So, you’ve got your camera, you’ve got your gear, you’ve got your passes to all the shows you want to see at Fashion Week SS’12. You’re standing in the pit, waiting for the lights to go down, and all of the sudden you realize that you’ve never shot a runway show before, you’ve got no idea what the proper camera settings are for this sort of thing, and you start to panic. This panic is, of course, not in any way ameliorated by the fact that everyone around you has grotesquely enormous lenses plus lens extenders plus massive lens hoods and some really sturdy looking tripods and gear crates and they all seem to be speaking French or have some cool, vaguely European accent and, sweet Jesus, the smell in the pit can be totally overwhelming because most of these French/quasi-European cameramen have been working eighteen hours a day for the last week and probably haven’t even had the time to take a shower.

You’re just a blogger, you start thinking, you just bought your DSLR and new zoom lens and you’re just not ready for this at all. The lights go down and one of those smarmy, smelly, way-more-experienced-at-this-sorta-thing-than-you Frenchmen yells, “Please uncross your legs,” the high beam Lyko lights blaze to life above your head and the first model steps out of that door…
Fear not! I briefly went through this same moment of panic on the first day of New York Fashion Week. Luckily, you’ve got a brain, you’ve got a camera, and you’ve got a very simple problem to solve. About the only thing you need to be sure you do is freeze motion. That’s it. You just don’t want the models or their clothing to be blurry from movement. There are a couple of ways to do this. What most photographers do is set their shooting mode to Shutter Priority (which you can read about here) and set their chosen shutter speed to about 1/500th of a second, although the faster the better.

What I did all week was use Aperture Priority.  Shooting at f/4, on the 105mm end of my zoom lens (a 24mm-105mm was the longest lens I had and was more than enough for most of the shows, depending on what spot I got in the pit), allowed me to get a relatively shallow depth of field to make the model pop a bit more out of the background.  Shooting at ISO 3200 allowed me to keep my shutter speeds in the 1/800th of a second to 1/1600th of a second range so I don’t have a single blurry shot from the entire week.  Setting my AF point to the center point ensured that I always kept the model in the center of the frame and the focus directly on her.

Both Av and Tv modes do require a bit of tweaking while you’re shooting as well.  For the most part I kept my exposure compensation at +2/3 of a stop; when you’re shooting RAW (which you should be, leave a comment below if you’d like to receive a very long and involved answer as to why you should not ever, ever, ever shoot JPEGs for any photos you really want to look top-notch) you want your files to be just slightly overexposed (again, leave a question in the comments as to why this is but expect an answer that involves sensels, IC digital conversion, and probably a very long rant regarding just why oh why digital camera manufacturers still base their exposure systems around a 19th century exposure system that was intended for film and silver halide crystals; steel thyself for a geek-out).  This +2/3 EV compensation was just fine for the most part, but when a model was wearing something black or dark in color I generally returned to +/-0 or even -1/3 EV compensation to keep their skin from blowing out and appearing overexposed.

And that’s just about it, pretty simple really.  After the first two shows I had developed a number of presets in Lightroom that I could apply to an entire batch of photos which made the photo editing and turn around significantly faster.  Leave comments below if you’ve got any questions about my equipment, settings, or Lightroom presets.

[Photos by Nando Alvarez]

Though New York Fashion Week is over, we’re still in the throws of London, with Paris and Milan still to come. If you like to cover shows for your personal blog, you’ve still got a ways to go and a lot of content to sift through.

If you’re like 99 percent of fashion bloggers in the world, you aren’t actually lucky enough to attend these shows for yourself, let alone sit in the front row and photograph the looks. So, you must turn to outside sources for your images and information on looks, guests, celebrity appearances, models, etc.

I had the good fortune to attend some shows on behalf of my job this season, but most of the shows I wanted to post about on my personal blog, I didn’t attend. Fortunately for us, today’s technology and the popularity of social media allows everyone almost instant access to the latest shows.

