Last week was particularly busy as I started shooting as a contributing photographer to Sydney fashion blog http://www.2threads.com/. I probably couldn’t have picked a busier time to start as RAFW (Rosemount Australian Fashion Week) is on next week and so lots of other designers and fashion accessory companies piggyback this time of heightened style awareness to make their presence known. And hence I had three events to shoot in three days.

The first shoot was a cocktail party for the holy grail of hair straighteners, ghd.

20th Apr: ghd cocktails and canapes

They have strong associations with some of the leading stylists who will be bringing RAFW to life and so were throwing a pre-event to wish them well. It was a small and intimate affair, “select” some would say, held at the dark and moody Eau de Vie bar in the stylish Kirketon boutique hotel. Cocktails were mixed and canapé trays waltzed their way around the fashionista crowd. The MD of ghd was also there to give a short speech.

The next night was a lot more buzzy for the launch of Smashbox Cosmetics in Australia.

21st Apr: Smashbox Cosmetics launch

The brand, started by Dean and Davis Factor (grandsons of none other than make up legend Max Factor), has been established for the good part of 20 years in the US but is only just arriving Down Under where it is being distributed through Kit Cosmetics stores. So this launch event was held at Kit’s bright and white Paddington store on Oxford Street. Davis Factor, who is also an established celebrity fashion photographer, was in store to give a speech and chat with the loyal Kit customers who had been specially invited a whole day ahead of the media launch. There was a good, fun vibe in the store, created by the customers, staff and PR girls, who insisted I partake in the champagne that was being flowing like it was going out of fashion (god forbid).

Night three escalated in scale dramatically as I was covering the Being Born Again couture fashion show at the Cell Block Theatre in Darlinghurst.

22nd Apr: Being Born Again couture

This event was created by the two girls behind a new fashion label, D&Em, Davina Reichman and Emily Fitzgerald. They had forged a collection of ten unique outfits by pairing ten leading Australian fashion designers with ten Australian artists to collaborate on ways to express their art. The resulting catwalk show was amazing, and enhanced further by the dramatic surroundings of the sandstone theatre.

Luckily I managed to find myself a great spot for shooting. The traditional end of the catwalk was full of photographers who had staked their spots since the doors opened, and as I turned up a bit later and was also moving around taking my usual event documentary shots, I found myself at the back of the pack struggling to see over the four deep crowd of photogs in front of me. Then I realised I could simply position myself at the other end of the catwalk, which was completely empty, and shoot the models on their way back! Lateral thinking worked a treat and I was really happy with the results. And so was Davina who has since circulated my shots around the media and invited me to shoot her next show!

So three evenings on the trot equals a whole heap of post processing! The events themselves probably only took up 6 hours of shooting, but my ancient MacBook kept me indoors all weekend, just doing simple adjustments! This meant I missed the ANZAC Day celebrations of beer and 2 Up, but the resulting photos are great additions for my portfolio!

Likewise in fashion it’s a hard road to the top, especially if you’re trying to bypass the hard graft of assisting that most of the top professionals did for many thankless years.

As you may know I joined ModelMayhem.com to build up my experience of photographing models and collaborating with the other members of the photoshoot tool kit: the wardrobe stylist, make up artist, hair stylist, designers etc. The fallout of this massive online community (coupled with the accessibility and affordability of DSLR cameras) is that there’s a huge amount of wannabe fashion photogs snapping any model that will give them 5 mins so they can build up their portfolio. Likewise there are girls galore believing that their 32Cs will propel them to supermodel status if they can show them off in as many skimpy swimsuits shots as possible and post them to Zoo, Ralph and FHM. In summary: chaos, and a harder job for photogs and models who are seriously trying to develop their skills.

Ron Davis

Shawna Rencher

Enter Ron Davis and Shawna Rencher. Ron is a successful studio photographer and Shawna a model, actress and film director. They are both active on ModelMayhem and based in Houston, Texas and their regular collaborating led them in a new direction – to create a podcast aimed at amateur photographers and models who are trying to break into the fashion and beauty industry. The result is The Photographer & Model Podcast.

Each week they interview a guest photographer or a model for around 30 mins, virtually all of whom are active on ModelMayhem. The interviews are very chatty, open and lighthearted and so make for easy listening. Content covers a range of topics including the guest’s background, current activity and future ambitions; what they think makes a good photographer and model (from turning up on time to being prepared to step outside comfort zones); horror stories and moments of controversy (some great “Guy With Camera” situations!); and their personal definitions of industry terms such as art, beauty, glamour, erotica and fetish. Plus there are insights into each guest’s particular field of interest e.g. fine art photography, pin-up photography, conceptual art, use of Photoshop etc.

It’s a format that is simple and very effective as each week brings a slice of life of fellow photographers and models who are on ModelMayhem to do essentially the same thing as me but with their own particular slant or objective. I love the fact that if I listen to someone that sounds interesting, I can then check out their profile and portfolio on ModelMayhem, send them a message and add them as a friend. It brings the site to life, giving it a much more human dimension than just a collection of avatars and faceless profiles. After all we’re people not numbers right?

The podcast is available on iTunes and on the photographerandmodel.com website. I encourage you to subscribe even if you’re not interested in fashion and beauty photography as the interviews, stories and insights make great listening!

