[Zafar Iqbal]

I've been asked to photograph a small fashion show. I'm invited to see the facility beforehand in few days, whereas the actual event takes place in about a month. I can influence the setup such as spot lights a bit. What should I bare in mind in order to be able to capture good photos?

I have fast lenses but would rather stop down a bit for increased sharpness. I'd also like to freeze motion but have low noise (max ISO 166 would be nice). I'd prefer not to use on camera flash.

Angles? I'm thinking straight on from the end of the catwalk - I'd like to use longer focals such as 70mm or longer, however guests could get in the way. Could/Should I place myself higher up or are lower angle shots better?

I don't like using wide angles, but could be forced to do so if its too crowded.

Basically I'd like any input that can help me get my exposures right - I believe I will have some saying in the light, so tips on that would be appreciated as well. The spots, I believe belong to the facility and are not specific/chosen for catwalk.

This is the best photo of the place I can currently find - Ill take better reference photos and test shots while I'm there before the actual event: http://kulturogfritid.kk.dk/sites/default/files/styles/lead_article/public/S...2020120724.png

My gear - K-30 and I plan on using 21mm ltd and 70mm ltd - also have Sigma 17-50 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8, but I find the Sigmas to be slower once the light gets dimmer.

Oh and btw - the models will naturally be moving. Moving directly towards camera = scary (AF speed/accuracy).

[JinDesu]

Use expanded area AF tracking with the k-30. It's meant to handle moving objects (at least better than the k-5's you've had )

If you can move around, the 21mm and 70mm would be pretty much all you need - and if you're shooting models, you shouldn't really be hoping for uber sharpness, so shooting the 21 wide open is good. If you can't move around, the 17-50 is your best bet. I don't think the 70-200 would be fantastic at such an event unless you are standing (because as a telephoto, anything in your way is going to be really annoying to worka round).

Personally, I'd use something in the 24-70/28-75 range that is sharp wide open, and CA free when stopped to F4. Catwalk lighting + white clothing = tons of CA if the lens is wrong.

[Zafar Iqbal]

I'd be mad if I can't move just a little bit :P the 21 and 70mm ltd are my trusted lenses and provide good quality. Haven't used Expanded AF and Continues shooting too much. Did a quick test shortly after buying the K-30 and the AF was a bit too slow when subject was moving directly towards the camera. He was rather close though but still.

I'll also ask the organizer to instruct the models to strike a pose or two by the end of the catwalk.

[tuggie76]

I'd be mad if I can't move just a little bit :P the 21 and 70mm ltd are my trusted lenses and provide good quality. Haven't used Expanded AF and Continues shooting too much. Did a quick test shortly after buying the K-30 and the AF was a bit too slow when subject was moving directly towards the camera. He was rather close though but still.

I'll also ask the organizer to instruct the models to strike a pose or two by the end of the catwalk.

I once attended a seminar at the Toronto Digital Imaging Show where they set up 2 veritcal soft boxes at the begining of the runway and had the models pause long enough for a shot there, so possibly taking some time to set up some flashes at a point along the catwalk with a line to show them where to stop to allow a fixed focus point, would help. The main problem would be that this would be the only shot unless you have another camera.

Tuggie76

[Eric Auer]

Unless you have two bodies I would go for a short zoom like a Tamron 28-75:2.8 or the Pentax 21977 DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

[JinDesu]

Depending on the catwalk shoot, the models will do 1, 2, or 3 pauses. You may need the first few models to get your timings right, but generally you don't want to shoot until the pose (unless they are wearing something that looks fantastic in motion).

[westmill]

Im not sure if the 30 is the same as the K5 but if it is you can use the built in flash as a command flash. this will allow you to place your main flash in an appropiate place. If you can find a safe convenient place to put it. This will allow you to put the flash closer with a diffuser fitted while you can be anywhere. What could be a problem is if there are people firing off flash too lol. Wired would work of course as long as you have a safe route. Ideally you need a comand device so you can select a different channel. Alternativley catwalk models stop and pose in a spotlight at the end of the walk and strike a pose. Use manual focus and pre focus on this spot.

[Zafar Iqbal]

Tuggie76: Good idea - I have 3 flashes but no modifiers. They might still be useful as fill lights. I also don't have any stands and once used Gaffers tape on a wall - that was a bit messy and didn't look too secure :P

Corto-PA: I'll be bringing 2 bodies and I'm currently leaning towards using 21 and 70mm. I'll probably use even faster lenses when doing closeups, to blow the background out.

JinDesu: Yes, and I'll make sure to talk with the organizer about this. Also to make sure there no sudden surprises I'd be likely to miss etc.

