At the end of the runway

Runway Photography…The Best Seat in the House

As we’re only a few days away from one of the biggest events on the fashion calendar, London Fashion Week, I thought I’d share some of my experiences to give you a feel as to what it’s like to be stood at the end of the runway during London Fashion Week. It truly is the best seat in the house and an experience not to be missed.

Shooting a fashion show is both as exhilarating as it is challenging, and as rewarding as it is pressured. Fashion show photography is without a doubt one of the most technical and demanding types of shoot I do. Any fool can stand at the end of the runway and snap away. It’s not difficult. To do it properly though takes a lot of preparation and hard work. There is only one chance to get it right and if you’re shooting for the designer the pressure is immense. The designer needs to see *everything* front, back, sides, full length, 1/2 length, 1/4 length, detail, detail, detail.

As with all forms of fashion photography, runway is all about the dress. It has to come alive in the shot. The colours have to be right. The texture, the detail, the workmanship all have to show through.

Then there is the model. There is no direction so the timing has to be perfect to nail that killer shot. The sparkle in the eye, the swish of the skirt, that cheeky look back over the shoulder on the return. It’s all there for the taking. It’s all about the timing…

…and the breathing. In time with the model’s footsteps. Avoid the flamingo shot. Watch out for the “Herr Flick.” Time it just right. Fingers ablur on the back of the camera, constantly adjusting the exposure down the length of the runway and back again, in sympathy with the changing light. You’re at one with the camera and feeling the exposure all the way.

I’m in the “pit” with sometimes 50 or more photographers. We’re all competing for that killer shot. It’s hot, it’s cramped, the noise of the shutters is deafening. The cameraderie is great. Amongst the pro’s that is. They’re a good bunch. We’re all there to do a job.

Ten minutes and it’s all over. Ten minutes of intense concentration, arm ache and several hundred frames to download sub-edit and send off for publication.

Do I like doing it? No, I love it. There’s a buz and an atmosphere one doesn’t get on other types of shoot.

People often ask me how I deal with the pressure of shooting a wedding. “That’s nothing,” I always reply, “you try shooting a fasion show for a highly stressed designer. Now that’s pressure.”

What’s Involved…

Camera…

As with everything you have to have the right equipment. You can make do with a lower spec. body but your choice of lens is vitaly important. It has to be fast. I use an f/2.8 L lens for runway photography. I’ve tried an f/4 and it simply isn’t up to the job. The extra stop that the f/2.8 gives makes such a difference.

Then there is the focal length. You’ll need something that will allow you to get full length shots and detail shots. There is no opportunity to change lens during the show and there is hardly any time to switch to another body if you have one. You’re stuck with what the show starts with in most cases. I generally use my 70-200 f/2.8L lens if I have the space. I will use the 24-105 f/4L if I’m forced to do so but the image quality is never as good.

Light…

There is never enough light in my experience so a high ISO is the order of the day. Noise can be dealt with.

The biggest issue you will face is colour temperature though. This is fashion photography from the trenches and the colours MUST be right. The designer spends a lot of time sourcing fabrics and choosing colours. Bad colour in your images is a definite no-no imho. It’s what sorts the pros from the amateurs.

A bad shot will have an orange cast to it because the white balance wasn’t set correctly. Remember, most fashion shows will be under tungsten stage lighting so you’ll need to set the white balance correctly. I don’t like the preset and generally dial the colour temperature in manually, setting the Kelvin value myself. Others use a custom WB setting. How you do it is up to you. Just don’t use the auto setting. If you do the colours will change with every shot. If you’re shooting JPG you’ve just blown it for the client.

So now we’ve set out white balance up and we’re ready to go. Great. The disaster happens. The guy stood next to you gets his flash out. Major problem. His flash is daylight balanced. Your camera is tingsten balanced. Every time his flash fires you’r shots are going to go blue.Take a look at the image to the right – the blue light on the background is where I caught someone’s flash. He needs to gel his flash with a CTO filter. I wouldn’t worry though – he’ll use so much flash battery power trying to cover the length of the runway that his recycle times will be sooooo long he’ll only gets one or two shots per outfit. That won’t beenough.

Action…

When it comes to the show, don’t rush it. Don’t just lean on the motor drive and hope. You have to time the shots to the model’s stride. All around you you’ll hear the shutters and see flashes of the other photographers going off. Their shots don’t matter. Only yours will count. Keep your cool. Time your shots to the points on the runway where you have the best light then loose off a few. Adjust your exposure with the model’s position along the runway. Now you’re cooking with gas.

More importantly though – you’re saving your card. No matter how big it is, it’ll start to fill up with every shot. Changing a card during a runway show is a p.i.t.a. If you think you’re running out of space check the frame counter and get the new card ready a long time in advance of when you need it. (If you didn’t bring a spare card, go home now!) Time the gap between the models and change the card on the return before the next girl comes out. You can’t afford to miss an outfit whilst you fish around in your bag.

Relax…

The show will probably last about 10 minutes. When it’s over, take a breather whilst you download the images from the card and prepare for the ong wait to the next one.