Taking clothing pictures for online store.

Messages
470
Name
Imran
Edit My Images
Yes
Its been a while since I've been here but its good to be here.

Me and the missus have inherited a clothing business and at the moment this is retail only but we are looking to move online. We've started up an eBay store and its doing good.

The clothing is ready made garments aswell as open/loose cloth where the customer gets them sewn to their requirements.

At the moment we have torso mannequins which are good but I feel a body or torso+arms mannequin would be better. I've seen those ghost Mannequins with removable necks etc and would love one of them but for the time being i'm just going to start off with a basic one.

its the open cloth I'm having trouble gauging how best to display it. At the moment its folded to a decent size to show the pattern etc lying flat and me taking an overhead picture. sometimes these have a full body design which if i keep it folded doesnt show up as good. i have to have a separate picture for the top half and separate for the bottom half. the only thing i could possibly do is purchase a rail and hang it from there?

I have a full white vinyl background and use a flash to take the pictures however i do want to move to a strobe set up. i have two sets which i purchased a long time ago and the largest size lastolite too. I purchased them a while back not for any real purpose just to play around with and theyve been in storage since. I've taken them out and they're all working perfectly fine. With the lights i have the softboxes and the umbrellas. So i know i can have a great set up - i have a spare room where i can take these pictures and have the set up.

i have a canon t4i, two canon flashes, 2 x bowens lights 2 x interfit ex150, white vinyl background and a lastolite background

the only thing i think i need to purchase is some new triggers for the lights - the ones i have dont see to fire the strobes. its been a while so they may have just stopped working.

since it has been a while since i've had a studio set up and taken pics i was wondering if anyone on TP had any experience in doing this and any advice?

edit: also with regards to lenses i want to get a better lens for shooting close on some of the detail any recommendations on that too?
 
Last edited:
Make sure your colour profiling set up is correct, as incorrect display of colours is one reason for increased returns. Profile monitor, set colour balance in camera etc.
 
Make sure your colour profiling set up is correct, as incorrect display of colours is one reason for increased returns. Profile monitor, set colour balance in camera etc.

Yeah i think this is one area i do need to better. At the moment we've not had many issues and no one has returned anything due to the colour not being shown properly. but in a few instances i have had to go back and reshoot or correct the colour in post simply because the colour on the screen wasnt reflecting to what i was seeing on the product.
 
Ask for this thread to be moved to the lighting forum, you'll find more expertise there.
 
There are a few things ti think about here and in no particular order. . .
1. Colour. If your Bowens flashes are old then you'll struggle to get consistent colour temperature.
And whether new or old, you'll struggle to get it with your Interfit flashes. Just shoot in raw format, include a black, grey and white target in the first acceptable shot and adjust the colour temperature to suit in PS. include the usual disclaimer in your ebay listings about colours not always displaying correctly on monitors, if you know the Pantone colour then quote it.
2. Flashes. Use your studio heads, not your flasguns for this. Your key light will usually be a large sofbox but you will often need a fill light too.
3. For bolts, laying it flat is usually best. Place your softbox light (on a boom arm) directly overhead at low power for fill and use a distant Honeycombed light at an acute angle to reveal the texture of the material. Later, adjust both fill effect and contrast in PS, but try to get it right in camera.
4. never photograph finished clothes flat, it kills sales. The best option by far is a live mode, second best is a ghost mannequin, and in business terms their cost is reasonable - don't be confused by the very high prices shown on ebay for out of stock items.

That should get you started, come back with your first results and we'll help with any lighting issues.
 
include the usual disclaimer in your ebay listings about colours not always displaying correctly on monitors, if you know the Pantone colour then quote it.

Sadly i think thats standard for any listing even if you get the colour bang on!

never photograph finished clothes flat, it kills sales. The best option by far is a live mode, second best is a ghost mannequin, and in business terms their cost is reasonable - don't be confused by the very high prices shown on ebay for out of stock items.

Unfortunately some of the stuff we sell isnt able to go on a mannequin so we have to lay it flat. I'm not happy with it and i am trying to think of alternatives to that.


IMG_3214.JPG

I actually found my wire to trigger my lights. so this was taken today

so you have a better idea if what i'm trying to achieve.
 
I've never photographed any item of clothing for which a model - or a mannequin. - can't be used.

Your photo is unsharp and the camera is too high. Much worse, the lighting is completely flat, dull and boring. Place the key light at about 60 - 70 degrees off to one side to add interest and to reveal the texture, place a fill light at the camera position, just powerful enough to avoid HARSH shadows, but leaving fairly gentle shadows.

Coloured backgrounds don't work well. Use either black fabric - for both ease and drama - or white paper or vinyl, which will need 2 more lights, to overexpose it by just under one stop, or better still, cut the subject out of the background in PP. With any background, you'll need at least 8 ft between subject and background.

