2009 Sep 14: Fashion Week – Fall 2009

After living in NYC for nearly two years, I finally got my first taste of Fashion Week. It may not have been in the infamous Bryant Park tent for a big-shot designer, but it was still a fantastic experience working for Hauteaholics Anonymous. I shot with Will Star, Kelsey Fain, and Patrick Brassard, covering everything from the dress rehearsal, hair & makeup, red carpet arrivals, and the runway show. The most enjoyable part for me was stealthily documenting the behind-the-scenes stuff, as I’m not exactly a fashion buff.

As with all gigs, I try to learn or at least take away something valuable from the experience. In this case, I decided that a backup battery is absolutely ESSENTIAL when shooting full-day events. I didn’t realize that my main battery wasn’t fully charged at the start of the day, so I had to stop in the afternoon and let it recharge for an hour, luckily during some downtime. Too bad a spare battery for the 5d2 is like $90! I’m still reluctant to buy the battery grip (no added weight, please!).

I also got to play a bit more with the flash. I still have a bit of a flash phobia, but I was fairly comfortable using the Gary Fong Lightsphere to diffuse light on the red carpet VIPs. In addition, I worked on fine-tuning my fill flash skills and angling the speedlight appropriately (no white ceiling to bounce the flash!). In time I’ll buy some sort of light modifier/diffuser, once I decide which to get!

All shot with the 5d2, 430EX, and 24-70/2.8L or 85/1.8.