Dressmaking

Shooboo

Shooboo

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182
Name
Mark
Edit My Images
Yes
hi everyone

my friend is a dressmaker is in the process of setting up her website. She has asked me to take pictures of them. I have a canon 5d Mark II with 24mm-70mm L series lens (f2.8). I am going to lend my friends macro lens for detail. What additional equipment do you think i would need to use to make the shots looks as professional as possible?

Thanks for your input in advance guys!
 
The biggest difference between amateur snap shots (regardless of the camera used) and professional looking shots will come own to (in no real order):

1) Composition (including depth of focus, backgrounds etc)
2) The posing of the model(s)
3) Lighting

There are lots of websites out there with great tutorials on all of the above - have a read.

Do you have any off camera lighting available to you ? Would your friend consider paying for a studio hire for a couple of days ?
 
I would consider the use of natural light - window light and reflectors. You can do a great job with this set up. However, it depends on what feel you want for the photographs. This set up will give a soft gentle romantic feel to the image.

If you have off camera lighting then get out in the wilds and in the town/villages and match your location to the style / feel required. Use shade and reflectors and depth of field to use colours of backgrounds, with them thrown out of focus.
 
Excellent advice guys, thank you. Really looking forward to this, it gives me a chance to a develop a portfolio commercially. I think I'm going to use a bright airy room with large windows for natural light (with models used) and then perhaps use a natural park location for an outside shoot. With macro to really accentuate the fine details such as stitching, buttons etc.
 
If you want the most detail in those shots make sure you cross light them. By that I mean make sure the lighting is coming onto the subject at an angle and not flat from the same direction you are shooting. Cross lighting is what really brings detail to life because it shows shadows that make the subject more three dimentional.

Have a little look at Jerry Ghionis website. He does a lot of these kind of shoots and the lighting setups are usually very simple, he just knows how to use light extremely well.

If you are looking to use natural light you may find that you need another light source to balance with it, otherwise you run the risk of only ever having one side well lit since windows tend to be in walls! ;) Even a daylight balanced bulb in a lamp reflected back or bounce some of the daylight back.
 
FABULOUS reply BouncyMelons (that feels a bit rude as you're a girl!) Thanks for the heads up on the author, I'll give him a whirl now.

I really want to develop as a photographer and hopefully enter the profession full time at some point. Advice such as yours and the others on here crucial to my learning :)
 
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