How To Start Your Own California Apparel Photography

By Diane Fisher


Shooting quality clothes images is not an easy task. It requires experience. The pictures of models you see on billboards along the streets took a lot of time, money and effort. Therefore, if you wish to start a California Apparel photography firm, you must be ready regarding time and capital. Additionally, you must attend some professional training if you have no shooting experience. Many people are venturing into this business because the textile industry is growing day by day. Many people are starting their own clothing lines and are in need of professional photographers to do the marketing.

When opening any business, you must know that meeting the statutory regulations is not a matter of debate. Requirements like licenses and permits must be met before any entrepreneur is allowed to operate. Therefore, besides capital, you must obtain a business permit as well as a license. Also, it is advisable to obtain coverage to protect the business in case accidents happen.

Once you obtain a permit, license, and insurance, you are good to go. Set up your business and start looking for live models for your shoot. Make sure the model you choose look good in the clothes you are shooting. Therefore, pick several models and evaluate them. If you are shooting both males and females clothes, look for models of both sexes. Also, ask these models whether they will be available for a long-term contract.

Once you have selected the model that you want, start setting up your space. The space you choose will depend on the situation. More so, space should be large enough for the model to move around when following your cues. However, space should not be too large. Therefore, you have to designate backdrop boundaries so that the model stays in the frame.

After that, start thinking about lighting. For every shooting, lighting is essential. Too much light will make the images to fade while too dark light will make the photos to look dull. For this reason, you must find a way to have lighting that is just like the window light. Usually, most photographers use soft boxes, speed lights, and umbrellas. Nonetheless, speed lights have been found to be too bright and sharp.

When everything is set up, from light to backdrop boundaries, you can start to position the model. Explain to them how you want them to stand. Make sure you prepare the models in the space so that you can attain your desired vision. To ensure that the model is standing in the right place, mark the surface directly facing the camera.

Wide framing is the most preferable when shooting. This is because you will be left with enough space on all the sides of the image. This space will come in handy when you are editing the photos. Therefore, make sure you have used the wide framing techniques when shooting.

Editing is the last step that comes after the shooting. You must make the images appear professionals. It thus needs a lot of time. Sometimes you may feel tired and unable to focus. During such times, you can hire professional editors to do the image editing for you.




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