How to shoot a runway model on a catwalk

As soon as the rehearsal entered mid-November, my WeChat Moments were swiped by the news of "Quancheng Fashion International Fashion Week". I was still quite excited when I saw the news. I prepared equipment and started shooting at that time. Due to personal time conflicts, only the show on November 21 was filmed. Encountering this kind of activity, I believe that many friends who love photography will want to shoot. How can we shoot a model catwalk? Next, I will share my shooting experience.

Taiwan model catwalk shooting skills

First, choose the shooting position

The position facing the T stage is an excellent position. Usually, the catwalk scene will be opposite the T stage, and a special photo booth will be set up. As photographers, if we want to grab a middle position, we must go early. When you go there, try to bring a telescopic ladder with a height of about 50cm. If there is someone in front of you blocking you, you can stand on a ladder to shoot, or sit on it to rest when you are not shooting. This one was taken from the front, which fully shows the characteristics of the clothing and the model. The position of this one is a little bit off, there is an extra column in the background, and the visual effect is not as simple as the previous photo.

Second, the choice of photographic equipment

A telephoto lens is essential. We were far away from the runway, and with a telephoto lens, we could easily shoot panoramas, close-ups, and even close-ups of models. Commonly used 70-200mm lens, or 400mm prime lens. For this photo, I used a 70-200mm lens. We use a telephoto lens, which also helps to blur our background.

Three, how to set up the camera

1, shutter speed 1/800 sec--1/1000 sec

Any photo we take (except special effects), we all want this The photo is clear. To get a clear photo, we have to shoot with a relatively high shutter speed. I used a fast shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second to take this photo. The walking model was clearly photographed, and the fluttering on the clothes was also clearly photographed.

2. Set the white balance

In order to ensure that the color of the photos we take is normal, we need to manually adjust the white balance. The color temperature of this light is about 3000K. Therefore, you can adjust the white balance to 3500K first, and take a picture to see the color. If the photo is yellowish, we can adjust the k value of the white balance to a lower value. If the photo taken is bluish, we can adjust the k value a little higher. My white balance was set to 3100K when I took this photo. The color of the photo is normal. When I took this photo, I was using auto white balance and it turned out yellow.

3. Set the sensitivity

We have already set the shutter speed before, we are talking about 800 to 1/1000th of a second, at this time we start to set our sensitivity, which should be around ISO3000. This time the sensitivity is set to ISO3200. At this time, some friends will have doubts, the sensitivity setting is so high, the noise of the photo will be very large, but our premise is to take this photo clearly. If our light sensitivity is too low, then our shutter speed cannot reach the speed of 800 to 1000th of a second. So that we will blur the photos taken due to the slow shutter speed. The photos below were all taken with a sensitivity of 3200.

4. The aperture setting is f2.8-f5.6.

The entire catwalk event, the aperture I use is f2.8. Speaking of a large aperture, it can help us blur the background and highlight the subject. The photo below was taken with a large aperture of 2.8, and the focus point was placed on the face of the model at the front of the frame. Therefore, the model at the front was the clearest, and the models at the back were all blurred. This will better highlight the front model. The above group photo was also taken with an aperture of F2.8. In the picture, almost everyone is clear and within the depth of field. Why can we still take this group photo clearly with an aperture of f2.8? You need to remember that the size of the depth of field is not only related to the size of the aperture, but also related to the shooting distance and the focal length of the lens. When I took this photo, I was very far away, although I used a wide aperture to shoot, but basically everyone in the frame was clear.

5. Which exposure mode to choose

I personally use (manual exposure mode) M mode to shoot. Using manual exposure mode, I can precisely control the exposure of photos. It’s just that the process of using it will be a little more troublesome, and you need to constantly adjust the exposure parameters. Because the light on the T stage is not stable, the brightness of the rearmost, frontmost, middle, and two sides of the stage are all different, and there are slight differences. Only by constantly correcting the parameters according to the exposure scale, can a photo with normal exposure be taken. If you don't use the SLR for a long time, the most effective exposure mode is (P file) program automatic exposure. This file has a high degree of automation, and both aperture and shutter can be adjusted. The camera will automatically match another parameter based on your settings.

6. Focus Mode

Continuous AF mode (AF-C), when we shoot, we put the focus point on the model's face, press the shutter halfway, and the camera starts to focus automatically, no matter where the model goes, As long as we half-pressed the shutter, our focus was always on her face.

7. Whether to open the continuous shooting mode

When shooting the entire catwalk, I used a single shot, and their walking speed is not fast, we can find the movement rhythm of the models, and then follow them rhythm and press the shutter. If your memory card is big enough and storage speed is fast enough, you can boldly use burst mode. The above is the sharing of my shooting catwalk.

(Responsible editor：Photography art)