All Words and Photos By Trevor Broad:
From November 3-8 I was invited to be part of the media for Vancouver Fashion Week and of course I jumped at the opportunity to spend the week photographing and mingling with models and designers. It was also a fantastic chance to see just what the Vancouver fashion industry has to offer. Im interested in fashion photography and have done some fashion photoshoots myself but I had never shot runway shows so I took the opportunity to get as much experience and make as many contacts as possible.
The first thing I learned about photographing runway shows is: the formula for shooting runway models gets tedious quick. Take photos of the model when she comes out, as she walks the catwalk, and as she poses, turns, and walks away. Don't get me wrong, at first its great. Beautiful girl after girl come out and shoot you sexy looks and you think, this is sweet! But after awhile of taking the same shots over and over I started looking for variation--which can be tough to find. For one, changing the angle of your shots is limited because your stuck in your spot and cant move around; you have 15 other photographers around you all jarring for a shot. Second, your photography's not the main point, neither is the model. It's all about the designs. Thats why everyone is there, thats what its all about, the fashion. So your forced to focus on a few different photo compositions that feature each models design.
After awhile I said screw it. I started playing around with photo composition as much as I co I still took the standard shots as well but mixing it up made me enjoy the experience that much more. In all I took about 2000 photos. Going through them all, editing, and rating them has almost driven me to insanity. But I survived, and I have chosen photos from four different shows to give you an idea of the variety that Vancouver Fashion Week offered.
First is PORSCIA's show. She is a local designer here in Vancouver. I have to say, she has taken her designs to a whole new level. Her clothing was the most elegant and sophisticated of the show. It was the high-end line of Vancouver Fashion Week. I chose these photos to reflect her label (minus my not-so-elegant watermark).
Find her at http://www.porscia.com/
Ginger Martini. I met the designer of Ginger Martini at the VFW Opening Gala. She handed me a sheet-metal business card with the name "Ginger Martini" printed on it. I introduced myself and ask her what her name was, she replied "Ginger Martini," to which I replied, "oh no, I mean whats your name? Again she replied, "Ginger Martini!"
Ginger is looking to create an impact in the fashion industry that leaves a lasting impression. You can see what I mean if you look at the wicked red coat in the second photo, or the golden fleece in the third, which reminds me of Jason and the Argonaughts! (anyone?). But she doesn't just make this impression with her lines, she does it by giving out sheet-metal business cards and by creating a label and adopting the name as her own. So to reflect her label I chose high impact photos to show Ginger Martini's new designs.
Find her at http://www.gingermartini.com/
Anelore Popa. I don't know Anelore Popa and unfortunately I didn't have chance to meet her during the week. However, her show at VFW was fantastic. Her designs were vibrant and shimmering which made for some great photos. I would love to do a photoshoot with Analore's designs. As she showed lots of long dresses and bright shiny jewellery and makeup I tried to find photos that best illustrated this.
Kersh. I loved Kersh's show. The designs were sort of a bohemian-hippy-beach vibe and none of the models wore shoes. Plus they all had that thick messy hair look goin on, kinda like they had been rolling around in the sand for an hour. Other than the hippie look, however, the runway show was high fashion all the way. Not because of the line, but because of the models, their hair and makeup, and their attitudes. Take a look at the photos and maybe you'll get sense of what I mean.
