High School Fashion Show

[mdtusz]

I was debating whether to put this here or in the beginner section...

Anyways, I've been asked to shoot at my old high schools fashion show they put on every year. It's in a dark gym, but they have lots of fresnel lights shooting up from the floor onto an elevated catwalk. I have one sb600 and am planning on buying another, but it may not be possible. Do you guys think that this will be enough light? I'll be using my 50 f/1.8 most likely because I'll be right up in the front and along the sides of the stage (it's about 4 feet tall or so). Here's the design of the stage with *'s where lights will be.
_*__
| |
* * * * | |*
___________________| |
___________________ |*
| |
* * * * | |*
|___|
*

Approximately like that with other gelled lights around the gym and spots coming from the front diagonals on both sides.

Do I really need more strobes?


Edit: DAMN My diagram didn't work. Basically a T shaped catwalk with ungelled fresnel lights surrounding the edges pointing up.

 

[DRoberts]

Are you getting paid? If so, and the school has asked you to do this, you might consider renting lights and setting them up before hand.

 

[mdtusz]

Nope, no pay for this. It's just out of the goodness of my heart haha. I only graduated last year so I'm friends with a lot of the kids putting the show on so I thought I'd do them a favour. I would rather just buy some lights then rent them... I know I'll use them in the future. I was just wondering if you guys thought that the available light would be enough. I know fresnel lamps are pretty damn bright, I just wasn't sure if there would be enough available light to get my shutter speed up into the hundreds. I'd aim for minimum 1/100th shooting people struttin their stuff haha. Hopefully my prime will be fast enough. If not, I'll supplement with the sb600 from camera left or right from the corners of the stage (there's speakers on the corners I can hide it behind).

 

[Big Mike]

I wouldn't bother with getting another flash.

First thing I'd try, would be to shoot without flash. The stage lights may be enough, but make sure you set your exposure for the models as they are lit by the lights (not the background etc). The light should be pretty consistent, at least for certain spots on the stage, so if you are set for that, it should be pretty easy. The tough part may be if the lighting isn't consistent, they may be moving from bright to dark as they walk.

You probably don't want to shoot at F1.8, as the DOF may be pretty thin and it may be hard to get good focus on moving subjects. But you obviously want fast shutter speeds. Don't be afraid to ISO up if you need to.

If there just isn't enough light, then go with flash. One problem will be that the flash is likely to be a different color than the stage/gym lights, so keep that in mind.

 

[mdtusz]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking about the lights too. If need be, I will have tons of gels at my disposal to match the light colour. Any tips on angles and framing I could use? I looked a bit at the 'pro' catwalk shoots and they all seem to shoot just head on or a bit to the side. I was thinking I could take a few with a wide angle from low down because it's more of a fun and 'cool' show than high fashion and the kids will be goofing around when they get to the end of the catwalk. Any other ideas?

 

[Big Mike]

There is a big difference between shooting a fashion show and doing a fashion photo shoot.

When on the runway, it's more about just shooting what is there...not a lot of creativity (or so I would assume). So while it may be fun to get close and use wide angles etc, it might cause you to miss the standard shot of that and other outfits/models etc.

How about this, besides shooting the runway event, maybe you could also set up some photo shoots before or after the event. You will have models who are dresses up, with hair & make-up done, so maybe you can take advantage of that. Take them outside or to some good looking spots in and around the school. That sounds like a lot more fun that just shooting the runway. Good for your portfolio as well.

 

[mdtusz]

:thumbup: Sounds like a great idea. The school has squash courts that I have some ideas with now that you mention it. I found myself another sb600 to use as well.

 

[redtippmann]

Why cant my school be this cool?

 

[mdtusz]

Ahaha. It was a rich kid private school. Don't get me started about being a spoiled brat though. I've worked and paid for every penny of my gear myself...

But yes, it was a gorgeous school. Squash courts, 3 gyms, 3 full size rugby fields and a cricket pitch, on hallways, only outdoor corridors... ahh, I wish I was still there. I hear they're building a pool there too.

 

[mdtusz]

That's the plan for now. It is "only" a high school fashion show, but the school will use the pictures for advertising (private school) and the clothing stores around the city who supply the clothes have liked getting copies as well. I figure I may as well take the shots as best I can... that's what we should all be doing all the time.

I know now that I said that the clothing stores like getting copies too, someone is going to pounce on me about copyrighting and use licenses, but I really don't care. The supply stores are all low budget local boutiques who at the very most would submit a picture in a local business mag or something of that sort (if any of my pictures turn out well that is ).

 

[RONDAL]

you should care about getting waivers signed so if YOU want to use the photos later on you can. its called a model release, and a search will turn up a lot on it

 

[mdtusz]

Already got that covered. All the students who are walking are signing a release form for me basically saying I can use the pictures however I want (including giving them to the boutique shops with the waivers included). Would an electronic copy (scanned) be valid to give to the boutiques? I don't want to have to photocopy all 60 or so waivers or have the kids sign like 5 copies .

Sorry for my ignorance, I'm new to the more professional commercial side of photography.

 

[skieur]

Watch your camera angles! When models are on a catwalk and you are shooting fairly close, the results can be unintended distortion, shooting up someone's nose, or some other unflattering but inadvertent emphasis.

When considering camera angles, also look at what will be in the backgrounds of your shots that you may or may not want. Whether you use a shallow depth of field or not, you don't want colours that would distract the eye from the colours of the clothes. Since you are in a gym, part of a basketball net, wall clock, speaker, microphone etc. would needless to say also be visually distracting.

Looking forward to seeing some of the shots.

skieur

 

[gsgary]

You need to do some research because shooting a fashion show is not just snap and hope you need to hit your shots at the right time. You need to be at the end of the runway head on shots looking down the runway http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1662753_1446487,00.html , as they get to the end of the runway they will pose and turn hit the shot right and you will have some good shots, get some behind the scenes shots London Fashion Week - Photo Essays - TIME
Look for unusual shots London Fashion Week - Photo Essays - TIME

 

[mdtusz]

Thanks a ton for all those links! I'll definitely study through them when I get some time. As for the backgrounds, there will be black curtains hung around the gyms perimeter, but because it's dark enough and the gym is the size of most university gyms, I'm guessing that I will probably have a completely blackout background.

Thanks a ton guys, you've given me a lot to think about but it will definitely help!:thumbup: