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Inside fashion week photography: catwalk, backstage and street style snappers on the ruthless world

  • Kim Weston Arnold, Sonny Vandevelde and Lee Oliveira are key figures in the realms of catwalk, backstage and street-style photography, respectively
  • They reveal how they got into fashion week photography and what it takes to stand out in a scene that is getting ever more competitive

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With so many photographers looking to capture the action at fashion weeks, it has become a ruthlessly competitive scene. Photo: AFP

Given the enormous volume of photos that today’s fashion weeks generate, it’s hard to imagine that 20 years ago most of the images were of po-faced models looking straight down the barrel of the camera, taken by photographers standing in a “pit” at the end of the runway.

Today, before models even step out on the catwalk, their hair and make-up looks and first outfits have been exhaustively documented backstage by a large cohort of photographers working behind the scenes. Mid-show, as the models return to change outfits, another barrage of camera flashes fires off from photographers given permission to shoot during the show.

Then of course there are the off-duty looks outside the venues that are captured by yet another set of photographers whose ranks have ballooned over the past decade: street-style snappers.

With so many photographers looking to capture the fashion action, it is no surprise that fashion week photography has become a ruthlessly competitive arena. The Post spoke to three photographers who are part of the photo pack every season – one covering the catwalk, one backstage and one street-style – for their perspectives on fashion’s never-ending photo circus.

A shot of Chanel’s spring-summer 2019 haute couture show by Kim Weston Arnold. Photo: Kim Weston Arnold
A shot of Chanel’s spring-summer 2019 haute couture show by Kim Weston Arnold. Photo: Kim Weston Arnold

On the catwalk: Kim Weston Arnold

Based in Ibiza, Spain, Weston Arnold is a 30-year catwalk veteran. Born in Wales to parents from New Zealand, she studied fine art at London’s Goldsmiths college, specialising in photography.

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