Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Melbourne, Fashion - Flirting with fashion photography at the Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival


The super stunning Melissa George (the bisexual intern, Sadie Haris, in Grey's Anatomy). By far the most stunning on that day (yes, even more so than Megan Gale and Rachael Finch). 














As you would know from my previous post, one of the prizes from winning the Nikon "Fashion Full Stop" assignment was a media and backstage pass to the Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival's (LMFF) opening runway show, Fashion Full Stop. Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, it was indeed quite a big venue befitting the 'rock spectacular' that was promised.

To sum it all up in one word, it was Challenging (for technical reasons). Here're some reasons why:

1) The colours of the lights that kept changing. This means I had to constantly be vigilant of my White Balance settings.

2) Exposure. Dark hall lit by spotlights is tricky. Sometimes the model might be under harsh lights, sometimes the model might be backlit.

3) Moving subjects. Except for the key pose at the tip of the runway, the models are mostly in motion. The challenge is to keep the models in focus while taking care of framing as well as fill flash correctly.

4) Lens reach. I think for runway shows, it is ideal to have a long telephoto lens, perhaps a Nikon 70-200mm. I was limited by my 24-70mm.

5) Limitations as to where you could stand. There are pre-determined places for media and one has to be extremely careful not to block other photographers, and most importantly, video cameras which are running live. Otherwise, there'll be VERY unhappy pros (hey, their careers are on the line here). It is therefore not easy to vary the angles.


After this experience, I have a greater appreciation of the usual fashion runway shots you see in the papers. Sure, the composition is usually not the most creative. But it is not really about that.

Beyond being able to get a well-exposed, in focus, balance-coloured shot where the model is not in a funny position, fashion runway shoot is about picking out details of the collection.

It's about being able to see the texture of the dress.

It's about the energy and excitement at the show.

It's about making the viewer of the photo feel like they're there in front row seats.

By that, how do you think I did for a first-timer? Click the "Like" button beside this post's title to vote! :D





4 comments:

  1. Fantastic shots buddy! U r gonna do great big time! :)

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  2. haha...great exposure! should be fun yet challenging ya to photoshoot at the backstage...

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  3. Kelvin: Wow thanks mate. Great words of encouragement indeed! Hope ur right!

    Zaa: Yeah very technically challenging. Whole different ball game compared to portraits. Though, I think portraits are tougher due to the critical interaction btwn photographer and the sitter in order to get the best out of him/her.

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  4. wow! we're very impressed. keep it up buddy.
    BenSha

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