Well would you Adam and Eve it. There I was about to take the plunge and invest my future kids’ school fees into the Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8 IS USM lens (as of course you would) and what happens? Canon go and launch the mk II version today, that’s what!

But you can’t deny it – this is a thing of beauty and a true object of desire.

I mean, just look at it!

But how frustrating! After weeks of exhaustively researching websites and magazines to establish which piece of glass would be my first purchase with which to adorn my beloved Canon 5D2, I knew the 70-200 was the lens I wanted and needed: amazingly fast, versatile and able to get up nice and tight for portraits and candids. And of course incredibly cool to be seen with!

Fashion and photography have always been inextricably linked, and no camera product range waves the fashion flag as much as Canon’s L series lenses. According to ancient legend, the “L” stands for Luxury which is easy to believe given that these are the most expensive lenses that Canon produce. Members of this exclusive club can be recognised instantly by their distinctive red ring, which means slinging one of these over your shoulder is the photographic equivalent of wearing Prada Sport.

Couple that with the always-in-season putty finish of the telephoto L lenses and you have the ultimate accessory to be seen with. It’s hard to equate this to just one fashion item, so try this: close your eyes and imagine Scarlett Johansson decked out in a little black Givenchy dress, Chanel sunglasses, an Hermes scarf, Marc Jacobs handbag and Manolo Blahnik killer heels.

That will get you slightly close to what I’m talking about.

And therein lies the problem: both 70-200mm lenses are absolutely exquisite in functionality and results and if I’m honest, would I be able to tell the difference between photos taken from them? No, of course not. I imagine 99% of professionals won’t be able to tell the difference. But say you heard that Claudia Schiffer was single and looking for a photographer boyfriend and you also heard that she has an equally hot sister who is 10 years younger and has better taste than to marry David Copperfield, which one would you go for?  Both would be equally head turning, both would bestow instant kudos upon you in the pub, and both would ensure instant entrance to VIP areas in nightclubs all over the world (if you’re into that sort of thing).

So that leads to my dilemma: do I go for what is now last season’s 70-200mm lens whose only future in making headlines lies in being inducted into the camera lens Hall Of Fame? Or do I wait until April for the mk II and pay the premium to have the hottest supermodel on the planet?!

What would you do?

Friday 23^rd Oct was a big night for ten young ladies who had made it through to the NSW final of fashiontv’s Diamond Model Awards, one of the biggest model search competitions in Australia. The venue: Sydney’s Favela nightclub in Pott’s Point, which had also hosted three of the qualifying rounds.

As a regular photographer for Favela I snapped up the opportunity to shoot the final. Although it meant I’d had to leave my good friend Naomi’s birthday celebrations to do so (something I’m sure I may never be forgiven for). However, I also had a personal interest in attending the event as another Naomi (my mate Naomi Fitzgerald De Grave) was one of the finalists.

The final had been hyped up by the media as well as, of course, the models so the club was packed well before the competition started. A judging panel of leading names in fashion and styling, plus performances from previous finalists on So You Think You Can Dance added extra punch to the occasion.

The crowd was stylish and good looking as you’d expect; girls were in their best frocks and guys in their most fitted shirts. Plus there was a heap of photographers present which created a real fashion show buzz. Luckily as I was on home turf I was able not only to command the best shooting location but crucially also had backstage access to the dressing room.

Now for those who really want to know (i.e. most of my male mates), yes the dressing room is just how you’d imagine: a frenzied hive of activity with semi-clad girls scurrying between having their hair styled, their eyes shadowed, and their outfits fitted. And it was fascinating! The intensity and professionalism of the styling teams from Christopher Hanna and Gorgeous Cosmetics was mesmerising and I found myself constantly dodging and weaving to stay out of their way in the cramped and suffocating room, whilst also trying to shoot them at work from the best angles.

Back to the cooler climates of the club and the competition was about to start. The swimwear round (supplied by Jets) would be followed by eveningwear (by Nicola Finetti) before the judges decided on their winner. A “catwalk” had been marked out around the club using light ropes, guiding the girls towards the judges’ sofa before turning and heading back to the dressing room.

After a scout of potential locations I found a good spot next to the judges at the foot of a small stairway. This meant I would catch the girls walking towards me and stopping to pose at the top of the stairs, and then again as they headed back and did a final turn to the judges. Double opportunity meant double the shots and therefore double the selection for my final cut. This might sound a bit hit and miss but in a situation where there are no second chances, more is better. Because as good as a model looks, you need to catch her with head, arms, hips, and legs all in the right position to bring her to life.

And boy did I make a good decision! Once the show, the music, and the crowd started pumping it was a full on exercise in self control and preservation! Trying to keep your adrenalin down while gorgeous girls in swimsuits are walking past you is hard enough, let along when you’re trying to take flattering photos of them in manual mode and fighting against the surging crowd!

Round one over and while the punters flocked to the bar I was shuttling between the dressing room for the eveningwear prep and the club to get crowd shots for the promoters and sponsors. Then came an equally frantic session of shooting for eveningwear and I just about made it through to the winner’s announcement without needing to reach for another memory card.

As my first foray into the fashion world it was a fantastic evening. I was exhausted but exhilarated after going through four hours of shooting, over four hundred photos, two batteries, and just one bottle of water! But the crowning glory was that despite leaving one celebration I was able to join another as Naomi, the clear crowd favourite, won the final and will now go on to represent NSW in the grand final in Melbourne next weekend. So GO NOMES!