Here are some guidelines I try to follow when blogging about fashion week:

IMAGES:

• If you didn’t attend the shows and photograph the looks yourself, you’re going to have to get them from an outside source, which is okay. I feel like I’m becoming a broken record here, but I’ll say it again anyway: You must credit your images. For example, at the end of your post, use italics or parenthesis to indicate the text is not editorial, and use a phrase like “images via” or “images from.” Do not say “courtesy of” unless the source gave you explicit permission to re-publish them.
• When I want to post about a show, I have two sources I turn to for my images, but there are a great deal of places to find them. I use Style.com and New York magazine’s blog, The Cut.
• Do not post every image from a show you liked. It’s total overload, and your readers can get full show coverage from larger publications. They come to you for your perspective, not your copy-and-paste skills.
• I like to use an in-browser photo editing tool called Picnik.com to put multiple images together in a collage and place text over them to identify the designer or trend I’m highlighting.

CONTENT:

• Have a distinct perspective. Like I said above, your readers come to you for your unique take on fashion. They want to know what you liked specifically, and WHY. The digital space is inundated with fashion week coverage, and your contribution should be original, thoughtful and honest.
• Speaking of honesty – be true to your readers. Your post is second-hand news, and you should be upfront about that. This applies both to your post and to your social media promotion of your coverage. Site your sources and include hyperlinks if you pull quotes from other places. Also, I know it sounds like a no-brainer, but for example, don’t re-tweet Joe Zee’s iphone picture of Anna Wintour from the front row of Isabel Marant like it’s your own.
• Choose your descriptive adjectives wisely – and avoid the word cute. If you’re not sure how to describe something, read up on coverage from other publications to brush up on your vocabulary. After all, there’s a difference between sequins and paillettes.
• Be selective with your coverage. Vogue covers every show because they’re Vogue, and they have to. Stick to designers that you love, that you admire, and that create clothing and accessories you would wear.
• Identify trends. One way to create unique content is to sort through the shows yourself and find consistencies between designers. What colors were shown frequently? Hemlines? Patterns? This can be exhausting due to the sheer number of looks each designer shows, so I like to take notes as I go that I can refer back to later.
• Check your spelling. To be a credible source of fashion coverage and inspiration to your readers, you should be able to correctly spell the names of designers, types of fabrics, and articles of clothing you are reporting on.

As always, the goal with having a personal blog is to create a space to share your authentic voice and taste. Stay true to your aesthetic and your access level, but don’t be afraid to use images and input from outside sources (in moderation).

One last tip that I find helpful in inspiring original thoughts and perspectives on fashion shows is to watch the live stream on the designer’s web site or Facebook page when possible. That way you get instantaneous access and a better view than those actually present in the fourth row.

Have you been posting about this season’s fashion shows? How do you like to cover your favorite designers and trends?

[Images by Nando Alvarez, edited on Picnik.com]

A couple of days ago, I had my first Anna sighting at Alexander Wang. I tried to get a shot of her, but it was blurry… because I was too scared! Who knew when or even if, I’d get the opportunity again… But low and behold, today as I was sending emails frantically on my iPhone behind the scenes at Milk Studios, I look up and two inches away from me is that unmistakable lush hair in a long animal print fur. I’m to be in the presence of Anna yet again!

Going into the show, it was the time to get the shot, but still afraid from the death-stare at Alexander Wang, I circled the periphery. Kind of nervous, and feeling like a little kid meeting a new stranger. You know how they like to hide, but make themselves known. Ann from Holier Than Now, talked me into going up and asking for a photo… I wanted to ask her a question, but I’m not there yet. So I walked up to her.

Me: “Can please take your photo?”

Anna: “Sure.”

She posed with a smile, I fumbled, but this was two seconds later. I love the photo actually… wishing I had a bit more light.

I shook like a leaf for a bit, but proud I had the guts to walk up to Anna Wintour.

After the show on the way out, she smiled at me.

By Nubia Mejia of Nubia’s Nonsense

I’m sitting here excited for the “Who owns your blog content?” to start.

The Guest speakers are:
Richard Tong: Fashion director of Tumblr.
Leandra Medine: Leandra is a freelance writer and founder of the fashion blog Man Repeller.
Geri Hirsch: Geri is the creator of the blog Because I’m addicted: A blog follow the life of a 20 something year old running in LA.
Evelyn Tollinche: Evelyn is senior counsel in Business and legal affairs group at MTV networks in NYC.
Karen Blanchard: Blog owner of Where Did U Get That.
Eddie Newton: The face behind Mr Newton.

