Congratulations, you’ve made it into the photography pit at London Fashion Week, which means now is the time to show that you’re a serious photographer and get your name out there.

If it’s your first time in LFW the last thing you want to do is leave a bad first impression, as this crowd is the key to you breaking into the magazine industry and more importantly gaining potential clients.

To make sure you first experience goes smoothly, we’ve put together our five top London Fashion Week photography tips. Also, before you head to your first show, you should check out our tips on how you can transform your fashion photographs into Vogue worthy canvas prints.

Never under estimate your competition
It’s your first time photographing London Fashion Week, so of course you come dressed to impressed - head to toe in couture. You arrive to see other photographers dressed in dull, formal work clothes, but if you think they’re not into fashion and are only there for work, think again. They have been to every show, seen every designer and have been next to the front-row for years. Many even have long-time friendships with all the key players in the industry, so just because they aren’t dressed in couture, like you, doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate the art of fashion.

Get familiar with the language
If you haven’t been in the photographer’s pit before you may come across some strange technical terms for your camera equipment. Do pelican, turtle and dead cat sound familiar? We thought not. A pelican is a professional hard case for your lenses, a turtle is a collapsible tool for you to sit on, or to give you more height and a dead cat is that fluffy thing on the end of a microphone. If you don’t want to look like an amateur we’d suggest you learn these terms as fast as you can, and if you’re stuck on what accessories to take with you check out our travel essentials.

Your smartphone isn’t a professional camera
You’ve worked so hard to make it into London Fashion Week, so don’t make the mistake of using your smartphone to capture the models. You are a serious photographer, who wants magazines to pay for your images and give you all the credit. You don’t want to be mistaken for a blogger who’s managed to sneak their way into the pit, do you? So, make sure all calls are placed on hold and you stay with your finger firmly on your camera’s caption button until the show is over.

Always act in a professional manner
The fashion industry is stereotypically known for being rather two-faced and catty, and it’s a stigma that’s stuck around for years. But don’t fret. It maybe competitive in the photography pit, but it’s far from anything you’ve seen in Mean Girls, or Zoolander. It’s all about hard work and being considerate. You’re working very closely with the other photographers, so if you’re not using a piece of equipment and someone desperately needs it, let them borrow it. You never know, you might have helped them capture that priceless shot and in return you’ll have gained a contact, which can open all sorts of doors for you and your career.

Snap, snap and keep snapping
Every designer puts on a show, that’s how they keep the audience fixated. Flashing lights, strobes, multiple model entrances and whatever else they can think of to make their show the most rememberable. All these factors can make it difficult for you to capture the perfect image, so our advice would be is to try and move around as much as you can, continuously taking images from all angles. This will give you a dozen images to choose from and once you’ve worked out which angle is best, you’ve got your perfect spot for the rest for the shows.

We’d love to see any of your London Fashion Week images! Please share them with us over on Facebook and Twitter.