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Lorrie Whittington

Illustrator - Designer - Maker

London Fashion Weekend

23/09/2013

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Yesterday I took a trip into town to do a shoot from the photographers pit for London Fashion Weekend with the Canon Pro team at Somerset House.  How I came to be there? Well, that was down to my husband Luke pushing me to put my name forward for Wex Photographic’s  ‘Call for Canon Photographers‘.  Getting notification that I made it through made my day, but was also a bit unnerving.   This of course would be taking me right out of my photographic comfort zone. I rarely do portraiture let alone ‘fashion’ photography. My range is pretty much nature and some urban and conceptual work, so this was going to be a rapid learning curve.

London Fashion Weekend 2013

London Fashion Weekend 2013Other than my Prime (50mm), I didn’t have a lens fit for this type of job. Our first plan was to hire one, but once we had factored in the cost, courier etc, it was a lot,  and it was our opinion that hiring a lens was ‘dead money’. So, then my Motherinlaw stepped in, and told she would buy me the lens I had wanted for aaaages, and to do as I was told!! (bless you Iris). So, I ordered the Sigma 18 – 125mm, a long lens but also a good ‘walk about lens’ too. I figured, as a long as I was pretty close, this would do the job nicely, and because I am clumsy these days, I also ordered a Hoya Pro Digital UV filter (safety filter).

London Fashion Weekend 2013Then, ‘What are you going to wear’ everyone asked me, and ‘something comfortable’ was my reply. Having been a fashion/textile student I remembered the ‘photographers pit’ well from having attended London Fashion Week in the past, and knew that space and comfort wasn’t going to be an option.

Additionally, a friend of mine by the name of Jon Mo had also got through, so we had arranged to meet up close by and have lunch first.  We made our way to the designated meet at Aldwych One at 3.00pm, and needless to say, we cut it fine!  There were over 60 of us all together at this gig. We were given a talk on best practice, tips, and optimum camera settings by the Canon Crew. Once we had all been issued with passes, we made our way to Somerset House. We were all led straight into the show marquee to the photographers pit, and at this point you pretty much had to stake out your place quickly as you could.

London Fashion Weekend 2013We were shooting two shows (same collection) from the Catwalk Trend show. This was a collection featuring pieces from various designers based around a theme, Pretty in Pink, Back to Nature, Victoriana etc. For the first show, I got a spot right at the front, to the left, sitting on the floor. I will admit right now, that whilst I had a great view, it was hard on my bones!! For the second show we all swapped around a bit, I managed to get a spot just to the left of the middle, second row and I stood. Slightly further back, but a different angle.

London Fashion Weekend 2013It was hard work. Make no mistake. These models are moving at a fair pace to a beat, and the shows only last about 15/20 minutes max. One has to focus quickly, shooting on continuous, and for the good closeups, be ready for the best angle, because it’s fast gone.  Oh, I should mention, props to Kevin from the Canon Pro Team who gave me excellent advice on getting the best out of my new Sigma lens with my EOS 550D. He showed me the best settings and was really helpful.

Once the two shows were over, we were ushered out faster than a cold wind. But I have to say, despite the stress and tension, I had a great time, met some really nice people and it was a blast. I will definitely go for it again if the opportunity comes up.

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Oh yeah! The clothes…nearly forgot. So, what did I think of the collection? Well, despite that my interest and involvement in the fashion design industry is a thing of the distant past, I do still take an interest in couture. I liked many of the designs a lot. The outfits were elegant, stylish, understated and the majority were actually ‘wearable’ for couture. I particularly liked the contrast of textures that some of the pieces incorporated. One of my favourite outfits is the one below.

London Fashion Weekend 2013So, here are a small selection of the shots, the rest are on the Flickr Set. I took all together at the show 1,159 shots. What is in the Flickr set consists of my favourites, not necessarily the best shots, but the ones I like. I will be adding some more shots to the set and on here in a week or so, that feature close ups of the designs and patterns. Hope you like…

London Fashion Weekend 2013
London Fashion Weekend 2013
London Fashion Weekend 2013
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Lorrie

Johnny Mo

Me in the press pit at London Fashion Week

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  1. Jen A. says

    24/09/2013 at 12:05 pm

    What an amazing experience! Your snaps look great. Before I started reading your post I thought the pix were from a magazine or designer’s website. Great job, Lorrie!

