A good picture is a way to increase your sales quickly. But do you have any idea about how to take pictures of clothes to sell? If you are an online business owner then you must learn about the process of taking a perfect picture of clothes. However, today I will write about the best way to photograph clothing in detail below.
Without high quality clothing pictures you can’t run your e-commerce business for a long time. People will show interest in your products when they see the picture is looking nice. If you don’t know the art of clothing photography you can’t attract people to buy your products. Without a high quality picture it is impossible to show people how qualitiful, trendy, and beautiful your product is.
So, keep reading the article till the end to learn about how to take pictures of clothes to sell.
How To Take Pictures Of Clothes To Sell?
For a successful online business you will need high quality clothing photography. Good photography will help you to build trust and convey your brand identity. For taking pictures of clothes to sell you have to follow some steps. The steps are given below.
Step-1: Choose Right Equipment
Step-2: Choose How To Display Your Clothes
Step-3: Get Your Clothes Prepare
Step-4: Set Up Photography Studio
Step-5: Editing Your Product Photos
Now let’s learn about these steps in detail below.
1. Choose Right Equipment:
For clothing photography you will need the right equipment. Below I have written about some essential equipment that will help you to turn your ordinary shots into visual masterpieces.
Camera
A quality full camera is mandatory equipment for capturing any kind of photography. While choosing the right camera for your clothing photography you will need to consider a number of factors. First, you have to choose a good camera resolution. For regular fashion and starting points, a 24MP camera will be good. Then you have to think about lens compatibility. Make sure the lens you have used for your project is compatible with your camera. However, while choosing the camera for clothing photography don’t forget to consider some other qualities like low light performance, sensor, and autofocus system.
Lighting Equipment
For clothing photography you will need some lighting equipment like light sources, light reflectors and modifiers, and lighting mounts. For continuous light source options softboxes could be a great choice. With their in-built mechanism softboxes can diffuse the light. Also they can produce soft and illumination. Background lights will help you to separate the clothing from the background. This separation will help to prevent clothes from blending with the background. Also, you may need some light meters, gels, and color temperature controls for clothing photography.
Image Background
You will need to choose a neutral background for clothing photography. Because a neutral background will help the customer to keep their focus on clothing only. White color background is the best choice for product photography. You can also choose a gray background. Ensure that your background is free from wrinkles, dirt, and blemishes. If it is not possible then go for professional background removal service and set the background according to your needs.
Tripod
To make your camera stable you will need a tripod. A tripod will help you to capture sharp and detailed images in low-light conditions. As the tripod can keep the camera fixed and stable, it will be easy for you to capture consistent images of your apparel items for the product catalog. Remember to choose a tripod that is compatible with the camera you will be using for clothing photography.
Model or Mannequin
Human model or Mannequin is the best choice to show the fitness, shape, and style for your clothing photography. If you want to show the fitness, shape, and style of your clothes in your ecommerce photos, then you can use a model or a mannequin.
Other accessories
If you want to enhance your clothing photography setup then you can use some other optional accessories. Let’s check the list of optional accessories below.
- Light meters: It helps to check and maintain lighting level and intensity
- Remote shutter release: It can eliminate camera shake
- Props: It is used for complementing the clothing item and creating a specific mood.
- Color checker: To maintain color accuracy and adjust white balance
- Product turntable: You can take 360-degree clothing photos with this.
- Macro lens: To take close-up shots to display the texture of the clothing it is mandatory.
- Boom arms: Helps to position the lights at desired positions.
2. Choose How To Display Your Clothes:
Before you take any photos of your clothes you have to decide how you need to display your clothes. For photography you will find a number of ways to display clothes. You can use a mannequin, hanger, hire a model or flat-lays etc. You can choose anyone you like. It will be easier for you if you gather some knowledge about these four ways. So, let’s see the details about them and choose the perfect one for you that will work best for you.
Mannequin
For displaying clothes, using a mannequin is a very common option. And it is also a good idea to showcase your clothes in detail easily. But don’t forget to ensure that the mannequin size and your clothes size is appropriate. Adjust the height and pose of the mannequin before taking photos.
Model
You can use a human model for displaying your clothes if you have enough budget for this. It is another great way for displaying clothes. Hiring a model is a great option to create an emotional bonding with customers. And also it will help them to understand the size, quality, and height of the clothes. You can hire multiple models based on the size, gender, and ethnicity of your target customers.
