‘Grr’ by CoinaPhoto user Dawn Tweddell  

From perfect poses to quick changes of clothing, capturing a faultless, prizewinning photo on the runway can be a very difficult process to get to grips with. It does take a lot of preparation and experience of equipment to nail the perfect shot, but it can be done! Recently we announced an exclusive competition with London College of Fashion Short Courses in which short course students can submit their ‘Behind the Scenes’ to win prizes.

With this in mind we have taken the time at CoinaPhoto to provide both students and budding fashion photographers with 3 tips to give you a head start. Whilst fashion photography is an art form in itself we’d love for you to be able to capture the beauty and elegance of models on the catwalk without too much difficulty. By following our 3 step guide you’ll be taking stunning shots in no time.

1. Flip the camera and set your focus

The purpose of a catwalk is for the audience to see the whole outfit that the model is wearing. Therefore, flipping your camera to a vertical position will allow you to fit the full body in the frame of the photo revealing the different costume choices on display.

Trying to capture a clear photo whilst models are moving up and down the runway can be a difficult skill to acquire. If your camera has a focus tracking setting to it, then make sure this is put in place – it will allow you to lock in on the model’s face and follow them on the catwalk. However, if your camera does not have this setting, then you can focus on a specific spot in advance and then press the shutter when the model arrives. Alternately, you can manually adjust the focus as you go, but this can be tiresome and could limit your concentration on the models.

2. Find your place and perfect your positioning

When taking a photo, you want to position yourself approximately 10 to 20 feet from the runway stage or floor so that you are directly vertical to the line of sight. This will allow you to get the correct angle for the perfect image. In addition, make sure that you are placed at a low position to increase the height of the model providing them with a ‘hero’ look to your photos. You can either kneel or lay on the ground in order for you to capture this angle.

Hendi Syarifuddin has got his positioning right during this catwalk!

3. Don’t wait for the pause!

Models are constantly moving down the runway making it difficult to capture a photo that is not blurry, but you should not wait for them to stop at the top of the catwalk. You should aim to show off the clothing with its natural movement. Take a numerous amount of photos at a time to increase your chance of a flawless image. You should only take a photo at the top of the runway as a backup in case you did not nail the shot while the model was moving.

Take a look at this image taken by Oliver Samy. This photograph has captured the model whilst moving.

The Right Camera

For shooting catwalks, you only need to bring two lenses to the show: one that has a wide-angle zoom for the shots at the back, and a telephoto zoom for the actual runway. We suggest to have a zoom that ranges from 24-70mm for the backstage shots and 70-200mm for the runway.

In addition, having a fast lens will be very useful when trying to capture the prize-giving photo, it would be good to have a lens with at least an f/2.8 aperture in order to suit the lighting. However, catwalks are usually well lit, so you can probably get away with a smaller maximum aperture.

If you have taken any catwalk photographs then we would love to see them. Make sure you upload your snaps CoinaPhoto with the fashion tag – you might even earn yourself some coins!

What are your favourite fashion photos? Let us know.