This Panel has been very interesting, resourceful and scary at the same time. Protecting content can be a very difficult and tricky task. Blogging has been becoming more powerful as time passes and it’s important we get credited for our hard work. After all, us bloggers have very similar content to magazines and our blogs are starting to look more like traditional media.

Below please find some notes I took and found helpful from this panel.

-As blogging goes more into looking like traditional media it’s important you learn how to own and protect your content. (Mr Newton)

-Most people think they’re protecting their content when they put a copy right on it but that’s not necessarily true. When you have a situation that someone is taking your content that court has the right to see if it’s fair use. (Evelyn)

-Protect your art: (this is something that I own and it has artistic value always do everything you can to protect your work)

-In the early stages you should protect your content: Protect photos. prevent people from taking them but locking the photo or putting your logo on the photo. (Evelyn)

-Too tightly trying to protect your content could be counter productive. There is a fine line and you should try your best find it. (Mr Newton)

(Mr Newton talking about Geri and Leandra) Takes photos and makes her own stories. Links and credits where photos come from. Important that every blogger takes it upon themselves to properly credit. For example the Man Repeller people love her and they spread the word and link her.

-Protecting and copy writing written content: Leandra trademarked Man Repeller. Mr Newton knew exactly what her blog was about when he read the title. Liandra wanted to make sure she legally owned her title. It’s hard to to copyright all your content. Trademarking everything would be outrageously expensive. You have to find out whats valuable to you.

-Leandra do you get mad when your terms are used? (Leandra) No I get excited for the most part, I only get upset when it’s not credited to me it’s nerve wrecking.

-You can’t protect everything or most things you put on your blog BUT you have to decide whats very valuable to you and what battles are worth fighting. (Mr Newton)

(Mr Newton asking Rich) Tumblr is all about re-blogging: When copyright becomes more strict do you think it will affect Tumblr?
*Rich: we take copy-righting very seriously. We encourage people to do best practices and we link on the bottom of every post to make sure every-one gets credit. Credit is very important.

*When people see they get traffic from your blog they like you a lot more*

(Karen asking Mr Newton): Whats the difference between a magazine taking a streetstyle’s photographer’s photos and paying them than taking a fashion bloggers photo who get shot by a boyfriend and not paying them? Why do they feel they don’t have to pay?

(Mr Newton’s answer to Karen)There is no difference. Practically speaking if magazines think they’re giving you promotion they don’t feel the need to pay you, they think exposure is payment. A woman can’t live on exposure alone.

-I think this is only OK depending on the exposure you get. (Karen)

-People take photos of bloggers and turn them into illustration. For example Zara took a photo from “Le Blog de Betty” and sold it without her permission. Most likely she could probably go to court and make them stop selling it if all the proof is provided.

We all have to be very cautious with what we think the law will do. At this point things can be very tricky. We will figure more out as more issues come about and we’ll learn how the courts handle it. That’s why it’s important to copyright your name and protect your work as best as you could.

Options to solve copy rights issues are: You can always try to email the company and try to get them to credit you or make them take it down for not crediting you without taking it to court.

A big problem is finding the time to see who might be taking your stuff. It can be a difficult task to keep up with.

*Give credit where credit is due*

-It’s cool you used this today but it would be cooler if you linked it (Mr Newton)

My final thoughts on this topic: I think there is a HUGE gray area when it comes to protecting your work and copyrighting it. My advice to people starting there blog would be to reach out to a blogger they admire and asking for advice. I agree with the comment that was made about how this is still very unclear. I believe as time passes we will learn to see how these situations are handled and feel more comfortable with our content.

Also I think everyone should DO THE RIGHT THING! Credit photos if they are taking.

I’m going to go enjoy the rest of the panel but I hope you found this helpful. Do your research and reach out to anyone you think might help (Bloggers/Lawyers) If you work hard on somethings for years I would hope it’s important enough to you that you’ll take good care of it.

