What I Love Photographing Most During New York Fashion Week
There is nothing quite like New York City during New York Fashion Week.
For a few days, it feels as though the entire fashion industry takes over the city. Designers are presenting new collections, models are running between castings, fittings and shows, makeup artists and hairstylists are creating looks backstage, photographers are everywhere, and guests arrive wearing outfits that sometimes deserve their own runway.
The energy is incredible. New York is already a city where fashion and creativity are everywhere, but during Fashion Week, everything seems to intensify.
I've been photographing New York Fashion Week for more than five years now, which means I've covered more than ten seasons. During that time, I've experienced NYFW from so many different perspectives. I've worked as a house photographer for a fashion brand, photographed runway shows, backstage preparations, fittings, first looks, guest arrivals, and countless little moments happening somewhere in between.
And somehow, every season, I still discover something new.
As a New York fashion photographer, I also spend a lot of my time outside Fashion Week creating beauty, fashion and editorial photoshoots both in the studio and throughout New York City. Fashion Week feels like another extension of that world—but one where everything happens incredibly fast and you have very little control over what is going to happen next.
Explore my Editorial Photography Portfolio Here
After more than ten seasons, I've definitely discovered which parts of New York Fashion Week I get most excited about photographing.
1. Backstage — My Favorite Part of Fashion Week
If I had to choose only one part of New York Fashion Week to photograph, it would probably be backstage.
Of course, from a client's perspective, the runway photographs are incredibly important. That's the final product. The collection is styled, the models' hair and makeup are finished, the lighting is set, and every look finally comes together exactly as it was intended to be seen.
But personally, I'm fascinated by everything that happens before that moment.
A runway show might last only 10 or 15 minutes, but an enormous amount of work goes into creating those few minutes.
Backstage, makeup artists might be working on dozens of faces while hairstylists are finishing looks, nail artists are working on tiny details, stylists are making last-minute adjustments, designers are checking garments, models are going through fittings, teams are organizing the lineup, and everyone is working against the clock.
It's chaotic, but it's a very beautiful kind of chaos.
And that is what I love photographing.
I want to capture the hands making the final adjustment to a dress. The concentration on a makeup artist's face. A model sitting quietly for a few seconds before everything begins. A designer checking a look. The racks of clothing, makeup stations, shoes, accessories, hairspray, conversations and constant movement happening everywhere at once.
Those photographs tell the story behind the runway.
For me, backstage also feels more exclusive. The runway is designed to be seen. Backstage isn't. Not everyone gets to see what happens there or understands just how much work goes into producing a show that might be over in 15 minutes.
Interestingly, when I first started photographing New York Fashion Week, I was much more interested in the runway itself. Over the years, my attention has gradually shifted toward everything happening behind it.
Maybe that's also because of my work as a beauty and editorial photographer. I'm naturally drawn to details—the makeup, styling, textures, expressions and those little in-between moments that might disappear a second later.
2. The Runway — Capturing That One Perfect Moment
Of course, I still love photographing the runway.
There is something incredibly satisfying about capturing the perfect runway frame: the model at exactly the right point in the walk, the garment moving beautifully, the expression, the lighting and the composition all coming together for a fraction of a second.
Runway photography is absolutely an art of its own.
At the same time, it is very different from photographing backstage. When photographers are lined up on the riser photographing the same model walking through the same light at approximately the same moment, naturally, many photographers can end up with somewhat similar images.
The challenge is finding your frame within that moment.
It might be the exact second the fabric catches the air, the model's expression, a movement that shows the silhouette perfectly, or simply the way you choose to compose the photograph.
And ultimately, these are the photographs that document the collection itself—the reason everyone is there in the first place.
Even after photographing more than ten seasons of New York Fashion Week, I still get that little rush when I look at the back of my camera and know: that's the frame.
3. The Guests — The Part I Used to Forget About
And then there are the guests.
This one is actually funny because when I first started photographing New York Fashion Week, I almost completely ignored guest arrivals.
There was already so much happening. I was photographing backstage, preparing for the runway, moving from one place to another and trying to make sure I didn't miss anything important. By the time I had a few minutes before the show, I think I was simply overwhelmed by everything going on.
Then afterward, I would look back and think:
Why didn't I photograph the guests?!
Because during New York Fashion Week, the fashion show often starts long before the models walk onto the runway.
Some guests arrive wearing incredible outfits. You see beautiful styling, dramatic accessories, personalities and completely different interpretations of fashion. Sometimes the people attending the show are dressed just as spectacularly as the models who are about to walk it.
And sometimes, of course, those guests happen to be A-list celebrities.
That creates another one of those surreal New York Fashion Week moments.
You can suddenly find yourself standing only a few feet away from someone you've seen countless times in movies, on television, in magazines or online—and now they're right there in front of your camera.
And you're not simply standing next to them. You're photographing them.
They look toward your camera, pose for you, and for those few seconds, you're creating their photograph.
No matter how many events you've photographed, I think there is still something pretty cool and slightly surreal about that experience.
So now I have my little NYFW routine.
There is usually this short window—maybe 10 or 15 minutes—between the moment photographers have to leave backstage and the moment we need to take our positions on the riser for the runway.
Instead of sitting and waiting for the show to begin, I use those minutes to photograph the guests.
And it has become one of my favorite parts of the entire experience.
Why I Still Love Photographing New York Fashion Week
After more than five years and more than ten seasons, you might think New York Fashion Week would eventually start to feel familiar.
Somehow, it doesn't.
Every season brings new designers, new collections, new venues, new creative teams, new personalities and new challenges. Even when the basic structure of a fashion show remains the same, there is always something happening that I haven't experienced or photographed before.
That's one of the reasons I keep loving it.
For me, Fashion Week isn't simply about photographing clothes walking down a runway. It's about documenting the entire world surrounding those few minutes—from the beautiful chaos backstage to the final runway presentation to the incredible people arriving to watch it.
The runway shows you the finished vision.
Backstage shows you everything it took to create it.
And the guests show you the fashion, personalities and culture surrounding it.
Together, those photographs tell the complete story of a show.
Need a Photographer for New York Fashion Week?
Yes, after an entire article about photographing Fashion Week, I should probably mention that I photograph New York Fashion Week.
If you're a designer, fashion brand, PR agency, production company or creative team looking for an experienced photographer for an upcoming show, I'd love to hear about your project.
I have more than five years of experience photographing New York Fashion Week and more than ten seasons of NYFW coverage, including runway, backstage, fittings, first looks, guest arrivals and full fashion-show documentation.
I'm based in New York City and available to photograph New York Fashion Week, fashion shows, designer presentations and other fashion events throughout the city. I'm also available for travel and would love to photograph fashion weeks, runway shows and fashion events around the world.
You can explore more of my fashion work here:
New York Fashion Week Photography Portfolio
Editorial Photography Portfolio
Because for me, photographing fashion isn't only about documenting what someone is wearing. It's about capturing the creativity, work, personalities and fleeting moments that make the fashion world so fascinating in the first place.