhere to.
    • If you take significant risks with the work that you do and put in a lot of hard effort, the work that you produce will speak for itself, and you won't have to worry about selling yourself.
    • The Key Is ConsistencyThis is the magic word that will allow the door to open for you and take you to the opposite side of the room.
    • The one piece of expert advice that, above all others, is probably going to turn out to be the one that proves to be the most significant.
    • Consistency.
    • It is the one and only quality that distinguishes a successful professional from an artist who is just scraping by.
    • Even while no one expects you to hit a home run every time, customers do anticipate a certain level of quality in every shot that you take.
    • If your portfolio does not contain a significant number of work that has been published in the past and is of a good quality, potential customers will approach it with caution.
    • You have a better chance of obtaining the contract if you can persuade a client that you can consistently produce work of the highest quality and that you can demonstrate this ability to them.
    • But whatever it is, it makes you stand out.
    • You should make it a point to constantly aim for the same tone, whatever that might be for you.
    • Don't Follow The Trends, Create Them.
    • The influence of trends can be seen in every facet of the fashion business, and, for that matter, in every other industry as well.
    • There is absolutely nothing wrong with that; however, you need to be extremely aware of trends in your work and carefully consider how you choose to incorporate them into either your photography or your design.
    • For instance, the style of models with damp hair clinging to their faces began to gain popularity around a year ago.
    • To make your work stand out from the crowd and demonstrate to the world that you are one step ahead of the competition, our recommendation is to rework trends and include unexpected features.
    • Don't Ignore The Details.
    • If you neglect the most sophisticated details, you may expect your job to be below average.
    • However, elevating oneself above the level of mediocrity in fashion photography is exceedingly challenging since it necessitates that every member of your team has the same level of dedication to excellence as you have.
    • If your stylist is meticulous about wardrobe, and you are a total perfectionist when it comes to lighting, but your hairstylist takes shortcuts, the whole thing willStop Comparing Yourself To The CompetitionYou should never compare yourself to anybody or anything other than the version of yourself that you were, say, six months ago.
    • According to what Malcolm Gladwell said in The Tipping Point, the amount of years of experience necessary to be considered an expert is ten thousand.
    • It is absurd to compare your work to that of established photographers.
    • When you consider all of the work that you have done in the past, you should be able to observe a discernible rise in quality.
    • Don't Be A Starving Artist.
    • Everyone needs to realise that living in poverty is neither romantic nor attractive, and this is especially true when working in the fashion industry.
    • The simple truth is that one needs a lot of financial backing to launch a career as a professional photographer.
    • Therefore, you will need to have a firm plan in place for the long term.
    • until you develop your technique and create some strong industry connections till you can establish yourself as a reliable professional.
    • They say that if you spend your life doing what you love, you will never have to work another day in your life.
    • One of the greatest privileges in life is to be able to say that you enjoy what you do for a living and have a strong interest in the field in which you work.
    • Therefore, it is crucial to comprehend and be conscious of the fact that the location that you refer to as "home" may be preventing you from achieving your full potential.
    • To have a successful job does not require a particular place at all.
    • Strive For SimplicityThere is some truth to the age-old adage that "simplicity is the greatest sophistication."
    • Action Is The Only Thing That MattersIt is not as important how you are feeling as it is what you are doing.
    • However, from the perspective of the rest of the world, your interior world hardly really exists at all.
    • The value of one's actions is the money that drives the world.
    • The things that you do will be both your greatest gift to this planet and the most important part of your own life.
    • Stop talking and go out and do something (anything) helpful that will have a great influence on the world if you want to stand out professionally.
    • This is the best way to make a name for yourself.
    • In light of this, it is always going to be more remarkable to show individuals you want to work with what you've done (regardless of how little the accomplishments may be) as opposed to telling them what you want to achieve or how enthusiastic you are about your job.
    • Work With The Best – Even If It's Not Financially Rewarding.
    • Another aspect of working in the fashion industry that should be taken into consideration is the wide gap that exists between the large and the small businesses.
    • Therefore, if you're new to the industry, you're basically caught between not being good enough for the big guys yet and giving your time to the smaller organisations who are just barely keeping afloat.
    • This is especially true if you want to work for a company that has a strong reputation.
    • When you are first beginning your career in the fashion sector, it is imperative that you place a higher priority on networking opportunities than on financial compensation.
    • Build a portfolio full of high-quality work, publish your writing in reputable publications, and surround yourself with accomplished individuals.
    • Be An Image Maker, Not An Image Taker
    • However, there is a significant difference between someone who takes a picture and someone who creates the picture themselves.
    • You can't just be a picture taker; you need to be a picture maker.
    • Image takers are analogous to scavenging animals, but image creators are comparable to wolves.
    • Regarding our programmes in fashion photography.
    • Making your own backgrounds is still another alternative that is more straightforward.
    • The story of your photograph may be enhanced in yet another way through the use of props.
    • These don't have to be very complicated, but they should correspond with the feeling and concept of the image.
    • If you have a professional stylist on your team, this part of planning will go much more smoothly.
    • It is recommended that those who do not have the financial means to hire a stylist or purchase outfits approach up-and-coming companies and volunteer to photograph their items or work on test shoots with other aspiring creatives.
    • Which camera is the most suitable for photographing fashion?"
    • A strong understanding of lighting is the single most useful skill that can be had by a fashion photographer.
    • Lighting Setups For Fashion ShootsLighting is one of the most important aspects of fashion photography.
    • There are a variety of fashion photography lighting examples that are suitable for use with any budget.
    • This is the essence of the work.
    • Because of this, it is exceedingly challenging to produce "art for the sake of art" within the context of the fashion photography industry.

    FAQ About Fashion Photographer

    Is being a fashion photographer a good career choice? Yes, of course, fashion photography is a safe career choice because many fashion industries in India have plenty of opportunities for fashion photographers. The industry is expanding at enormous rates and so are the career choices.

    A good fashion photographer doesn't just take pictures: They are highly knowledgeable about the brands and people with whom they work. When doing commercial work, fashion photographers know the fashion house's codes.

    Fashion photography is a highly exclusive and competitive industry. Getting in requires dedication, commitment, hard work, and often times, a dash of good luck and timing. There is no great secret or shortcut, it is going to be a tough journey, and you must be prepared for the long-haul.

    How to do it: The only way to get in is to apply for press credentials. Each set of shows has their own application process, some will charge a fee and others are free. The main ones include NYFW The Shows, Art Hearts Fashion, and The Society Fashion Week.

    Commercial photography is one of the highest paying photography jobs. Specialists can expect to earn around $100,000 per year (salary + license fees for the right to use their photos).

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