Inspired by the Dolce & Gabanna (D&G) annual Fashion Show in Como, Italy, my local photo meet up group hosted its very own masquerade fashion show at the Mayslake Peabody Estate.
We spend an afternoon at the estate photographing models in extravagant costumes designed and created by two of the members.
Jordanna and Carol planned the event for several weeks and designed the costumes. They truly outdid themselves. All the models looked amazing, spectacular and exotic on the “runway”.
Initially planned for 25 photographers, the event was overbooked. Crowds of photographers and their gear (soft boxes, flashes, etc.) made it hard to get a clean shot.
While we stood on both sides of the runway, I kept getting fellow photographers in the frame, after a few tries and fails of full body shots, I decided to focus on head shots only.
Later, as we went outside, and had more room to spread out, I was able to get some beautiful full-body shots.
Unfortunately, I had started to developed a mean headache and after a while I decided to called it a day, as much as it saddened me.
Though even if it was a shorter session then expected, I still got some good shots and earned valuable experience.
What did I learn from that shoot?
First off, be better prepared-
In the first half hour I had to figure out which lens would work best in this unique light situation. The place has some very bright spots and very dark niches. Additionally, there were lots of flash lights coming from other photographers and my own my flash wasn’t working properly.
I had to change my lenses several times which stressed me out, as each time I was all too aware of the photo opportunities I was loosing. For example, when it was time to take a group shot of all the models, I had the wrong lens (long lens 55-210mm F4.5-6.3) on my camera and by the time I had finally changed it, the group had split.
The more nervous you get the more mistakes you make-
Going into the photo shoot, I was already jittery due to my inexperience with portrait photography. On top of that, the place was jam-packed and completely hectic. Plus, there was the internal stress that I had to capture each model in various poses during the short time that they were on the runway. And since there were always various photographers instructing the models on how to pose and who to look at, it often left me with little to no time to compose my own shoot. So, all of that left me nervous and frantic, which proved detrimental to my ability to focus on what I needed to do next and how to best do it and my hands were definitely not as calm as I would have liked them to be.
Give it time and don’t give up-
So, after this frustrating runway experience and due the throbbing headache I had, I was almost ready to go home.
Then the big group split into smaller teams, which helped me be more comfortable because I could just focus on one or two models. I took some more pictures inside, but my flash continued to give me more problems.
After a while a small group of models and photographers left the mansion and set up some scenes outside. I joined them and sat down at a picnic bench to take a breath. The lake view and nature calmed my nerves and I decided to give this another shot.
I picked the appropriate lens for outside (a 35mm/1.8 F prime lens), and worked with a very patient model.
In the end, my head was still hurting, but I left with some nice shots taken at the lake and the valuable lesson to never give up and keep trying.
What experience have you had, where you struggled with the learning curve more than you expected?
Tell me in the comments…
Live inspired and keep shooting.