First Fashion Show - C&C Please

[Rafterman]

Background on the shoot: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...oting-fashion-show-am-i-missing-anything.html

The lighting was awful for this show. The runway was about 2-1/2 feet high, and the photographers were on the ground. As the models approached the end and posed, we were all so low, that the majority of my shots ended up having the lights from the 20-foot ceiling in the photo. Models had lights either flanking them, or sticking straight out of their heads. I tried my darndest to acquire some sort of box or riser to stand on, but no joy. I did the best I could. We had no space to reposition ourselves for a better angle either. None of the other photographers had much better luck than I did. When I turn in the pics tomorrow, I intend on talking with the organizer about choosing a better location for next year's show. The 17-55 f/2.8 I rented was a bit too wide (as many people had suggested, and I ignored), so I shot pretty much the entire show with my 85mm 1.8D lens. Next year, a 70-200 2.8 will be the lens of choice for sure.

Here's a few of the nicer ones where I was able to avoid the ceiling lights. C&C please if you'd be so kind.

1. 2. 3. 4.

And one shot to show the bad lighting.



Just in case anyone was curious, I used a shoe mount flash with a Stofen diffuser, and shot in aperture priority mode at around f/2 to f/2.8 with continuous servo focus limited to 21-points.

 

[tirediron]

Looks like very odd lighting for a runway event! Seems you did your best to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear though.

 

[Tiller]

Looks like very odd lighting for a runway event! Seems you did your best to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear though.

Now that's an analogy!

 

[Rafterman]

Looks like very odd lighting for a runway event! Seems you did your best to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear though.

Haha, thanks. Yeah, the lighting was more set up for a motivational speaker at a conference than a fashion show. A show that took place on campus earlier in the week definitely made out better than we did.

 

[tirediron]

A show that took place on campus earlier in the week definitely made out better than we did.

THAT looks more like the lighting I'd expect!

 

[Derrel]

Looks like very odd lighting for a runway event! Seems you did your best to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear though.

Haha, thanks. Yeah, the lighting was more set up for a motivational speaker at a conference than a fashion show. A show that took place on campus earlier in the week definitely made out better than we did.

I found model #2 to be very motivational...

Ya did alright considering how tough the conditions were...these seem adequate...in-focus and all...

 

[texkam]

Since this is a "fashion" show, I would expect to see product. Only #2 shows me this, but the head and foot kissing the edge of the frame is visually disturbing in this shot. A fashion show is not about the models, but rather the creations of the designers. You need to showcase this. The framing on #s 1,3 & 4 would not make the designer very happy.

 

[gsgary]

They are ok, but im sure you cound have found a better position for cleaner backgrounds

 

[Rafterman]

Since this is a "fashion" show, I would expect to see product. Only #2 shows me this, but the head and foot kissing the edge of the frame is visually disturbing in this shot. A fashion show is not about the models, but rather the creations of the designers. You need to showcase this. The framing on #s 1,3 & 4 would not make the designer very happy.

I have a photo of each outfit from all 11 designers that are framed like #2 and show the whole ensemble. In addition to full-body shots which display the entire outfit, I have numerous other photos that were taken closer up to showcase little details about the garments, including color, texture, and other unique style accents. I'm confident the designers will be satisfied with the images considering the environment they were shot in.

They are ok, but im sure you cound have found a better position for cleaner backgrounds

Actually no, I couldn't find a better position. Apparently you missed this sentence in the original post.

We had no space to reposition ourselves for a better angle either.

This was not a New York or Paris fashion show. It was put on by a college, in a poorly-chosen room, with unflattering, unexciting lighting. The area for photographers had no risers to get us off the floor, and was VERY cramped. We were flanked by the audience on one side and A/V equipment and a wall on the other. Again, I plan to have a talk with the organizer from the college to see about having a better setup for next time that would permit better lit, more flattering photos.

 

[texkam]

I have a photo of each outfit from all 11 designers that are framed like #2 and show the whole ensemble. In addition to full-body shots which display the entire outfit, I have numerous other photos that were taken closer up to showcase little details about the garments, including color, texture, and other unique style accents. I'm confident the designers will be satisfied with the images considering the environment they were shot in.

Great. So is there a reason you chose to show us these then for critique?

 

[Rafterman]

Great. So is there a reason you chose to show us these then for critique?

Just gettin' feedback man. Just gettin' feedback. Thanks for sharing your 2-cents.

 

[texkam]

Just gettin' feedback man. Just gettin' feedback.

In addition to full-body shots which display the entire outfit, I have numerous other photos that were taken closer up to showcase little details about the garments, including color, texture, and other unique style accents.

IDK, seems like you would be interested in getting feedback on work that best relates to the craft of fashion photography ^ ^ ^ . Good luck to you.

 

[gsgary]

Shot 2 i would have moved to the right and lower, or shot with a longer lens wide open

 

[texkam]

Shot 2 i would have moved to the right and lower, or shot with a longer lens wide open

Having shot a fashion show, I can tell you you just can't always move freely, something mentioned in the OP. Shooting wide open presents problems, for the lack of DOF can bite you in the rear in many cases. The action is fast and you want to make sure you catch all the details of the outfits.

 

[Pallycow]

Why shoot at f/2 and f/2.8?

Did you not have a powerful enough flash to hit them?

My thinking is that if you nuked with flash, even shoe mounted, the lighting of the event would have been irrelevant as you would not have picked up ambient lighting. Then you could adjust color temp in LR later for the nuking of them with flash.

just my thoughts.