So I was lucky enough to be one of the photographers for a fashion show sponsored by Cornell Alums. I was asked by one of my friends and it being my first fashion show, I was a nervous wreck. So I did a ton of research online to figure out what kinds of photos to take for fashion show: how to compose the models, what backstage photos to take, what details to look for and focus on, and it turned out that reading is a lot different than doing. I've also been feeling this way about photography in general and that I should really stop reading, or rather, I should really take a lot more pictures, but more on this later.
Anyways, the whole experience was really fun and quite educational. I also brought one of my photographer friends to help me out. He helped me hold my flash and also covered areas that I couldn't during the actual show. He was a huge help (now I just need his photos).
So backstage, I got to take pictures of the models getting their hair done. Next, I got some group photos and individual photos. I actually brought my lighting setup (light stand, umbrella, and strobe) and it worked out great. I was practicing taking tons of head shots with models that really wanted their picture taken. No need to pest my roommates or take self portraits anymore! There's still a lot more room for improvement but the experience was great!
During the fashion show, things got really crazy, at least for me. I totally forgot to meter the runway early on and find the best place to take the photos in front of the runway. I also almost missed the beginning of the fashion show where they did all the introductions. Then the models starting walking and I was just snapping away hoping that my camera could do all the work. All I tried to do was keep my shutter-speed faster than 1/250 of a second so that there wouldn't be any noticeable motion blur. Gear-wise, I was shooting with my fastest lens (85mm f/1.8) at a stop down to get the sharpest photos. I should have probably rented a 70-200 f/2.8 to get better composition since my 85mm was a bit too short on the far end but it worked out alright.
Anyways, as the models walked and posed, I'd snap photos: front view, side view, back view, pose and I'd try to time them so that the models were walking with one foot in front of the other. The hectic part was trying to get good shots of them in the 30 sec that they were on stage. There was no time to chimp at all and check my settings. I had to trust that they'd get the job done. Luckily, the shots turned out pretty good although there was a good amount of post that went into these (mostly around cropping). Post definitely took a really long time especially with trying to get the skin tones right. Luckily, my gf bought me a book on just that and it proved to be very helpful, although also very time intensive.
Here are a few of my favs. Check the link here to see all of them:
http://picasaweb.google.com/vashthest/FashionShow2010#