Include loads of close up and detail shots, plus of course you need to show the back too. Only show labels in detail shots.

Make the item fit the model or mannequin with clamps or clothes pegs.

As you haven't got a decent mannequin, use a real person as a model, much better to do that anyway because your customers want to see what it will look like on them, not on a lump of plastic:)
 
Have to agree 100% with Garry, I've shot countless thousands of clothing items of every type and category you can imagine, and never found a single item that cannot be photographed either as a flat or on a model or a mannequin.

The lighting setup you have is a bit of a mess, and as others have said colour balancing and lighting is paramount if you are not to get loads of returns.

The image as posted doesn't come across as a commercial image at all, it's a snapshot and thus will definitely effect sales.

It's not as easy as you think, much better off just giving the work to a pro photographer. It's well documented that pro photos on eBay can increase sales 20% or more.
 
Have to agree 100% with Garry, I've shot countless thousands of clothing items of every type and category you can imagine, and never found a single item that cannot be photographed either as a flat or on a model or a mannequin.

The lighting setup you have is a bit of a mess, and as others have said colour balancing and lighting is paramount if you are not to get loads of returns.

The image as posted doesn't come across as a commercial image at all, it's a snapshot and thus will definitely effect sales.

It's not as easy as you think, much better off just giving the work to a pro photographer. It's well documented that pro photos on eBay can increase sales 20% or more.
 
Lots of good advice above, my 2p.

Why use a mannequin when you can shoot models for free - lots of aspiring models will be happy to pose for free in return for commercial pics (for their portfolio). An average commercial pic in their portfolio is worth a lot more than a great test shot.

- Try using contrasting background to make the clothes pop.
- Shoot from model/mannequin waist height
- Use 85mm to 105mm lens
- Use large softbox placed at 45 deg on one side as main light and a fill in or reflector at 30 deg on the other side. Try doing the same with a silver brolly as it might be even more - suitable for above type of clothing as it will probably add a bit more sparkle.
- Fabrics look best when draped which also makes them trickier to light so play around with the lighting a bit.
- Use either naked flash or silver brolly on rear directed towards the back of the model to make it stand out from the background (you'd want it to be approximately a couple of stops stronger than main light).
- Do a colour balance test on each individual flash to make sure they are all in the same k specially if mixing different types of flash, could possibly use gels to offset variations.
- Look at all the other pics on ebay for similar type clothing and instead of copying them try to change things around to make your pics stand out.
- I think this type of clothing would look rather nice shot outdoors at night or twilight with flash, fancy giving it a go?
- Perhaps unrealistic to expect a relative newbie to do everything in one go so start with the easy recommendations and gradually incorporate trickier ones ... idea is to achieve continuous improvements.
 
Why use a mannequin when you can shoot models for free - lots of aspiring models will be happy to pose for free in return for commercial pics

Bad advice. The average model who will accept unpaid work is unlikely to be very good at all. They'll slow down your workflow and just simply won't look good, stilted and don't know how to work the clothing.

On top of that when it's comes to a commercial shoot, then everyone should be paid fair rates.

P.s. don't forget hair & makeup when working with models in a commercial shoot.

Getting back to lighting, many people keep advising a setup. That is not the way to go. You need to understand lighting fully and keep adjusting as needed for different garments, different fabrics and different cuts and tailoring.

Different items need lighting different ways. Sometimes they need lighting different ways just so they look the same.
 
Agreed.
I'm not suggesting a lighting setup (which can never work - what I'm suggesting is a starting point.
 
It's not as easy as you think, much better off just giving the work to a pro photographer. It's well documented that pro photos on eBay can increase sales 20% or more.


Bad advice. The average model who will accept unpaid work is unlikely to be very good at all. They'll slow down your workflow and just simply won't look good, stilted and don't know how to work the clothing.

Of course professional photographers & models will yield better results but doubt its feasible for a small home run ebay startup. Mannequin might be easier to work with but the result be flat and uninspiring. Back in the day it was pretty easy to find a decent model for freebie portfolio pics, I would have thought its even easier now, is that not the case?
 
Wannabe models are very easy to find, but unless the phographer is both very experienced and very patient, they are generally useless.
 
Even with a very experienced photographer working with wannabe models is super frustrating most of the time.

I can easily be slowed down a full 50% with a wannabe model, even if they are good at posing.

Photography like this is a team effort, photographer, model, Mua, hair, stylist, lighting, location, editing an so on. Anyone can be a weak link and pull the whole shoot down.
 
While I remember, don't think eBay has a specific standard for photographs but for Amazon, they have to have at least some of them on a white background, not black. There are a few other basic requirements. Details here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200109520

As others have said, don't underestimate the value of a professional model. There is a lot of difference between photographing a regular person (even if they are good looking) and someone who knows how to pose.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the feedback guys.

