Clothing Photography

[simonm8]

Hi,

Am looking for a bit of help really. My mum works for a well known Cancer charity, her manager has asked me to build them something where they can take pictures of clothes on maneqins, shoes, and general articles etc, for them to sell via auctions etc..

They only have a small space, and being a warehouse, the lights are high up and poor, they dont have any real money to buy anything, and cant really use a paper style background, need something more perment and long lasting.. At the minuts they have been using white plyboard as a backdrop, and small bits on side, but this aint be enough, and you can see the joins and get a horrible reflection..

so basicially im looking for some help to design something cheap and reliable with as low cost as possible.. im giving my time for free, and some materials i have to try build something.. but im new to photography so not all that in set ups etc.

so far my idea ( this is material i have so not costs so far)

Large sheet of mdf as backdrop, painted white matte, so no reflectiions, Piano style hinge external, so the sides are foldable back when not being used, and out of way, again painted white, bottom the same as well, for top i though about same agian, with holes cut for some donated spots to be put in for some better lighting of products...

anyone help or have some ideas...

btw they only have a point and shoot camera and a old bridge camera, so cant using a flash gun, not that they have one..

Thanks

 

[Lightstalker]

Theres no easy or cheap way of doing this without making the clothes look tatty.
Your single best bet is to find a local photographer who is kind enough to do this for you in the manner you require (unlikely but worth a shot). Or to find one plus a wannabe model or two to do it for the purposes of boosting their portfolios, and by giving them a mention in the article, hopefully some minor exposure.

I know a few people who would do the latter in Liverpool, but the prior is gonna be difficult on a small budget.

Wish you the best of luck.

 

[Garry Edwards]

Theres no easy or cheap way of doing this without making the clothes look tatty.
Your single best bet is to find a local photographer who is kind enough to do this for you in the manner you require (unlikely but worth a shot). Or to find one plus a wannabe model or two to do it for the purposes of boosting their portfolios, and by giving them a mention in the article, hopefully some minor exposure.

I know a few people who would do the latter in Liverpool, but the prior is gonna be difficult on a small budget.

Wish you the best of luck.

The charity needs to accept the need to spend a few hundred on basic equipment so that they can produce acceptable photos. Charities are never short of cash (which they frequently demonstrate by paying very high salaries to their top people) and they need to be prepared to invest some money, just as every other business does.

The trick, as always, is to spend as little as possible but as much as necessary.

My immediate suggestion is something like 3 x continuous light softboxes on stands and a reasonable quality camera, plus a tripod, computer and software, that can be operated easily by just about any of their volunteers. The results won't be great, or creative, but will be acceptable and consistent.

 

[vaizki]

Mark this day.. Garry promoting continuous light!

(Yes I know, clothes on a dummy don't fidget or complain about the heat)

 

[Garry Edwards]

Mark this day.. Garry promoting continuous light!

(Yes I know, clothes on a dummy don't fidget or complain about the heat)

Yeah well...
I'm not so much promoting it as accepting that, in these circumstances, it's at least as much as the charity will spend.

And that it will produce the bland results that they probably think amounts to good photography.

 

[srichards]

For £50 the lencarta product table is a snip and would be ideal for the shoes and smaller articles. Would create a much neater background as it is hingeless and completely smooth.

 

[simonm8]

Theres no easy or cheap way of doing this without making the clothes look tatty.
Your single best bet is to find a local photographer who is kind enough to do this for you in the manner you require (unlikely but worth a shot). Or to find one plus a wannabe model or two to do it for the purposes of boosting their portfolios, and by giving them a mention in the article, hopefully some minor exposure.

I know a few people who would do the latter in Liverpool, but the prior is gonna be difficult on a small budget.

Wish you the best of luck.

Not really able to use a model, as some days they dont take any pictures, where other days they all day, photography garments, depends what companies send into them, and when..

thanks for all the replys, i will go back to them with the ideas from here and take it from there..