Help w/Lighting & Small Space for (Couture) Vintage Fashion

[divinity_bleu]

<p>Ok, I am admittedly NOT a photographer, so I need to be able to work with what I have and could REALLY use some practical and workable advice. In the process of getting ready to launch an online vintage clothing business for my very high-end collection of vintage clothing and lingerie, I'm having a heck of a time trying to figure out how to stage my photography area for the best results. I've got two potential (small) work spaces, one is about 10 x 10 and the second though a bit larger, is more difficult to work in, but is about 10 x 20. Both are indoors, no natural lighting, basic dark or light backdrops depending on the color of the piece being photographed. (Using a female dress form (mostly) or mannequin) </em><br>

I have NOT invested in lighting yet and am hoping to come up with a do-able game plan before spending the money since I'm on a tight budget for this. So...any advice or tips that could help get me on the move with photographing my inventory? Bear in mind the purpose of my needs, as I am not aiming for the kind of professionalism that needs to exist for publication in Vogue, but do need to be able to display crisp, clear photos that will be optimal for showing details and maintaining color accuracy. </em><br>

Thank you so very much for any advice you can offer, I will be happy to post photos of my "trials" while feeling this process out. I've taken good pictures in the past for things like ebay and the like, but my website is much more "upscale" if you will and caters to a different clientele. Again, please remember that I am NOT a photographer and may need a little "help" with the jargin unless you can explain things in lay terms! I am howevr, a pretty quick learner. ; )</em> </p>

[bob_sunley]

<p>First question, what kind of camera do you have?</p>

<p>Edit: 2nd question, how tight a budget?</p>

 

[bob_sunley]

<p>Well to do a decent job on a full height mannequin, you;ll need the 10x20 foot room. Preferably three lights and a reflector or two. As you are shooting static objects, put the camera on a tripod and you can use inexpensive, read "low light output" lights and use a long exposure.</p>

<p>You can get away with only one light and use the reflectors instead.</p>

<p>You seriously need to read up on lighting, the book Light Science and Magic is a textbook on lighting, also look up to the Learning Tab, lots of good info there and there are a number of lighting tutorials online.</p>

[divinity_bleu]

<p><em>Hi Bob,</em><br>

<em>Woops, forgot to mention the camera situation. I currently just have a Canon PowerShot SX120 IS (and a few other digital cameras of similar quality) but have about a $400 budget max for lighting and new camera. (I may have a small amount of wiggle room for the camera but not too much.) Thanks!</em></p>

<h2><a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-sx120-is/4505-6501_7-33765882.html"></a></h2>

[bob_sunley]

<p>Well these or something similar might do for lighting. Your camera doesn't support external flash, and I'm not sure if it can trigger ones properly with the popup flash.</p>

<p>http://www.adorama.com/PAINT117.html</p>

<p> </p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>I suggest you spend your $400 budget on having some aspiring art-student photographer shoot your photos at some improvised location. Or a craigslister who has a studio.</p>

<p>You haven't enough space to achieve any kind of high fashion look, and you're up against equipment limitations as well. Your camera doesn't support an external flash, so you're limited to continuous lights. But there are no, or almost no, suitable modifiers for continuous lights that will get the look you want, even if you had the room. And you'll have the devil's own time with getting colors to match your goods if you're using fluorescent lamps (CFLs).</p>

<p>With $400 you might be able to rent a pro-sumer camera, lens, and some studio strobes, but you don't have enough room to do much, and with no experience you'll quickly spend your rental budget just learning how everything works.</p>

<p>You emphasize the high-end nature of your product. You don't want to cheapen that image with crappy pictures. Either come up with a real budget (~$1,000+) or find someone to do it for you who has the space and gear.</p>

<p><Chas></p>

[bobcossar]

<p>Charles has it right. I was originally horrified to see you think so little of what professional photographers actually are, and do, that you thought you could come close enough with no knowledge, or equipment, or budget, to satisfy your needs......And your needs are described, by you, as having high quality, color accurate images to satisfy a high end clientelle, to purchase "very high end" fashions and lingeries...<br>

