Karjaka Does Fashion Week?

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Page 01KARJAKA'S KARJAKA does Fashion Week? Monday usungs VOL.V KARJAKA.COM

Page 02KARJAKA does Fashion Week? know, I know, I'm not a fashion photographer, Fashion show as the house photographer, I couldn't or one in the traditional sense. That's been say no. It's like when your phone rings at 2am, and made abundantly clear over the years. I can't it's family on the other end... you drop it all and ask Carnegie, Broadway, Weddings, Fortune 5oo events, an assistant or two, into your computer, multiple WRITTEN BY KARJAKA for directions. help it, I care more about the person wear- f ing the clothing than the clothing themselves. But, that's not to say I don't love what fashion can Fashion Week photography is coverage, documen- do. Fashion and style in a portrait can elevate an tary style, history capturing. It is not creative pho- image to new heights, even above what beautiful tography, and they needed the photos yesterday. lighting can do in instances. In my opinion they're linked. So what's the deal with Aleks being a pho- If you ever find yourself curious or in the posi- to pit with Vogue, Getty Images, International pho- tion of being a photographer, or house photogra- tographers, the Associate Press and amateurs at the pher at an event, here's a little behind the curtain Brooklyn Museum? view. It's a symphony of chaos and you have to tell the story. In most cases there's the load in, makeup Here's the unvarnished, or rather un-edited, raw & models behind the scenes, the dress run, spon- image truth... I hate photographing fashion week. sor image capture, pre-show, show, and afterparty images. Then afterwards it's the mad dash to your This may come as a surprise, but I've shot over onsite editor, if you're luck enough to have one, 3oo+ events in the last 15+ years. Performances, ( dump the images from your camera, and possibly Fashion Weeks, Weddings, the list goes on and on. backup hard drives And not surprising, I'm good at it, but it doesn't in case God forbid light up my soul. I learned how to cut my teeth somethingstops shooting Fashion primarily from weddings. As I've working, and then told a few of these stories a few times, if you want onto a quick select pull, cull and final to be a better photographer all around in multiple facets of the craft, shoot weddings. You cover every- edit the images out thing, even runway fashion. After all, what do you f for whatever news organization or PR think the groom, bridal party, and bride walk down to the alter, chuppa, beach or judge is? you're company That's your fashion runway, and there I was for working for. That on special occasions and the like. So when a dear dear photo friends. friends and Art Director Jeff Karly asked me to cap- While everyone is ture the Parsons MFA Fashion Design and Society drinking champaign

Page 03perfect full body image that fits the frame, shoul- and various hobknobbing is commencing, you're ders and body straight on to the camera. Every. just starting the editing process. OR if you have thing else, a bonus, but that's the shot. Captures another show to capture that evening you have to pray the trains are working, that the show you just the outfit from the sharpness at the top of his head, to the bottom of her lead toe. Sharp. shot ended on time, or that your Uber will really be there in 4 mins. Meanwhile you're dumping This is Corporate America. and backing up on your computer in transit. It's exciting and inspiring to see the outfit, Don't Trust Anyone models, designers, makeup artists and the like, Photo pits are notorious for back stabbing, but you're not there to be a collaborator, to make art, the outfit IS the Art. You capture it. Push the sabotage, and everything in between. You've got button, do your job. Make it look good and now grizzled old photographers who've been making edit. Don't get me wrong, there are tons of pho- a living grinding out fashion weeks around the tographers that make a wonderful living doing world, month after month, and young guys trying this, and love it. Me? Give me a slow studio and to build their portfolios, or become some sort of the control of my team, light and creative direc- influencer photographer: Before smart phones, tion and I'm golden, but this, I'd rather be in the those images were worth gold. Whoever could get them processed quickest could sell them to the audience, or directing the chaos. highest bidder, or if you were on staff, to your edi- So you've got the images in your computer tor for the next morning's edition. Now the world and your editing software. Now you cull between is different with technology, and the photos, from 3,ooo-6,ooo photos. Personally, I'm pretty fast for the photo pit are relatively all the same. But make culling studio work, but events, that's a photo cat- alogue of a different kind. And without going into no mistake, you move, you lose your spot. You put too much detail of the next 2o+ hours post event, your camera down, someone could take your film card from the camera. Or this years favorite, hey the photos are exported, uploaded to various sites and entities, and if you're lucky you get a thank let's block out everyone by creating a row of Ital- ians in front of the pit at various shows. you, a pat on the back, hopefully a photo credit Visually, you all have the same lighting, the to your name, and then it's on to the next one. same background, the same outfits and models. Not glamorous, no ticker tape parade, just a bed Your job is to capture the outfit effectively with- waiting for to plant your body face first into once it's all over. out distracting from it. Some clients want to see a blurred out audience. Some clients want to see Fashion week? I'll take the photo, just bring facial expression while enjoying the outfit. Some the fashion to my controlled studio. want the images a little more vignetted, some want blown out white backgrounds. Un- less you're a mind reader,someone isn't getting what they want. You just hope what you've given them meets 8o% roughly. If you're like me, you want to get super creative, add light- ing, add contrast, give dutch angles, make it Kubrick. Nope. Gotta make it FASHION. One

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