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How to Create a Fashion Product Photography Style Guide
See how to improve productivity in fashion product photography with smarter imaging practices and smoother workflows for higher output.
Shaped by the fast-moving fashion industry and the Covid-19 pandemic, today’s fashion eCommerce demands more than ever from brands. The drastic shift to shopping online means there’s even greater pressure to deliver a wider range of dynamic, digital visual assets.
Not only that, assets must integrate seamlessly with existing brand and retailer platforms, and must be efficient and scalable. Meeting these challenges head-on requires brands to sharpen imaging practices, and ensure both digital asset management and workflows are optimal.
A crucial part of this process involves having the right photography equipment to support high-end cameras and also high-volume workflow. Enter PhotoRobot. Our systems integrate cameras, lighting, and machines with software for complete studio automation and control.
We aim to help brands stand out and increase conversions with consistent and exceptional imagery. All while streamlining product photography, digital asset management, and studio workflows. Read on to discover more about our solutions for yourself, and how to improve productivity in fashion product photography with PhotoRobot.
In the fashion product photography of today, perhaps the greatest challenge is dealing with high volumes of imagery. Brands in fashion eCommerce need an enormous quantity of digital assets, from content for PR to marketing, vendor platforms, social media and more.
A few photos of a product simply isn’t enough. Now the market demands more innovative imagery, from packshots to 360 spins, product videos and eCommerce 3D models. We want consumers to have a virtual product in-hand, and for this we need more images than ever.
We often also need to collate product information and attach it to files. This includes recording things like weight, packaging, instructions and other standard or required information. All of this we need to streamline into our studio workflow to ensure optimal productivity.
Taking it a step further, many studios who produce eCommerce photography are switching from traditional flash lighting to constant LED lighting. This allows for photography of a model / product without having to move from a stills set to a video set to create 360° product content.
PhotoRobot uses a combination of flash and LED lighting strictly for this purpose. With remote camera control integrated into our software, we can also quickly change from stills to video settings. We can change file types, control lighting, automate processes, and much more.
Another challenge is creating an efficient imaging workflow. It’s important to identify and correct any bottlenecks, from indexing to editing, post processing and exporting visual content.
Here, PhotoRobot systems integrate cameras, robots, editing software and digital asset management for the highest levels of productivity. Users adjust lighting and control cameras in the software, viewing changes in real-time with Live View.
It’s even possible to automate the removal of mannequin poles and backgrounds to save valuable time in post production. Configure and save settings as “Presets” when photographing batches of similar products, and automatically repeat processes.
Our advanced editing tools are capable of editing hundreds of images per second thanks to Cloud processing with Nvidia Tesla K80 GPUs. Users can even work with all images in a given folder at once. Auto crop or center photos, denoise, control transparency and more in only a few clicks of the mouse.
PhotoRobot supports both Canon and Nikon camera models to offer the widest range of camera support possible. We always recommend high-end models such as the Canon EOS R5 or Canon EOS R6. The technology behind these cameras make them particularly effective with photographing live models thanks to their face recognition and Eye AF capabilities.
The same is true for ISO performance, which when working with constant LED lighting becomes vital. A much lower luminance means we need to increase ISO. High-end camera models give us the ability to do this while still capturing clean, usable photos.
Canon’s EDSDK integrates seamlessly with PhotoRobot_Controls and all our product photography installations. Remotely control one or more cameras. Program operations for camera capture, image transfer, and Live View monitor.
It’s also absolutely essential your photos capture a true-to-life representation of a garment or product’s colors. Accuracy is key, as product returns, especially in fashion eCommerce, can be far too common and costly. Not only are there additional shipping costs. When a shopper receives a product different than advertised, they might abandon the brand altogether.
Thankfully, high-end Canon and Nikon models boast color science highly regarded in the industry for their accuracy. Take for example shooting a product on both a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV versus the Canon EOS R5. Although these models have different sensors, in post production we can rely on consistent outputs from both cameras.
The sheer amount of imagery eCommerce studios need to produce today means that scalability should always be a consideration. With the challenge of producing still imagery alongside 360s, 3D content and product videos, it’s essential to consolidate processes.
Afterall, the more visual assets you can get from a single photoshoot, the more productive the photo studio. This has always been a top priority for PhotoRobot as we develop multi-purpose solutions for scalable visual content production.
In fashion product photography, take the Virtual Catwalk for example. This photography robot acts as an in-house runway for taking photos of live models. Its design paired with control and automation software for cameras, lighting and production provides multiple solutions for eCommerce fashion photography.
With this setup, photographers can capture video while also photographing a model with additional cameras. More importantly, they can shoot videos, 360s, and stills all at one location, without having to change from a photography set to a video set. The Catwalk’s design, along with the right cameras and lighting, transform it to a multi-purpose set for all product content.
In the end, efficiency in any fashion eCommerce studio revolves around many moving parts. From cameras to photography equipment, editing software and digital asset management, integrating each element is essential for ROI and productivity.
At PhotoRobot, we work directly with users to identify pain points in their studios and determine the best solutions. Our systems integrate with existing workflows to ensure maximum productivity and uncompromising quality.
If you’d like to learn more, reach out to us today. You can also sign up for our newsletter below, and follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube. We regularly share product photography resources across industries, from fashion eCommerce to 360 & 3D solutions for any online retail.
