Learning with Lomography: Hong Kong Design Institute's Annual Fashion Shows

This summer Lomography was honored to collaborate with the the Department of Fashion and Image Design of HKDI (Hong Kong Design Institute) for their two annual fashion shows – Image Show 2023 and New Fashion Force 2023. The shooting team consisted of photography instructor Edward and six students who are studying fashion image design. We lent the team various film cameras and instant cameras such as LomoApparat 21 mm Wide-angle Camera, Lomo LC-Wide film camera, Lomo'Instant Wide, and Lomo'Instant Square, as well as Lomography Color Negative ISO 400 and Lomography Color Negative ISO 800 film. They carefully captured every move of students and models, giving us a glimpse of the creative designs both on the stage and behind the scenes!

Hello and welcome to Lomography Magazine. Please tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi, my name is Edward. I am working as a fashion and advertising photographer, and also a photography teacher in the Fashion Image Department of HKDI. For this shoot, we gathered six first year students from the Fashion Image Department as the shooting team. From this opportunity, I can learn from the mindset of those who were born after 2000, and I can also let my students learn how to shoot and adapt to changes during shooting. This year the school wanted to try shooting two fashion shows with film cameras, and I am responsible for them!

Do you shoot at fashion shows every year? Was the experience any different for you this time?

Although I have experience shooting fashion shows, this is my first time to participate in a school fashion show and I believe it is even the first time for my students. The most different and interesting aspect of this school shooting was of course using Lomography cameras and films to record the entire process. The whole process is very interesting. Apart from the instant cameras, we cannot know the result of the photo immediately, which makes everyone very curious to know the results of the photos. Film is precious, so the students can be trained to predict the next action of the person or object being photographed, so as to capture the dynamic vision of that moment.

Why did you want to use film to capture the fashion shows?

Both film and fashion shows have uncertain factors. The backstage is very busy, and it is difficult for you to focus and shoot accurately when using a film camera. I feel that these two uncertain factors added up must be interesting. In addition, I know that Lomography’s film cameras have color filters for flash and different lens attachments, which gives us more chances to shoot interesting effects.

Is shooting with a film camera a new challenge for you? Did you encounter any difficulties along the way?

It is a new challenge for me. When I shoot with film, it can take much time to find the best angle to shoot. But during the fashion show, I cannot slow down, otherwise I will miss many important moments. I also believe it is a big challenge for the students. Luckily Lomography's cameras are very user friendly and and easy to operate. Perhaps the biggest challenge is always remembering to adjust the focal length when using instant cameras and the Lomo LC-Wide. But this is my personal issue!

As a photography instructor, how did you organize the group of students and divide the shooting task for the show?

From three classes, I selected two students with a higher artistic sense, and then formed two shooting teams to shoot at two fashion shows respectively. I did not make any special arrangements on the shooting task. Instead, I walked through the entire backstage with them to understand what would happen or what interesting things might happen, and then we explored some good angles and lighting together, so that the students could shoot better.

What was the most unforgettable moment during the shoot?

I think the most unforgettable thing was that there were a male and a female acrobat. They did some difficult moves during the warmup, and their movements were captured, which was very impressive to me. In addition, when everyone saw the instant photos we took, they were very happy and excited. I felt very satisfied when I saw their expressions.

When shooting with our latest LomoApparat 21 mm wide angle film camera, what surprised you? What are your favorite creative features?

The most surprising things were the light weight, the built-in flash, and the multiple color filters! Among the three lens attachments, my favorite is the kaleidoscope filter! The images are really interesting. Also, by using Lomography's films, I really like the overall result, texture and the skin tone!

You also used the Lomo LC-Wide 35 mm film camera! How was the experience?

The Lomo LC-wide camera gave me a super surprise because of its size and shape. It just looks like an ordinary film camera, but the quality of the photos really surprised me and other teachers, especially the clarity. In addition, as the venue was dark and I did not have an external flash, I directly used a handheld LED panel. I think it is a very good combination at any time.

Do you have any favorite film photos from the shoots?

I chose these seven photos because they express the relaxed state in the early stage of the entire fashion show, and also the chaotic feeling in the middle of the show. In addition, I really like the colors brought by film photos, so you can see that the photos I chose are mainly photos with strong colors, especially the photos taken with color filters and multiple exposures. These photos are really beautiful! Then the rest were chosen based on light perception and composition. As the background was really dark, we took pictures with the dim lights of the venue and the built-in flash of the cameras. The results were really good. I hope everyone likes our shoot!

Thanks to the HKDI shooting team for sharing their brilliant photos! Film gives these photos a unique texture and atmosphere. This collaboration was very meaningful. We can also feel the enthusiasm of the fashion design students, and see the effort they put into each design work. We hope you all will continue to inspire and influence the future of the fashion industry after graduation!

written by nikkicheung on 2023-11-19 #gear #culture #people #event #hong-kong #fashion-show #lomo-lc-wide #lomo-instant-wide #lomoapparat #learning-with-lomography