Runway Photo Shoot

anonymouscuban

Our good friend's daughters celebrated their birthday yesterday. Somehow, I got sucked into an improptu catwalk photo shoot. What a blast. Not the greatest shots but they were a lot of fun. I wish I would've had my lighting... only had my speedlight which I had someone hold off camera.

Here are a few shots:

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joedif

Great job only using one off camera speedlight

sweet caroline

Oh, I'm sure the girls loved these! What fun!

Nikolai

Nice work, Alex!

Kudos for choosing off-camera lighting!

Runways are fun to shoot, and kids love them.

One nit: runway images looks best/most "fashionable" if taken just a few inches above the deck. This way even the tiniest kids look almost like supermodes.
The following image (taken a couple years ago during one of the "Kids Rock" fashion show series) does not pretend for any qualities, but demonstrates the vantage point/angle:



HTH

anonymouscuban

Thanks guys. Yeah, the girls had a blast as did I. Nik... makes sense to shoot low. I tried to get low but the walkway leading to the house was the runway so no stage to setup lower. As such, I did remember your advice to shoot full length shots of ladies at waist height or lower.

I had so much fun doing this. The girls were great. It was so funny to see them catwalking down the walkway. I told them where their mark was and sure enough, they stop and strike a pose. I only wish I had my strobes. I could only really fire one shot since the speedlight would take so long to recharge. With the strobes, I could have taken a few sequential shots, which would have been great. BTW, is this something that's done at girls birthdays? I could see this being a pretty big hit at parties especially if you can plan it and setup some strobes. Like I said, I brought my cam along just to grab a few snapshots. Had no idea that this was going to happen. It wasn't planned at all.

Nikolai

anonymouscuban wrote: »

Nik... makes sense to shoot low. I tried to get low but the walkway leading to the house was the runway so no stage sit down lower. As such, I did remember your advice to shoot full length shots of ladies at wait height or lower.

Yeah, I understand, it's not always possible. "Real" catwalks are typically elevated 3-4 ft above ground, making them surprisingly scary and dangerous to walk on, esp. in very high heels (hard to believe unless you actually try it). Makeshift ones are typically much lower (1-2 ft) or on the ground level, making it much harder to shoot properly...

Shooting below waist level is a correct default for a regular full body image. "Fashion" requires a bit more extreme setup, thus lowering vantage point and using wider angle lens for the "effect".

BTW, is this something that's done at girls birthdays? I could see this being a pretty big hit at parties especially if you can plan it and setup some strobes.

I can't say anything about the commonality, but it's definitely very easy to organize, girls (and even boys) would be thrilled, and it makes a great photo op/training exercise.
And if you're dealing with a slightly older/capable crowd (middle school and above) you can throw in some "Project runway" type of action, by asking them to create the outfits (a bunch of "3 for $10" T-shirts from flee market/fabric district make a great inexpensive starting point). It also allows kids who don't feel comfortable "modeling" to participate in creation. Much better way to spend a couple of hours compared to watching a clown or a movie...

anonymouscuban

Nikolai wrote: »

Yeah, I understand, it's not always possible. "Real" catwalks are typically elevated 3-4 ft above ground, making them surprisingly scary and dangerous to walk on, esp. in very high heels (hard to believe unless you actually try it).

Sounds like you've tried catwalking in heels Nik.. now that's something I don't I ever want to see a photo of.

I like the idea of having the kids make outfits. Our friend's daughter was a bit too shy to participate. I did grab this shot of her though that isn't too bad.



Here are a couple more from the runway:

Nikolai

anonymouscuban wrote: »

Sounds like you've tried catwalking in heels Nik.. now that's something I don't I ever want to see a photo of.

I tried in my regular shoes - it's scary enough even then. I can't even imagine what's it like in 6-inchers.

Agnieszka

Haha! Too cute! love the last one!