I did consider going down the model option but as others have said timing isnt feasible at the moment. I'm working full time as a truck driver and tend to take pictures of new stock either on my day off or after work if i finish early enough.

at the moment i would definately consider this a mom and pop operation as i'm only using ebay and sales are coming in. I am hoping for my own website in the coming months which is what i'm preparing for. Some of this stuff comes with pictures of models already displaying these and with those i use those pictures as my main image.

with regards to looking at rival sellers and sites there seems to be two categories

the first is the items on the floor, folded up or on a hanger - which as you probably would agree does look very amateurish and unprofessional. the second is using the photo's the manufacturer has sent which they already have a model displaying the clothes. the actual websites are using these pictures too. so none really take pics with a model themselves.

the other thing is that the stock we're increasing slowly as to avoid a drain on the finances - so she'll order 8-15 suits a time which makes it easier on a mannequin at the moment.

I will be taking some more maybe early next week and i'll get out the soft box and do what has been advised.


would it be more worthwhile getting out the lastolite background or sticking with the vinyl for the time being?
 
Last edited:
Well, you've come back to us - that's good, I wondered whether we'd frightened you off - which often happens when we answer a simple question by explaining in detail why just getting the flashes to go off when the camera button is pressed won't solve the problem:)

It's a relatively complex challenge for you, and involves skills, which as a skilled truck driver you will appreciate.
And here's an analogy that I think fits. I have a HG1, also a trailer licence and I can drive farm machinery too. My youngest daughter is currently struggling to pass her basic driving test, and as of this morning she now has a Honda Jazz to practice in. Despite explaining it all to her, she still thinks that as soon as she has passed her car test she will take her trailer test, and then another test that will enable her to drive our 7.5 ton horsebox, and she can also learn to drive a tractor, with 36 forward and 36 reverse gears, a front loader complete with hydraulics, and use implements on the back, involving both a PTO and hydraulics. She also needs to learn how to drive a telehandler . . . She can and must achieve all of this but it will take cost, practice and time, as you and I both know.

The main difference between her challenge and yours is that yours is relatively cheap to achieve and without risk of killing people or causing £000's in damage.

I don't think that the forum rules allow me to link to my e-book on Amazon, Product Photography Magic, but you'll find it easily enough. It explains the processes involved both in simple product photography and also gives a pretty detailed overview of selling online, and you may find it helpful, even though that book doesn't specifically cover the photography of clothing.

As for your specific question about a lastolite or a vinyl background, the lastolite will speed the job up for you, for those products that are small enough, but many will be too big. Also, even when used with great care, the lastolite tends to reduce image contrast and often degrades fine edge detail. My preferred method is to shoot, whenever possible, against an unlit background and to then cut out the product in post processing, which is as very quick and easy process once it's been learned.

Even carrying out minimal post processing work will bring about some benefits, but can't change a snapshot into a product shot. Your example photo is too small to work on and produce a pro quality result . . .
mani_1.jpg

Learn, put in the effort and post your results here, there are a lot of helpful, experienced people here who can help you to improve.
 
IMG_3489.jpg


some feed back would be appriciatedIMG_3489.jpg

Lens:Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Shot at 62 mmExposure:Manual exposure, 1/256 sec, f/22, ISO 200

Focus:One-shot AF, with a depth of field of from 1.95 m to 1.79 m.
AF Area Mode: Auto
 
Last edited:
Well, I think that there may be a slight improvement.
But the most important shortcoming is still the lighting, which we talked about, but it's still far too flat - it needs to be far more directional, coming mainly from one side - I would use the directional lighting to create interest and to reveal the texture, with just a bit of frontal fill to stop the shadows becoming too intrusive..

You have in fact said nothing about the lighting, which of course is the most important part, but have told us a lot about your lens, focal length, shutter speed, ISO setting, focussing mode and depth of field, none of which matters very much at all - you need to get your priorities right!

The only thing worth mentioning in all of this "technical data" is the lens aperture, f/22 - why use f/22? The smallest aperture (highest f number) that you should use on any camera is fixed by the size of the image area - film of sensor size - on a 5" x 4" camera it's about f/90, on a 6 x 7cm camera it's about the f/22 that you used, on a full frame digital or 35mm camera it's f/16 and on your cropped frame camera it's f/8. Using f/22 does give you more depth of field (which you don't need for this type of shot) but it also creates diffraction limitation, which causes an overall lack of sharpness. I'm guessing that your lens is probably OK at f/8 but as you can see, your image is unsharp, almost certainly because of diffraction limitation - read a bit about it here https://www.edmundoptics.com/resources/application-notes/imaging/diffraction-limit/ All of this is explained in my book "Product Photography Magic" and in all other books that are worth reading. . .

Overall, this shot does seem to be better, but not good enough to choose to buy your clothing when your potential customers can see much better, more interesting photos from your competitors. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but the world of business is very harsh:)
 
Back
Top