Clothing Photography Lighting! Clothing photography lighting is a little different from other types of studio and location shoots. You can use a lot of the same tools for this type of shoot, but there are a few caveats to take into consideration when you’re planning your shoot.
Fortunately, clothing photography lighting setups aren’t too complicated to photograph in a small space like a room in a photographer’s home. If you have a little more space, you can get even more creative.
The first thing to consider when planning your shoot is the color of clothing you’ll be dealing with. Clothing photography lighting setups work best on dark pieces, but they’ll also do well with lighter-colored pieces if there isn’t too much of it. If you’re shooting white, you’ll need to plan your lighting setups a little more carefully.
The second thing to consider is the quality of your equipment. Since clothing photography tends to be done in small spaces without too much room for movement, you don’t want to go with gear that might not suit your needs or run the risk of it being damaged.
This article discusses clothing photography lighting gear you can use in your next shoot, as well as some spare tips to keep in mind during the planning stages.
Lighting Gear for Clothing Photography Lighting
The lighting gear you’ll need depends on what type of look you want to create with your images. For a simple, straightforward image, you won’t need anything too complicated. With that in mind, here are some standard lighting gear setups for clothing photography lighting:
Standard Lighting Setup
The standard lighting setup is good to use when you’re photographing dark-colored clothes on one person. If you’re photographing lots of people in different poses, you might need to use two sets of lights. This setup is best for when the subject isn’t moving around too much during the shoot.
Rembrandt Lighting Setup
Rembrandt lighting is a little more flexible than standard lighting and lends itself well to clothing photography if your subject is going to be moving around a lot during the shoot.
Split Lighting Setup
If you want to separate your subject from the background and make them appear as though they’re floating, use split lighting. It’s a little more complicated than other setups and isn’t good for moving subjects or those that will be wearing white clothing. If you do use split lighting with clothing that is white, make sure the camera is set to a high shutter speed.
Ring Lighting Setup
If you want your subject to appear angelic or sci-fi, use ring lighting. It takes an extra light and it isn’t good for moving subjects; however, it can be used with lighter-colored clothing if you don’t mind the clipping of the light.
Clothing Photography Lighting Tips
Tips1: The most important thing to remember is that you want to avoid too many shadows with your clothing photography lighting setups. Your subjects’ faces should be completely free from shadows since they’ll need to be well lit for the main subject matter to pop in photos.
Tips2: This isn’t always possible with clothing photography, depending on how many people you’re photographing and the types of poses they’ll be using. If you do want to incorporate some shadows into your images, though, keep a light diffuser nearby. These often go by other names as well, such as a softbox or a bounce board.
Tips3: Lighting is the most important element in clothing photography. If you want to learn more about lighting for your next shoot, be sure to check out this detailed photo lighting guide.
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Note: Interested to know about How to Take Pictures of Clothes? Read here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why use a Dress Form?
A dress form allows you to photograph an entire garment without having to deal with human subjects. Many photographers enjoy using the forms to get a better sense of proportion when photographing different clothing items. If you’re photographing one set of clothes and want to photograph another, the dress form can be helpful for this too.
Where to Find a Dress Form?
There are many places where you could find a dress form. Many thrift stores have them, though don’t expect to find the high-quality ones there. Many local seamstresses also have forms for sale, so you could always ask them if they have any models available. Craigslist is another good place to look since you can find some pretty great deals on dress forms there.
What to Look For When Buying a Dress Form?
When buying a dress form it’s important to look for one that you can pose. The one pictured above has a base, which is necessary if you want lighting equipment to be able to move around on the dress form. You’ll also want at least one arm so models will have somewhere to hang their clothes after they’ve been worn. Finally, make sure it comes with.
