Getting the Shot
Fashion shows – there’s no tougher pecking order. The front row is reserved for the top editors, buyers, or celebrities; the second for those a little down the masthead; the third for even lesser knowns and on and on – until you’re in the peanut gallery. Talk about a cold, cruel world where no prisoners are taken.
Then there are the hundred or more photographers crammed into the pit at the end of the runway. Theirs is a different pecking order. The king is the gray-bearded Dan Lecca, who shoots for publications like Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, The New York Times and more. He generally gets to pick his spot in the pit, usually in the middle. After that come photographers for Women’s Wear Daily, The Times, wire services and so on, who also get to pick and choose their spots.
Not always, though. In the photographers’ world, it’s often first come-first served. The photographers have to mark out their spots at each show beforehand by taping a square on the floor where they want to stand and writing their name on it. If they’re late, they may lose it.
Not everyone wants to be front-and-center, though. Some prefer to be way in the back, others right in front or on the side to shoot the accessories. They, too, have to mark their spots or see them go to someone else.
Which all proves one thing about fashion: it’s a dog-eat-dog world.
Style on!
Jill