I don't think fixing the budget is going to solve your needs. Better would be to try to find someone with some sort of experience in thecommercial photographic field to create the images you need.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[george_ghio]

<p>Hi</p>

<p>At risk of bringing down the wrath of the gods I will tell you a secret.</p>

<p>Some PAR flood lamps will see you though well enough. You may need to hang some muslin to moderate the light and some styrene board for reflectors. I work in a very small space. It can be done but if you have 10x20 so much the better. Then you want to go to http://www.dragonimage.com.au/ , scroll down til you find the "Studio Photography Lighting" ebook on the left of the page it's a free download. And while we are talking about vintage fashion you may also want to have a look at http://e-vint.com/.</p>

<p>Yes, I know folks, it's hardly a professional set up. But it can be done and give very good results.</p>

[awilliamsphoto]

<p>Hi Divinity -</p>

<p>You don't mention a specific price point for the clothing that you'll be marketing, but you have described it as being "high-end vintage clothing and lingerie". If online display and sales are a key part of this business, working with a professional photographer would likely be a better decision in this instance.</p>

<p>I recently viewed a website for a local bridal accessories designer. A makeup artist / stylist I occasionally work with had just helped style a shoot for the site. While the website was very clean and professional looking, the photos of the designer's work left something to be desired. Images of the individual accessories were very dark (underexposed), and in some cases it was hard to tell what I was looking at. She also had images where the accessories were displayed on a model. Every image appeared to have been taken outdoors at high noon. The lighting was very poor, and the direct sun blew out all details of the white accessories.</p>

<p>When I asked the makeup artist who the photographer was, she stated that the designer took them herself. Granted, I have no idea whether this individual still makes a good amount of sales from her website. I can say however, if I were an online customer viewing her accessories, I would have a very difficult time ordering based on the poor images.</p>

<p>I would have to agree with Charles, and suggest that you at least <em>try</em> to find an experienced photographer who might work with your budget. Again - I'm not sure what price point your clothing will sell at, but perhaps factor the cost of professional photography into the sale of each garment.</p>

<p> </p>

[michael_madio]

<p>For the camera, put it on a tripod (basic inexpensive one from Wal-Mart, etc.) that feels rigid (fewer leg sections are better ... get 3 sections vs 4 or 5). Put the camera in Av (aperture priority) mode, set the aperture to f/4, set the ISO to 80, use the highest quality and largest JPEG format (if there's RAW use that), disable the flash, and use the self-timer. Adjust the exposure compensation and white balance to taste.</p>

<p>As for lighting, get a white translucent shower curtain or low quality bed sheet (the thinner the better). I know you mentioned no natural light but if you can find a large window, tape the curtain/sheet to the window, setup your manequin beside the window + sheet and shoot. If there's too much shadow use white poster board or another sheet on the opposite side for fill. If you can't find a suitable window, find a way to suspend the curtain/sheet (clips/tape on ceiling, door frame, etc.) and use incandescent/halogen (fluorescent may cause colour issues) shop lights to shine through the panel in place of the sun.</p>

<p>For shooting still products like clothes (not on people) you don't "need" flash but it is convenient. You can probably cobble together this simple lighting arrangement with things you already have and if you need to buy it's cheap and readily available. Using flash is a completely different ball game (much more complex) and you really want to use a DSLR with a hot-shoe. If your desire is to learn about photography then this pursuit will be worth it but if all you want is good photos for your catalog it will probably be less frustrating and less time consuming to just hire a photographer.</p>

[gerald_kraus]

<p>Look at images first in a magazine that shows some of the clothes and styling that you like. Try and replicate the look and lighting. You are starting off with a complete lack of knowledge of photography and there is no way that you can do what you want to do on a low budget and without a lot of trial and error testing. <br>

Keep in mind that each piece is different and that there is no one set lighting template that will work for all products. If you are not going to use models, then, you should be able to use constant light sources which are less expensive than flashes.<br>

You have your work cut out for you.</p>