A day in the life of a photographer at London Fashion Week
When she’s not busy making the IMAGE social media accounts look beautiful or being the best dressed person in the office, IMAGE Social Media Manager Amber O’Shea is a photographer. She took to London this season to capture the autumn/winter 2025 collections and the street style paving the way through the UK’s fashion capital. Here she takes us with her behind the scenes at her first ever London Fashion Week.
After a long hiatus from photography, this was my first time shooting again and my first time at London Fashion Week. This was both exhilarating and terrifying – I was diving into big crowds, the unknown, and I had no idea what to expect. It was an incredible milestone for me and a mega learning curve. The whole experience was so fast but I absolutely adored the adrenaline and every moment of it. I flew over to London on Saturday from Dublin and stayed there for the weekend to attend some shows and to capture the wonderful, stylish people of London. When I arrived, I got straight into photographing the street style and before I knew it, five hours had already flown by and my feet were starting to feel it, but it was time for my first runway show; Sinéad O’Dwyer, an Irish designer who studied in London.
I was still running on adrenaline when I got to the hub situated by 180 The Strand, the main area of London Fashion Week for this year. I went downstairs into the very dark catwalk area to find the photographer’s pit. Let me paint a picture for you; iPhone torch in hand, trying to find my spot and accidentally taking a full blown flash photo in a very, very dark place. Nothing more embarrassing than accidentally doing that even though I was there to take photos, but you know what I mean?! After that humbling experience was over, I tried to situate myself to find the best place to get ‘the shot’. There were a handful of other photographers there too, and it was interesting to see their set-up and processes. I was digesting everything to adopt it myself. I love seeing behind the scenes and getting to witness how everything works.
When the show first began and the music started, lights went on and the model walked out, I instantly got goosebumps and had to start adjusting my camera settings to get the perfect snap. The show flew by and before I knew it, it was time to pack up and go. Sinéad had created incredible garments and accessories that echoed back to the origins of Irish dancing shoes. I fell in love with everything from the collection, everything was so eye-catching, down to the oxblood colour palette to the openwork, silver hardware designs. The collection, ‘Character Studies’, celebrated body diversity and sexuality and featured many inclusive models on her runway. Bravo! I met two lovely photographers along the way in the depths of the dark lit photography pit, Hannah and Sarah, and chatting to them really was a highlight of the experience. They shared some tips, tricks and advice to me when I expressed that this was my first fashion show. Their content coverage for LFW is incredible and I think it’s so wonderful to see women photographers killing it.
Before my next show, I grabbed some sushi for dinner and did some editing at my hotel. I stayed in the Victoria area and it was so handy. I was right beside Victoria station, so I could get a bus or underground no bother and get to the venues quite easily – I was even within walking distance from some too, which made my life so much easier. You are constantly on your feet so saving time and energy is vital, as is getting some sort of food into you or else you’re running off fumes. It’s a long day for a photographer but thankfully even the weather was on my side and I got really lucky with the people I photographed. I loved everyone’s outfits and getting to know the person wearing them was even more special. I was only a tube away from my next show – Annie’s Ibiza.
The Annie’s Ibiza show literally gave me goosebumps. The venue, the lighting, the team and the music were incredible. I was lucky enough to be able to sit in and watch the rehearsals and I had chills. It was so spectacular that I almost forgot that I was supposed to be photographing it! Everyone at MAC Cosmetics was so nice, it really made my experience less daunting and I felt like okay, maybe this isn’t so scary.
One thing I didn’t realise was how quick the shows would be, they were over before I knew it. Thankfully for Annie’s Ibiza, I was able to get in backstage and take photos during rehearsals so I got to see the catwalk three times, which gave me loads of opportunity to photograph the show from different angles and capture the models.
With back to back shows and hours of shooting, I quickly realised how important it was to have the right gear with you. You won’t believe it, but I bought a crossbody bag to bring to London for my cameras and the second I zipped it up, the zip came apart and broke on me. I had only been in London for five minutes. I had a back-up bag so I urge anyone to bring one just in case the first plan doesn’t work out for you. I had a crossbody bag from Weekday which had a quick release buckle so I was able to take it off without any issues and I brought a vinyl rain jacket I picked up a few years ago in menswear in Weekday – my uniform. My favourite piece I wore during the weekend was this Casacor’s handmade string shirt, this piece is incredible. I picked it up at her pop-up in Dublin’s Chocolate Factory. I got so many compliments about it and now I need more. She is a Spanish designer based in Ireland and incredible at what she creates. She told me that she has only been sewing since August and everything is sustainable. The quality of her designs is incredible.
Throughout the whole journey, I couldn’t believe how quickly time was passing, I was shooting street style outside for four and a half hours, but it only seemed like five minutes had passed when I got there. It was really fun to mingle and meet new people, and get to know the people wearing these outfits, hearing what they work as, what industry they’re from and what fashion means to them. It was all pretty inspiring.
I went shooting some more street style photographs and caught some cool people after Chet Lo’s fashion show. I bumped into a good friend of mine NIARA, a very talented musician and producer living in London and together we took one of my favourite set of street style pictures around in the Kensington area. Afterwards, I made a beeline over to Hector Maclean’s runway show, which I had a backstage and afterparty pass for. This show was held in Covent Garden inside a church and was filled with bold union jack prints, punk spikey hairstyles, and almost a collage-like fabric dresses; it felt like an ode to Vivienne Westwood.
Camera-wise, I just brought a film camera and my Canon DSLR with a flash gun and extra memory cards, as well as my rode microphones, just in case. I made sure to wear super comfy trainers and I was constantly on my feet so these made my journey much easier.
One thing is for sure after this weekend, I’m hooked. London Fashion Week was fast, chaotic, and completely overwhelming but I wouldn’t change a thing and can’t wait to do it all over again.
Photography by Amber O’Shea.
Also Read
