Three Things We learned Shooting with Leica over LFWM

29th June 2019

Candid’s Tyler Kenny test drives a Leica CL over London Fashion Week Men’s.

London Fashion Week Men’s or rather ‘Fashion Weekend’ has come and gone in a flash. Whilst the weather was particularly bleak, I hit the streets of a Shoreditch with an extra pep in my step and a shiny new camera around my neck.

Over the course of the weekend, I had the opportunity to attend one of Leica's world-renowned Akademie courses (led by Kim Leuenberger) and later capture LFWM through the lens of the Leica CL.

Iconic look

One of the most surprising things about venturing out that weekend with my new piece of kit was how instantly recognisable the iconic red ‘Leica' dot is.

Forget a Burberry check or Prada banana-print, it was all about this tiny badge of honour as photographers and street style fans came from afar to get a closer look. As the dedicated ‘Leica legion', we're all super keen to try ‘just one thing' and have a go at shooting.

From the front row to backstage and everywhere in between, the camera had passed so many hands by the time I got it back its settings had been changed so many times I found myself learning new features and getting reacquainted all over again.

Look for the unexpected

The workshop was filled so many morsels of photographic goodness I'd be remiss if I tried to recap (we recommend signing up for one yourself, seriously!). The most unexpected tip was just that – ‘look for the unexpected', whether it was capturing umbrellas or scarves billowing in the wind.

Kim's advice was to first photograph your surroundings with your eyes, focussing on what speaks to you before pulling out your camera. As you start to recognise patterns or recurring themes, photograph them; this will keep your photography centred on a single subject. This brings us to our final tip.

Quality over quantity

The final takeaway from the weekend might be obvious to some, but to hear it from Kim was a welcome reminder.

When out shooting, less is more. As with the tip above, if you spend the entire day shooting just umbrellas or portraits of men outside barbershops, you're bound to come away with two to three really strong shots.

Trying to capture everything all at once will only lead to an SD card full of mediocrity.

Kim shared her own story of shooting gorillas in the wild with a group of photographers. They all shot furiously except for her; she took her time getting two to three shots and then sat back to enjoy the moment.

Often during fashion week, or life in general, we are so obsessed with getting all the shots that we forget to sit back and be present in the moment. I reflected on this as the Oliver Spencer show came to a close, the clothes were artfully presented yet wearable and the setting was as if we'd been transported to a far-flung market – the audience collectively put down their smartphones and cameras to clap, hoot and holler.

Take a scroll through some of Tyler Kenny's LFWM highlights and visit Leica for more info on their workshops.

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