Fashion Week always brings a mix of creativity, spontaneity, and technical challenges. This year at Sacramento Fashion Week, held at the Crocker Art Museum, I set out with a clear vision of how I wanted to capture the event. Over two nights, I experimented with lens choices, lighting techniques, and visual storytelling, narrowing down my final selections to 46 images that best represented my approach.
Night 1 – Up Close & Personal with a 20mm Lens
For the first night, I committed to using a 20mm fixed lens, which forced me to get close and fully engage with my subjects. A wide-angle lens like this is powerful when used up close—it creates intimacy and pulls the viewer right into the scene. When shot from a distance, it tends to lose impact unless you’re capturing an entire environment.
I also experimented with a strobe positioned outside the main window to illuminate the runway. The idea was to create dramatic backlighting for the models as they walked. While I liked some of the results, I hadn’t anticipated the subtle patterned texture on the museum’s windows. This caused the light to diffuse more than expected, softening its impact. That’s part of the creative process—trying new things, adapting, and learning from the results.
Night 2 – Flexibility with a 24-70mm Lens & On-Camera Flash
For the second night, I switched things up and shot with my 24-70mm lens, staying mostly at the 24mm end. This gave me more flexibility to react to the fast-paced environment while still keeping the immersive feel I wanted.
I also mounted my flash onto a strobe frame, keeping it as close to the lens center as possible when shooting vertically. This technique helps reduce shadows, creating a distinct, high-energy look. The bright, direct light adds an editorial feel that works well in a fast-moving setting like a fashion event.
Finding the Right Moments
While covering events like this, I always seek out candid, organic moments rather than posed shots. If someone naturally strikes a look when I raise my camera, I’ll take the shot, but the most interesting images often come from unexpected interactions.
For example, I captured a few moments when models were eating sour candy backstage—it was a break from the polished, high-fashion aesthetic, showing their personalities in a fun way. Encouraging these unscripted moments adds layers to the story of the event.
Post-Processing & Creating a Cohesive Style
Once the event was over, I spent a few days refining my edit, looking for a consistent visual style that tied both nights together. My final adjustments included:
• Opening up the exposure for a brighter, more open feel.
• Dramatically lowering contrast to create a soft, balanced look.
• Dropping highlights & whites while lifting shadows & blacks to retain detail.
• Shifting the white balance cooler for a sleek, editorial feel.
• Fine-tuning colors in Lightroom’s color mixer to match the aesthetic I envisioned.
Applying this look across all images helped ensure the series felt cohesive and intentional.
Final Thoughts
Shooting Sacramento Fashion Week was a fantastic creative challenge. With so much visual energy—bold designs, vibrant colors, and stunning models—it was the perfect playground for experimenting with different techniques.
I’ve learned over time to shoot for myself first—to create images that I find visually compelling rather than worrying about outside opinions. In this case, there wasn’t a single “client,” just a shared goal of representing the event well. That gave me the freedom to pursue the angles, subjects, and style that felt right.
It also reinforced something I’ve long believed: warming up visually before shooting makes a huge difference. Before each evening, I looked at images in a style I wanted to emulate, sometimes building a reference board on Pinterest to set the tone. Just like an athlete warms up before a game, priming your visual brain before a shoot helps you get into a creative rhythm faster.
I’ll be posting my final images in a series of Instagram posts, so keep an eye out! If you see yourself or know the designers, models, or hair & makeup artists, feel free to tag them.
📸 Follow along on Instagram: @englephoto_in
What’s your approach to shooting events like this? Drop a comment, and let’s talk about photography!