    Reply
    • Lorrie Whittington says

      25/09/2013 at 10:50 am

      Hi there Jen..

      Thank you so much, I really appreciate that. They all came out much better than I expected. I would love to do it again I think.

      Reply
  2. Jeanette House says

    24/09/2013 at 4:56 pm

    What a fantastic opportunity – I’m so glad Luke pushed you into that competition. I can well appreciate it was hard work but it must have been a brilliant day and experience. And hurrah for awesome Mothers-in-law; looks like you did a wonderful job with your new lens. Have to say too that the woven tapestry style coat is my favourite thing from the outfits! Well done, you. xox

    Reply
    • Lorrie Whittington says

      25/09/2013 at 10:56 am

      Hey Jeanette…

      Well, it was a blast. I was very nervous about it beforehand as this was something I hadn’t done before. But, I learned a lot. And yes, three cheers to my MIL for coming through and Luke for pushing me into it. Cheers for the good feedback.

      xx

      Reply
  3. Jon Mo says

    24/09/2013 at 5:40 pm

    Well done Lorrie.. great photos.. I honestly dont remember many of the outfits.. Too busy trying to get focus and composition in order. Those girls walk at a fair pace !!

    Reply
    • Lorrie Whittington says

      25/09/2013 at 11:11 am

      Hi there Jon

      Thanks for that. I daresay I remember more about the clothes as an ex design student, but I must admit it was all a bit of a blur. Learned some valuable lessons that day. Will definitely want to do it again I think.

      🙂

      Reply
  4. Elsa Mora says

    25/09/2013 at 3:27 pm

    Congratulations, Lorrie!
    You did a beautiful job, the photos came out great.
    You look like a pro in the pictures on the bottom.
    I’m so glad to hear that you had a blast!
    Luke deserves lots of credit for pushing you to participate in the contest.

    Hugs to both of you!
    Elsita 🙂

    Reply
    • Lorrie Whittington says

      25/09/2013 at 3:35 pm

      Thank you Elsita..

      Yep, it was quite a big deal for me in many ways. Not just because of the photographic challenge, but pushing myself to do something out of the ordinary. However, I know you would approve of that. 🙂

      Thanks for dropping by..
      xxx

      Reply
  5. Mr Yen says

    28/09/2013 at 12:35 am

    Congratulations!

    I was just looking through photos over on my flickr stream and thought these were from a magazine – they’re so amazing, you did a great job : D

    Reply
    • Lorrie Whittington says

      28/09/2013 at 10:55 am

      Hey there Jonathan..

      Thank you so much, I take that as a great compliment. Despite sort of dreading it, I had a great time, and really enjoyed the shoot. Now very inspired to step out of my comfort zone a bit more often and do some different stuff.

      Thanks again hun 🙂

      Reply
  6. Collette says

    28/09/2013 at 9:26 am

    I agree with alk the previous comments, your photos look really professional, and what an experience to have had. Kudos to your husband for giving you that push.

    CR

    Reply
    • Lorrie Whittington says

      28/09/2013 at 10:57 am

      Hi there Collette…

      Thanks so much, I am really blown away by all the lovely feedback and comments, I was afraid I would balls it all up and come away with nothing good to show for the day. It was a great experience and would love to do it again…

      🙂

      Reply
  7. Stina Jones says

    30/09/2013 at 3:20 pm

    Brilliant shots, Lorrie! Congrats on the win. Well deserved 🙂

    Reply
    • Lorrie Whittington says

      30/09/2013 at 3:43 pm

      Thank you Stina, I really appreciate that. Looking at broadening my horizons now. 🙂

      x

      Reply
  8. Catherine Galfetti says

    21/10/2013 at 11:39 am

    Oh wow congrats for being selected and great shots!

    Reply
    • Lorrie Whittington says

      21/10/2013 at 12:18 pm

      Thanks Catherine, I appreciate that. Yes, I was really thrilled to be selected. it was a great day and loads of fun. 🙂

      Reply

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Lorrie Whittington is an illustrator, designer-maker, free spirit, chocolate eating geek, living in the heart of the Sussex countryside on the south coast of Britain. She draws, paints, reads a lot, makes things with clay, likes scf-fi and hangs out with her daughter.

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