Hanger
If you need an affordable way for displaying your clothes for photography then a hanger will be a great option for you. Hanger could be the best way for taking full-length shots. However, ensure that the hanger you choose is sturdy. And for avoiding any unwanted creases or wrinkles make sure clothes are hanging straight.
Flat-Lay
Finally if you are a small business owner and don’t want to invest much for displaying your products or if you don’t have much space for doing that then you can do flat-lay clothing photography. You can use a table for laying the clothes flat or you can also lay them on the floor. But make sure the table or the floor is clean. Then click some photos from above directly.
3. Get Your Clothes Prepare:
Your clothes may have wrinkles, stains, and other visible defects. So check and prepare your product before doing photography. Preparing your clothes for photography is a main starting point to do product photography. Although, many people skip this point and try to fix these problems with the help of Photoshop or other photo editing software. But it’s not a good idea at all.
4. Set Up Photography Studio:
You may build a studio in your shop or use your room where you want to photoshoot your clothes. No matter where you choose to do clothing photography if you have equipment like a camera and lighting which is perfect for your photography. However, you have to set up your studio for having a great picture of your clothes.
First set up your backdrop. Then Set up your lighting and camera. You can choose a three-point lighting setup for clothing photography. Try to set up your light next to camera and direct toward the mannequin for a better photo. This is the key light. Then set up your second light as a fill light positioned at a 45-degree angle from your mannequin and further away from the first key light. Then use the third light between the mannequin and the backdrop.
5. Editing Your Product Photos:
After setting up your studio, clothes, and closer displaying way, now click photos. And if you have clicked photos now it’s time to make them look more consistent and professional by editing them. Edit your photos as you like to look at your ecommerce store. You can edit on your own but I believe going for professional photo editing would be the best choice. For ensuring your clothing photos are consistent, do perfect alignment, use white background, crop, and color correction.
For knowing the importance of professional photo editing read this article 10 Reasons Why Professional Image Editing is a Must for E-commerce Businesses.
Tips For Taking Photos of Clothes
After knowing the answer of how to take pictures of clothes it is important to learn about some tips to make your image more qualitiful. There are some tips for you to make your clothing photos more incredible.
1. Make sure that your camera is stable
Use a tripod to make your camera stable. By doing this you will get crisper and sharper product images. You can place your camera on any stable or hard surface if you don’t have a tripod.
2. Ensure the mannequin is the center of your camera frame
Remember to set up your mannequin or model in the center of your camera frame. Make sure that the mannequin takes up the majority of your canvas. However, if you think that you need a closer shot don’t move your mannequin or model. Adjust your tripod or optical zoom of your camera.
3. Do not use a digital zoom
If you use digital zoom it can lower the quality of your product photos. Because it crops the image while shooting.
4. Set your camera on a 2-second-timer mode
When you press the shutter the camera may not be able to focus your sunglasses perfectly. But if you set your camera on a 2-second-timer mode it can re-focus on your subject.
5. Show off the details of your products
Try to show off every small detail of your product. Take clear photos of the stitching, fabric, tags, zips, buttons and anything else about your clothing item that a customer may want to see before making a purchase.
Conclusion
How to take pictures of clothes to sell? Did you get your answer? I hope so. Above I have written the process of taking apparel photography in detail. If you have read the article attentively then you must learn the way to take clothing photography. A quality full image will help you to showcase your products in an enticing manner, and will maximize customer engagement and purchase intent. For apparel e-commerce high quality product photography is essential. However, ensure the quality of your clothing photography to increase your sales online. I have covered nicely about the process of how to take pictures of clothes to sell above. But if you still have any inquiries then leave a comment below.
Frequently Asked Question(FAQ)
What are the best camera settings for doing clothing photography?
You should consider the three most important settings of your camera before doing photography. These three settings are-
Aperture: Set the aperture at high f/stop, between f/8 and f/11. It is best for product photography and it help you to get more focused shots on your apparel products.
Shutter speed: Set it around 1/125 when photographing clothing. It is more ideal for apparel photography.
ISO sensitivity: The ideal ISO setting for clothing photography is between 400 and 800.
