In the online store era, images become one of the crucial elements to attract potential customers. According to Splento.com, 90 percent of online buyers explain that photo quality is the most important factor. Here we have 10 tips for apparel photography to improve your fashion item photo quality to gain more potential customers to see and buy it. The tips below are useful for fashion online store owners who want to take a picture of their products by themselves.
1. Set the Display of Your Fashion Products
The first thing you should do is to set the display of the fashion products. In general, we often use three different methods in shooting fashion products.
Mannequin Technique
First, you can use an invisible mannequin. This technique is useful to make your product more realistic. As a result, customers can imagine whether the product is fit and comfortable enough for them.
Remember 65 percent of people are visual learners. It means photos can influence them instead of written words. It is also a more affordable technique because you don’t have to hire a professional model only to photo your products. Make the result look more professional by removing the photo background. Using a full-body mannequin will be a better solution compared to using an armless mannequin.
Hire a Model
Hiring a real model is a good alternative if you have the extra budget. This technique is better than the mannequin technique because a model can pose at different angles. A model can show the parts of the product a mannequin can’t do.
Flat Lay Photography
It is the most cost-effective photography technique. Despite its ease and cost-effectiveness, we think it has a significant impact. The more realistic the photos, the easier for customers to visualize the product.
2. Choose an Appropriate Clothing Photography Equipment
You don’t have to prepare high-tech and expensive photography equipment. Nowadays, you can even only use a smartphone to take a picture. Some brands support their smartphone devices with high-resolution cameras.
Besides preparing a camera, you also need to prepare a three-point lighting kit, studio backdrop kit, wireless lighting trigger, tripod, and photography toolbox. It includes preparing all the accessories to support the product photos if it is necessary.
3. Prepare the Fashion Products
Preparing means that you should iron or steam the fashion products. It makes the fashion product smooth and interesting to see instead of shooting a wrinkled product. Ensure that the mannequin or model wears your product perfectly. You should check the buttons and style the model or mannequin neatly and consistently. And last but not least, make sure the clothes are clean before taking a picture.
4. Set Your Photography Studio
You still have to prepare a proper studio for apparel photography. Just like photography equipment, you don’t have to prepare an expensive studio. A medium space in the back of your store is enough to be a studio.
Ensure that the area is bright enough to support the smartphone camera. Set one of the lightings toward the mannequin. Place another lighting at 45 degrees angle from the model or mannequin and the third lighting between the object and the backdrop.
5. Set the Camera
Even if you are using a smartphone camera, you still have to set the camera. Setting the camera means that you have to decide the best aperture, ISO sensitivity, and shutter speed. The ideal camera aperture is between f/8 and f/11 to get a better focus. Set the shutter speed around 1/125 and use 400 and 800 ISO settings.
6. Take a Picture of the Product
Ensure that the camera is stable. It is the reason why you need to use a tripod. A stable camera helps to produce crisper and sharper photos. Place the object, mannequin, or model at the center of the camera frame. Adjust the tripod or optical zoom to get the best product images.
7. Try to Use Different Lenses
Don’t be afraid to use different types of lenses while taking pictures of your product photos. For example, we prefer to use 24-70mm f/2.8L camera lenses to make the result look sharp and beautiful. On the other hand, for closer portraits, we recommend the 50mm f/1.4 or 85mm f/1.8 camera lenses. The result is similar to the way the human eye sees images.
8. Edit the Product Photos
Editing fashion photos is necessary even if you use high-tech photography equipment and cameras. The simple editing process you can do is to change the background into black and white, crop the photo, and correct the colors. It includes resizing the photos based on the standard of the online store or marketplaces. If you can’t do it, just look for professional photo editing services to help you.
9. Upload Your Product Photos
Log in to your online store or marketplaces where you want to sell the product. Ensure that the size of the product photos matches the standard of the marketplaces, social media platforms, or websites. It is an important consideration to keep the photo quality.
10. Support the Photos with Captivating Detail and Specification
Don’t forget to support the fashion photos with a complete specification and captivating caption. A beautiful fashion photo added with an attractive caption will boost potential customers’ intention to buy your product. It ensures that they get the fashion products they want from your online store.
Learning apparel photography takes time and energy, especially if you don’t have enough skills and knowledge about it. The process can be a long journey if you just started your fashion store business. Sometimes, the photo results are also beyond your expectation.
Nowadays, you can use a fashion photo editing service or flat lay services, such as Dropicts to get fast results and save your time. You can post the photos to your online store immediately and make money and you can start to learn more about apparel photography when your business has become more stable
The most important thing is that you have attractive fashion product photos to attract more potential customers to come to your store and purchase the products. We hope that the tips above can help you improve your fashion item photos before hiring a professional photographer.