'm mostly concerned about the light and ISO noise though. I'd love to hear more suggestions on this area - also, later we'll do closeups with much less rush. As mentioned, I don't have modifies and harsh light is just yuk if it's too hard/powerful. Bouncing is so-so, unless I find a neat way of doing so. Don't have many ideas right now except shooting closeups from a higher angle to get rid of any darkening under the eyes.

westmill: I own Cactus v5 as well, so that solves it. I see two option to where I could place the flashes. By the end of the catwalk - down low (poor placement) or up high. Looks like they have spot light rigging up there I could take them on to.

Placing them at a distant should be better as well, yes? I mean, if they are placed too close then the falloff is is more obvious while when placed further away, I get a sifter falloff and thereby also a larger working area.

I might be over thinking this but the only similar thing I've shot have been at weddings - and these kind of shots (people moving towards the camera in low light on top of that, is super hard to get right.

[westmill]

If you place the flash to one side at about 45 degrees with a stofen fitted it will work well. better still if you have one on the camera too to act as fill in. I would not worry about fall off. If you need to move the flash further than its range then remove the stofen diffuser. Distance alone will soften the light. Ive even had some one to hold the flash before now, when it was not safe or a convienient place to place a stand or fix a gun. The camera does a fair job in controlling the flash. I turn down the flash on camera a stop which also affects the main flash so i turn that one up a stop. It works very well. Do not forget that the camera controls the exposure. So you can shoot anywhere as long as they are within the range of your flash.

[Zafar Iqbal]

Thank you for the tip. I plan on doing some test shooting when I visit the place before the main event, also to find my angles - the excising light will most likely differ since the visit and main event will be weeks apart.

Edit: Just found this. Looks like something I might face regarding light levels and the photo looks rather nice: http://alvia.deviantart.com/art/Catwalk-Shoot-II-191803876
Face is blown, and I fear that as well because of the low ceiling where I'll be shooting.

[kenyee]

They'll pause at the end. Get photos of the front and back. Just use AF-C mode and switch to using your AF button to focus and lock it on a spot where they'll pause.

I've done this w/ a K20D in poor lighting and it was fine...you need on-cam flash for fill though, unless you can set up off-cam flashes and lightstands (doubtful if it's the usual fashion catwalk show)...

[Zafar Iqbal]

This is a photo taken earlier today by the organizer. I wasn't abl to attend due to short notice:

photo hosting sites


This is taken from the entrance - the exact opposite angle than the very first photo I linked to.

I do not know how flexible the stage setup is. I suspect that's how it will be during the fashion show, but I could be wrong. There's spotsligts. Anything to keep in mind?

Glad to see the green walls - more interesting than the ever so classic white walls (for portrait shoots, group photos and whatnot)

I'll meet up with the organizer and the models next weekend to do a test run (not this exact hall unfortunately). This will give us the opportunity to talk things through and plan a few things out. It's going to be simple stuff. I do not want to over complicate it for the models.

The stage is high enough that I think I should position myself far away so I can use longer focals to just cover head and shoulders.

There is a second row of spotlights - I'm thinking og giving the facility holders a call and ask them if I could use these spots to do a "studio" setup somewhere towards the wall. Or should I, if I can, have these act as filler lights for the stage?

[Zafar Iqbal]

The show was held 2 days ago. It was a lot fun and exciting but very different than expected. The setup was pretty much as depicted on previous photo. I had to set the lighting myself. I aimed for evenly spread lighting, but the whole stage setup was just boring and cluttered - at least it it was all black in the background the the photos would have turned out much much more exciting.

There was a projector and I wasn't aware it would be projecting on to the models as well (out of necessity) and this caused funny things to show on the models faces including stuff like desktop icons.

I was told there would be some dancing but not how fast it actually was going to be. It was insanely fast dancing :| I didn't want to use too high ISO because of the show being fashion related and I (correctly) assumed too much noise would be disliked. Instead sprayed and prayed like hell and my K-30's had hard time keeping up :P

I came home with useful shots but many are just dull. They don't have that wow factor going on. All the clutter makes a lot of them look like random point and shoot shots

On the brighter side of things: I hung out with the models for 10 hours. Was in the dresser room too but got kicked out momentarily after :P

[JinDesu]

Post some up!

Sometimes I really think the wow factor comes from taking shots outside the normal FLs. Wide angles from very near, or telephotos from far definitely help.

[Zafar Iqbal]

I'll make sure to post some once I've been though all the proofing and basic processing. The organizer wants to be involved in the proofing process so it might take some time.