TIPS ON FASHION SHOW SHOOT

Hey everyone, I've been asked to shoot a fashion show at a local art gallery. It's not a professional shoot, but I'd like to be as prepared as i can be. I am grateful for any and all advice in this field.

What are some tips I should consider? camera angle, external flash, lens types, etc.

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Permalink Reply by CameraClicker on March 8, 2010 at 4:30pm

Visit ahead of time, find out where you can be, where the runway will be, where the people will be, if the audience will be sitting or standing, what lighting will be used during the show.
Do you want to be right at the stage and shoot up or at the back/off to the side and shoot more level. That will determine what lens you will want and if you need a small step ladder.
Probably the models will be bright enough but take a flash, just in case.

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Permalink Reply by Sean on March 8, 2010 at 6:55pm

Depending on the lighting you may want to set up some extra strobes with a trigger. More than likely when these events are set up at a gallery the lighting is awful...most galleries are set up to light the walls. If you are lucky they will have the runway/stage lit with some floods, not very flattering. You will probably want to modify the light if at all possible. Get access to the stage and lighting well before the show if at all possible and meter the light. If that can't be done work as fast as you can once the MC hits the stage to find your settings, chimp if you must. If you are the only photographer let the models know where you are so they can give you their best pose. Good luck....it's a pretty stressful gig, because you don't get a lot of shots at those perfect moments.

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Permalink Reply by Vito on March 8, 2010 at 8:12pm

Those are great tips guys. I need to find out all I can about the set up and get there early. I have an 18-105 and a 70-300 lens and decide which one will work best. I have no idea what to expect right now. I like the idea of setting up a couple of strobes if the location allows for them. Let me know if you think of anything else. Thanks again.

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Permalink Reply by Ed Harp on March 11, 2010 at 5:30am

I've never shot one either. You could read the many forums on runway photography to get an idea. Two strobes would be ideal if it's allowed, one frontal one behind to create some rim lighting. However you may need to check out the set up and see how much light is there, and whether or not they will allow flash or mono lights. I read one forum where a model fell off the edge of the runway because all the flashes disoriented her. Depending on how close you are to the runway, I would have two camera bodies with an ultra wide zoom min f/4 and Tele zoom. Instinctively I'd mount my 17-40 f/4 L and 70-200 F/2.8 L shooting 50D and 30D bodies and 800 ISO. I'm sure in some situations you'd want something close up and yet a wider coverage. Be prepared to soot without strobes. White balance for lighting on the runway and you should be good to go.

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Permalink Reply by riddell on March 15, 2010 at 3:34am

First piece of advice is expect it to be fast, very fast. You'll constantly have models walking towards you and you only get a fraction of a second to compose, focus and shoot.

Amateur fashion shows are also more difficult as the lighting is usually so uneven so also be prepared to make changes to your settings on the fly within that fraction of a second to compensate for darker and brighter lit portions of the catwalk.

Lens choice will be dependant upon the room and where you can stand. A fast lens with a constant wide apature is a must as is a fast recharging flash.

Paul
www.photographybyriddell.co.uk