Fashion catwalk photography.

Messiah Khan

Messiah Khan

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Alasdair Fowler
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Hello all.

On Wednesday im helping out with the fashion show here at work(I work in a 6th form college), and im going to be head video/photography guy. I havent been doing photography for very long, but im getting on pretty well I think, and im sure I can do better than in previous years. Im wanting to get some really nice shots to both impress the other staff, but also so I can have some nice shots(Of a type that I wouldn't normally get) for my portfolio.

So has anyone done anything similar to this before? Any tips or tricks? Does anyone know of any websites that have really good examples of catwalk photography?

Im going to be using a Nikon D70 with the stock lens.(Not a huge amount I can do about this, other than maybe using the D50s we have at work, or use my own D40x). I'll be also using a tripod, although its a cheap jessops one, so I might bring along my Manfrotto that has turned up today. The catwalk setup is a quite large stage ~20ft x 30ft with a long catwalk stage coming off this for about ~50-60ft. There is going to be a projector shining designs onto a sheet at the back of the stage, and coloured spot/stage lighting hangin from the ceiling, illuminating the whole stage area. Any help or tips at all are greatly appreciated.:)
 
Get a good spot, nice and high (level with the catwalk). Depends on the lighting, might want to use high ISO instead of the Flash (Fill Flash) at most.
 
Yeah, i was thinking that avoiding using a flash was the best bet. Hopefully my collegue should do a good job with the lighting, and I don't really want to cause a distraction to the show. I was thinking of trying to position myself near the corner of the end of the catwalk stage, so that they would be right near my when they turn around. This sound about right?
 
Obvioulsy they won't be professional models but I would think that when they "strike a pose" at the end of the runway that would be ideal picture time. This is just a guess as I've never done anythign of the sort. Sounds like fun though. Good luck!
 
Ian T said:
Setup well beforehand and do some test shots first.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i'll certainly be doing that to work out the ISO required etc. Im also in charge of 2 video cameras, so I need to set them up as well.

h.r.ford said:
Obvioulsy they won't be professional models but I would think that when they "strike a pose" at the end of the runway that would be ideal picture time. This is just a guess as I've never done anythign of the sort. Sounds like fun though. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Yeah, im hoping to get close to the stage at the 'strike a pose' part of the stage. I think the models will be students, showing off clothes designed by the fashion students. It should be fun, but its going to be a long day.(8:00-22.30) I really hope I get some portfolio worthy material out of it all.:)
 
I once did a Vivienne Westwood show for PA at the V&A when I was on loan to them. Usually there'll be a photo-stand at the end of the catwalk esp for phots to use. The one we had was about 3' higher than the catwalk itself and some guys even used stepladders to get higher. We got the lighting guy to go through the whole lighshow for us and in the end I left my camera set to auto as the range of colours used was too many for an effective custom white-balance to work - if you shoot RAW, you'll be fine with this.
Because of the bright light on the subject, you'll need to be on manual as the meter will be fooled by the large amount of black around the subject. Get up on stage and do a close-up reading first, or alternatively use the spot-meter setting if you have one.
Higher shutter speeds are essential so you may have to 'up' the ISO despite the increase in noise that'll cause.
I used a 70-200 f/2.8 and it was about right for the distance at the V&A, but you'll be checking all that according to your venue.

Hope that helps.
 
Thank you, thats a spot on answer Arkady. Im quite looking forward to it now. Im also hoping to get some candid style shots of the designers/models if I get time.
 
Lol, they sure do. But it has been suggested that a female student might be better taking the dressing room shots.;) Ive had a look at the stage setup a bit ago and scoped out some good spots for the video cameras(probably going to have 3) and for me to take pics. I think they're going to have the catwalk back to front though :/ As in they will be coming on at the end of the catwalk, walking along to the stage at the back, doing a twirl, then walking back down the catwalk and off.:thinking: No idea why, but thats not my decision. Theres also going to be band on during the break, so I should hopefully get some good shots of that as well.
 
Hmmm... wear a dress...? If they were Pro models it wouldn't be a drama (you talk to them first so they get to know you're not just perving...or in my case...); since it's a 6th Form College, I assume the models will be also. Stay well away from the changing areas and let a female (straight - for the same reasons - some girls don't like being letched at by the dungaree-brigade) do the backstage stuff.
 
Yeah, all the models will be students, so with me being a male member of staff the dressing room is obviously a no go area. I think i'll be busy enough out in the show area though anyway. Shame I don't have access to a longer lens. Im going to get as close to the stage as I want, but I still feel the stock 18-55mm lens is a little short.
 
Don't think so tbh. I don't really know anyone that does photography, and all the camera here at work only have the stock lenses. My dad has a 50-150mm (Or something like that) Olympus lens, but im really not used to hios camera, and I recon it would be more trouble than good. Id also be worried about looking after his camera. Im probably going to be using the Art departments D70, but im also considering taking my own D40x, as im much more used it, and have more memory cards for it.
 
Just realised the lens on the D70s are 18-70mm, not 18-55mm so thats a little better. Still wouldn't mind something with a bit more reach like.
 
Well ive just come back from the show. Im just transferring my images now (All 1600ish of them:thumbs: ) Looks like ive certainly got more than a handfull of decent ones. I was really struggling with the low light though. In the end I was shooting at 1600 ISO, so I might have to run the best ones through Noiseware. I was also having to time my shots in time with the lights flashing on and off. I wish I had a longer lens though, the 18-55 was just a tiny bit too short. A 70 or even 90mm would have been perfect, but there wasn't much I could do about that. Once ive processed all the pics, i'll post some for C&C.:)
 
Glad it went well and looking forward to the shots ! Would love to try something like this someday. Would be cool :)
 
As promised, here are a few of the shots;

1.
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2.
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3.
dsc03332editfilteredlm5.jpg


I know they are a bit soft, but as mentioned I was really having to fight against the lighting conditions which wasn't the easiest thing on the stock lens. Most of the shots where on ISO1600 and 1/50 shutter speed. Because of the noise, ive run some of them through Noiseware which has made them look a lot better, but also made them somewhat softer. Next time im going to get hold of a F1.2 18-300mm lens, lol.
 
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