SNAP HAPPY: My Toronto Fashion Week Pics with a little (lot of) help from BLACKS

Training day with the talented Bardya at BLACKS. 

Okay, so here's my dilemma. I'm a fashion blogger. But my camera sucks. That is, it could be the camera, or it could totally be me. So, let's blame the camera.

With World MasterCard Fashion Week on the horizon and a new gig as digital correspondent for iVillage.ca, I reach out in a desperate eleventh hour appeal to my friends at BLACKS to see if I might be able to borrow a camera for Fashion Week. I already own an expensive SLR camera which is fantastic for shots of my family but for Fashion Week, not so much. I'm talking big, bulky and way too complicated for my basic photography knowledge - plus I have yet to invest in a proper zoom lens so can never get close enough to get any decent runway shots. For the last few seasons, I've relied on my smartphone to capture the action. But let's just say my pics are falling flat.

So I tell BLACKS what I'm after - something super easy to use, not too big (after all, I'll be running from show to show and don't need the hassle of a heavyweight), with high quality images and a stellar zoom. The response? We have the perfect camera for you. Oh, and by the way, you get to KEEP IT. Seriously?! Pinch me. 

Where it all went down - the brand new BLACKS boutique at Yonge & Eg.

I meet up with my camera guru, Bardya, at the BLACKS at Yonge & Eg in the middle of Fashion Week to pick up my new camera and get a one-hour tutorial between the shows. The new BLACKS stores (if you haven't had a chance to check them out) have been made modern for our digital lives with the coolest ways to finally get pics off of our phones and computers, including fun photo wall art printed on acrylic and metal, gorgeous photo books (Christmas gifts, anyone?), and even Made for Instagram prints.

They hook me up with a Canon PowerShot SX50 HS, a next generation point-and-shoot that Bardya believes will answer all of my Fashion Week woes. He gives me the lowdown: this camera offers the world's first 50x Optical Zoom lens in a compact digital camera, which goes all the way from a wide-angle 24mm to 1200mm to capture any shot. The camera even features 1080p Full HD video for any live action I might want to cover throughout the week. Bardya assures me that I don't need to know anything about aperture or shutter speed or even settings at first because the auto setting will pretty much do it all for me. Perf. 

Still, he takes me through the camera's super cool features anyway, including an Instagram-like 1x1 sizing option, an action mode for fast-moving models and my personal fav: the smooth skin feature, which irons out fine lines and wrinkles, evens out blotchy skin, and basically nixes the need for any post-pic Photoshopping. Genius. I head to Fashion Week and get to work (if you can call it work). 

I'm already totally smitten with this camera and can't wait to keep testing it out - from my glam fashion life to my photogenic little ones. Check out my Fashion Week pics below and see the results for yourself. Keep in mind that all of these pics were taken on the auto setting because I'm lazy and because this camera is SO FREAKING AWESOME. Next up? Street style.

Big love, BLACKS, for my amazing new camera! Mind blown.

Testing out the camera's black & white feature with the models backstage.

Pretty meets punk backstage. 

Sorry, got distracted there for a second. Nom nom nom....

The Caitlin Power presentation where I jostled for a place next to the pro photogs...

...but didn't really need to thanks to my crazy zooooom. Booyah.

Love this model.

Sometimes there's more action in the front row than on the runway.

A stunning look from Hilary Macmillan.

Cannot get over the details you can see with this camera!

A model gets a little touch-up at the Minnie Mouse dress competition.

Playing with shadow and light. 

iPhone vs. my new Canon PowerShot SX50 HS - think it's obvious which one's the winner. Speaking of winners, this dress designed by Sid Neigum won the Minnie Mouse competition.

Gorgeous colours at the WMCFW Press & Buyers' Brunch.

The lighting at a runway show is always the tricky part. 

Luckily, my new Canon PowerShot SX50 HS picks up every detail, even the fine print.

Love this big, bad, bearded model at Christopher Bates.

WERK.

Obsessed with this dress from Narces. This camera's so fast I caught it coming and going.

The way my runway pics look with my iPhone...

...and the way they look now. SUCH a difference!