Street photography @ Milan Fashion Week 2024

Tips and tricks

Street photography is a form of photography that captures candid, unposed scenes of everyday life, at least as I personally understand it. Milan fashion week is a perfect opportunity for street photographers, so here are some tips:

To take street photography, you need a camera that is light, discreet and fast. As for the lens, the most suitable is a wide angle, which allows you to have a broad vision and get closer to subjects without being intrusive. I like my 18mm f2 Fuji lens (28mm full frame equivalent) and avoid telephoto lenses because I’m much more interest in the context than VIP’s and models.

To find out where and when to go and take photographs, you need to consult the fashion show calendar, which you can find on the website of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion. The calendar shows you the places, times and names of the brands presenting their collections. Always remember that the most famous and anticipated fashion shows are also the most crowded and chaotic, so you will have to be prepared to compete with other photographers and move with agility and anticipation.

In addition to the fashion shows, there are many other interesting places to photograph during Milan fashion week. You can visit the symbolic places of Milanese fashion, such as the Fashion District, the Duomo, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and the Teatro alla Scala. Try to choose locations that have good light, a nice background and a balanced composition.

When you do street photography, you must always be respectful and discreet towards the people you photograph and you must never be pushy, aggressive or rude. If you want to photograph someone, you can ask their permission with a smile, or you can shoot quickly and silently, without attracting attention. If someone objects or asks you to delete the photo, I usually accept their request without discussion.

Remember that street photography is not a violation of privacy, but a way of telling reality with sensitivity and creativity.

Finally, my most important advice is to have fun and experiment (for example using flash). Street photography is an art form that has no fixed rules, but is based on your personal vision and your ability to capture the moment. You can try to capture people's emotions, expressions, gestures and storie and the important thing is that you are always curious, open and passionate!