Some helpfull advise needed please

[u8myufo]

My sons fiance designs and produces clothing for teenagers, its a second income. As they are finding the budget tight at the moment she asked me if I would mind shooting a few pics for the website. They have had an experianced tog come down in the past. I will have access to a garage aprox 15ft by 10ft.
My only kit consists of a 400D, 50mm 1.8, 28-80mm 3.5 (old but still produces a good image) a 580ex flash + softbox, tripod and remote. My first thought would be to get an off camera cord, her brother whilst being helpfull and helping her out has bought a lighting set for her plus extra backdrops. http://www.backdropsource.co.uk/Productinfo.asp?id=1076&pname=heavy-weave-white-muslin-backdrop-with-continuous-lights

Now I know you might suggest that kit is no good, but what I am after is making the most of whats on offer. I was wondering should I be taking outdoor shots as well maybe? I also understand the world of lighting is a complex and technical subject, so a few pointers would be great what would be a good start to position lights, do I use lights and flash? I have just over a month to practise this stuff, and will post up my efforts for C&C.Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Richard King]

Shooting clothes properly is very hard.. the new kit you have is not really up to it. I would be tempted to set the backdrop up in a conservatory, wait for a nice sunny day, get youe subject as far fron the backdrop as possible, and shoot with natural light, or just a little fill flash, and use a reflector if needed.

Your alternative route is to do "lifestyle" shots, and forget the backdrop, go to the forest or to a some where with a "good urban backdrop" and shoot with or without flash as required. Your difficulty will be getting a homogenious feel with the rest of the images on the website, which for sure will have been shot with at least decent 3 studio flash heads if you "had a pro in" (you light the background seperatally to the product)

 

[u8myufo]

Thanks Richard, I know there is really no substitute for natural light, well maybe but at a cost and to be honest I would be more comfortable shooting outdoors, and we do have some great places around here for that. I am just waiting for a link to the website so as to give me and maybe someone here an idea of what kind of expectations to live up too. When I say the last bloke who did the pics was a pro, he might well have been a good amature tog, will have to wait and see what he produced. Thanks again for the advice, would you still reccomend I get an off shoe cord for my 580?

 

[Garry Edwards]

Richard is right. That lighting gear is useless and even if you had the right gear you'd find yourself on the bottom of a very steep learning curve. Fashion is shot by experts, it's very high budget and much more difficult than it looks - I would be very surprised if the previous pro or good amateur has produced shots that actually enhance sales.

My advice is to shoot with natural light, on the streets, outside nightclubs, wherever the target audience will be seen wearing the clothes. Just avoid bright sunlight and static poses.