By Laura Ellner of OnTheRacks

The Rise of the Professional Blogger:

Anyone can start their own blog — but it’s the rise of the professional blogger that has the fashion world captivated. How did they start? How did they become recognized? What’s the secret? Well, this panel was designed to address all of these questions. And here is more from the mouths of the professional bloggers themselves –  Yvan Rodic, Karla Dears, Chaira Ferragni, Wendi Lam, Faran Krentcil, Josh Rubin, Karen Robinovitz, and moderator, Josh Jannuzzi.

What are the pros and cons of being a professional blogger and having professional representation to connect you to brands?

Karen: Half of her agency (Digital Brand Architects) is connected to blogger management — they are about understanding the bloggers and their goals. With the goal of connecting them to the right brands and helping them get paid for their work.

Faran: It comes down to what you want out of your blog — did you start your blog to be famous or because you want to be a writer and develop your voice? “There is nothing wrong with wanting to be Witney Port, but there’s also nothing wrong with wanting to win a Pulitzer Prize.”

Karla: She likes the back end of things — working with projects that don’t put her “out there” too much. Having an agent is useful in finding projects that fit you and what you want. It is about finding a manager that you feel comfortable with.

Shopbop Feels Good

Do you think it is possible to navigate this world of professional blogging without a manager?

Faran: Yes. You need to get to a certain place — develop your content and develop your goals before you may be ready for a manager.

Yvan: At some point you realize that there are people who want to pay you. If you want to focus on the creative aspect of your work you need someone else to focus on the “boring stuff”.

Chiara: The real important thing is to never do something you don’t like and only work with brands that represent you. The blogger first and foremost needs to be true to their followers and themselves. Over time you understand what you really want to do, and it is important to find someone who can help you.

Wendy: Still treats blogging as a hobby — no assistant, manager, or agent. With overwhelming emails it becomes important to have someone to help you out. Whether it is an assistant, boyfriend, etc.

At what point do you decide that blogging is going to be your profession?

Josh: It was less about money and more about the opportunities and doors that were opening. It is about audience and the overall ecosystem that you’re participating in. If you are making a mark in the world you’re trying to reach, that’s when you’re on to something. Even if it is a small world — keep pushing forward.

Yvan: It was a momentum — 6 months after he started taking pictures, he came to NY during Fashion Week and received an email from Mensstyle.com suggesting they collaborate. He covered Fashion Week for Mensstyle.com — getting paid to do something he just did for fun was an exciting thing. “It became possible.”

Karla: Started in April 2008 and nobody paid attention. It was momentum — a wave — just like any trend. It is important to develop relationships and stay true to those relationships. “You just keep learning, just like anything in life.”

Faran: If you want to have your own fashion company, you should have a day job in the fashion industry first. You should see how it works, learn the etiquette, find mentors and people who you respect. It’s not because bloggers aren’t a legitimate voice — it is just great to have multiple forms of reference. You quit when you are ready.

There is a huge disconnect btw what a brand expects from a blogger relationship and what a blogger expects from a brand relationship:

Karla: The brands are realizing that bloggers have a strong influence on potential consumers, and that’s why they are linking up with bloggers. That is why they work with bloggers. They can track hits and visitors and determine whether or not it is successful. Brands expect bloggers to show their product, advertise their product — it is all about doing projects that fit your image and blog.

Yvan: There are brands that know the blogging world, and those who don’t know so much. He works with brands that can give him his freedom — if they don’t let him do his work it won’t resonate with his followers.

Faran: Bloggers are on the edge of something really special, but you only get one first chance to work with brands. If a big brand approaches you for the first time, you have one chance to impress them and be professional. You also only have one chance to show your readers what kind of a brand you are. Be selective.

Chiara: It is important that the brand recognizes that the blogger must do what is best for their fans. You need to be able to discuss and decide what works together.

Wendy: It is very important that you have freedom. You need to have a say — there has to be some kind of way that you can work together and do something that makes sense for the blog. You need to be able to talk to each other and make things work.

Josh: Say no to jobs that don’t compel your audience — even if it is a great opportunity… it has to fit your brand identity. Find a way to take a different perspective and compromise with brands to find something that works for both the brand and the blogger.

How can a blogger determine their value?

Karla: There are CMP deals and CPA deals — some you get paid per click and some are commission-based. You need to determine what ads fit your site.

