My first 'studio' shoot

One of my friends was performing in the KCL Diwali Show fashion act this year. He reached out to me asking if I could photograph the models and then the performance.

Gladly accepting, and looking forward to the opportunity to take my first fashion shots, I bought some studio lights and backdrops. I also prepped by reading up and watching some tutorials of studio and fashion photography.

With the help of another friend, Dillon Kevat, who is a videographer setting up the lights and backdrop was a breeze. However it became apparent very quickly that with the tall models this backdrop was not up to size.

Persevering on, the shoot went well. It was great working with the models with some having experience and clear vision of what they want but others requiring more direction.

Anoushka, one of the choreos of the amazing performance

Onto shooting the performance. I had a chance to see a rehearsal earlier in the day which allowed my to dial in my settings and also know the key moments and where I wanted to be ensuring I didn't miss any crucial shots.

The performance was amazing and I managed to capture some great shots. Was lovely to see the models perform who hours before had been strangers but over the shoot I'd gotten to know really well and close to. I was really proud to see them pull it off.

Another success is Dillon had got some great behind the scenes footage of me which made for a great first TikTok. Dillon also videoed the performance and can be found on his YouTube channel.

After the catwalk performance, there was a bhangra performance, which I photographed as well and also some great pictures came from this. The performance had an incredible energy and stunning moves.

Overall, this was a great day and would love to do it again at other similar shows and the KCL Diwali Show next year. I learnt a lot from this being my first shoot of this kind and first time using studio lights. A much larger backdrop has already been bought!