Fashion photography has been around since the 1800's. It became more prevalent with the invention of the halftone printing process in 1880. This process made translating finely shaded imagery onto printing plates quick and effective.
Cecil Beaton was considered a master of the art. He would create elaborate images of decadent beauty in scenes he would call "dream worlds". He started working for Vogue in 1927. Beaton photographed the Royal Family often, for official publication.
When is an image a Portrait and when is it a fashion photograph?
The key distinction between the two styles of photography is what the photograph focuses on. In portraiture, the photograph focuses on the subject. It tries to capture them as a person and express who they are. Fashion photography on the other hand focuses on, essentially, what the subject is wearing.
To what degree should an image be manipulated to go into a fashion magazine?
It's common practice among fashion photographers and magazines to manipulate the model and the resulting photograph. Publishers can go to extreme lengths to manipulate photographs as seen in Dove's "Evolution" video below.