Karen: Most luxury brands are hesitant and afraid to work with bloggers. They should’t get so caught up with traffic, but rather sites with a niche audience that will convert. You could have the biggest traffic in the world, but if your audience isn’t going to shop luxury, it makes no sense for that brand to work with you. You have to go where the market is.

WHAT THEY WORE:

John: brown loafers, cuffed denim, striped sweater over striped button-down
Chiara: red leather pants, black suede stiletto boots, brimmed hat.
Josh: pink knit sweater, white button down, dark denim
Wendy: black dress, electric blue platform stilettos
Karen: Black patent stilettos, red trousers, black blazer, fur scarf
Faran: Striped dress, black tights, black patent boots,
Yvan: light blue button-down, denim suit
Karla: beige patent platform pumps, black trousers, army green blazer, chambray shirt

Keynote speakers: Jack and Lazaro — Proenza Schouler

Proenza Schouler is the cutting-edge designer label that you know and love — is it or is it not every bloggers dream to own something Proenza?! I mean, really, it doesn’t get much better than the PS1…

Today, Evolving Influence offers a deeper look at what’s behind the luxury brand. Imran Amed of The Business of Fashion moderates a discussion with Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez — the creative masterminds behind Proenza Schouler. And so we begin…

“What we do between checking emails and freaking out over missing samples, is read blogs.” -Proenza Schouler

Proenza Schouler has always been a celebrated brand in NY, but not the most open, accepting brand. What has changed for you that has made you more engaged with blogs and social media in general?

They are a small company without the resources for traditional advertising. Blogging allows them to share with their fans in a big way — it gives them an outlet. It is a way of getting the message “out there”, and share the ideas that are in their heads on a large scale.

You were one of the first brands who started live streaming, and offering a “click-to-by” option. How has that impacted the business you are trying to run online?

In launching e-commerce, it just made sense for them to reach out to blogs. It has had extraordinary impact on the business and gaining visibility/growing brand awareness.

They’ve always been fashion-obsessed. They’d try and sneak into shows and get kicked out. Then brands started streaming live, and they offered this incredible resource.

Launching e-commerce has opened and broadened the market. They can now offer their handbags to consumers in middle-America who don’t typically have access to stores that carry their products. It is about being inclusive.

How are you managing your social media voice — between working on a collection, traveling, etc.?

They have help! There is someone who works in their office and is very present in the whole social media process for them — she has essentially taught them what social media is in the few months that she has been with the company.

Facebook gives them more creative control — they don’t have to worry about third parties editing images and ideas. It reaches a broader audience and gives them the freedom to show what they really want to show to their consumers.

How do you use the internet as you are designing?

They used to go to the library to find inspiration. After a while they realized they could find the same things online — now they “google image their faces off”.

“We’re not dissing libraries — there is something about a book that can never be replaced.”

Research can now be done online — Jack and Lazaro call it lazy, but admit that it gives them a lot more access to the things they’re looking for.

When did you first start looking at fashion blogs?

LOVE magazine did a story on Tavi — this was the first time they were exposed to blogs (3-4 years ago). Then everyone realized the influence of blogs simultaneously — that was the beginning and it has been growing ever since.

Do you ever look at the blogs of established editors, such as Cathy Horyn?

Now it is all instant — Cathy is tweeting about the show and the review comes out immediately. You hear about things right away instead of waiting a few days for feedback.

You have started creating content specifically for the internet: Specifically, your video with Harmony Korine — some people reacted negatively, what are your thoughts?

His movies are about some sort of outsider. Jack and Lazaro shared ideas, and wanted to filter those ideas through Harmony’s eyes. They thought it was incredible — even though it did evoke some controversy. They were thinking about “awkward adolescence” and Harmony took that idea and created his version of that. They agree that it is really great to create this kind of dialogue. Fashion can be looked at in these alternative ways.

Overall, what have you learned in the last 18-24 months as you started opening up the brand. Tell us a little bit about the lessons learned and the opportunities you see for the future…

They never plan ahead…  “People think we’re pre-meditated… we’re not.”
Jack and Lazaro are still trying to wrap their heads around the whole idea of blogging and social media, and taking things as they come.