Apparel Photography

superchris · Oct 10, 2012

Hey guys, i'm new here and have been a product photographer for a sports company for about a year. I never thought much of it at first as it was just extra work along side some of the graphic based work I do for the company. Since reading some of the comments you guys have left on other threads It appears that there is much more to product photography than I first though and actually, I'm now very interested in getting better at it so I can produce as high quality shots as possible! - With that said I have some questions if anyone can help.

- I'm looking for a new mannequin, something that I can manipulate the arms easily. Any ideas on a good place to look or a product type/name specifically? - What i'm using now is armless and have to stuff the arms, this works on some products but it's getting tricky now winter is coming and I have to fill large waterproof based products. Not good!

- Product creasing. The tops that come in that need photos are obviously folded from the way it's packed and so when taking the photo there are lot's of creases. Although I quite like a few wrinkles in the product to show the quality/material of the top (some companies products look almost CGI, this isn't a good look) sometimes it's a bit much and is very hard to remove. I read about using a steamer (briefly) is this a good idea? I'm having to use the healing brush and clone tool in Photoshop. It takes a lot of time and sometimes unnatural.

I'm sure I have more questions or will have in the future but if anyone has ANY advice to give, be it the product, camera, gear, setup.. anything that you have learnt or know about this area, I will take it on board. As I say, i'm quite new to it and still learning so anything is helpful. Thank you!

Derrel · Oct 10, 2012

Ironing board, steam iron (with water in it!!! Press For Steam), a bottle of starch water....you know, like your grandmother used to use...gets those clothes wrinkle free!!!

A knowledge of how lighting works is very helpful, so a book or two on tabletop work would be helpful to read.

2WheelPhoto · Oct 10, 2012

Derrel said:
Ironing board, steam iron (with water in it!!! Press For Steam), a bottle of starch water....you know, like your grandmother used to use...gets those clothes wrinkle free!!!

A knowledge of how lighting works is very helpful, so a book or two on tabletop work would be helpful to read.

superchris · Oct 11, 2012

Sorry - I wasn't looking for specific feedback on my photos but just general tips. However i've added some photos to aid.

1 - One of my shots that is at it's best. Albeit a bit dark looking at it now this is a good standard for what I have to work with. The underarms always seem to sag/drop, I think due to the mannequin. Is it common for people to shoot on a real person and then cut them out. We don't use human models within the listing of products so it should just be image on white.

2 - Another one of mine but at it's worst. Compressions tops are very hard to get right due to it's material. I think with the right mannequin it could work. Companies that deal with these usually supply their own images which look great. I can always upload one of these. But any tips on this would be great, I understand it's very niche though.

3 - This is a standard top supplied by Nike (not my shot). The sleeves look great. It looks like they probably shot the image on a real person and then colour matched the other products. Sometimes the nike swoosh is a few mm different on each colour (not noticable when browsing online).

I can always upload more of the same products that I have shot from good/average/bad - But in general just looking for tips people have learnt. I appreciate everyones enviroments, equipment and business set-up is all different. So anything is helpful. Cheers