shoptiques technical photography guidelines · images shot in the shoptiques studio and images sent...

***CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY

© Shoptiques 2015

SHOPTIQUES TECHNICAL PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDELINES

Introduction Hello and welcome to the Shoptiques family! Below you’ll find guidelines and technical advice for photographing merchandise for use on the Shoptiques website, both on figure (with a model) and off figure (as still life). We’ve tried to make the guidelines as simple and user-friendly as possible, but please keep in mind that executing them properly requires some experience and expertise with studio lighting and photography, and we highly recommend hiring a professional photographer to shoot your merchandise and edit the images, if you chose not to have Shoptiques do the photography for you. We’ve provided examples below for most of the product categories, but you can view additional examples at www.shoptiques.com. Just be aware that the site has a mix of images shot in the Shoptiques studio and images sent by individual boutiques, so look for the images that match the style of the examples we’ve provided below. The purpose of these guidelines is to achieve and maintain a cleaner, more consistent and polished look on the Shoptiques website with a minimal amount of editing and image manipulation on our end. This will increase the sell-through of your products. Let’s delight customers together!


© Shoptiques 2015

On Figure Shots (With Model) Background must be:

• White or light grey. o Ideal background is Super White or Eco Bright White seamless

paper: http://savageuniversal.com/products/seamless-paper/super-white-seamless-paper http://www.pictureline.com/superior-eco-bright-white-107-x-12-yds-seamless-background-paper-69.html

• Clean, bright and evenly lit.

o Ideally, background should be absolute white everywhere (including corners) except for drop shadow from subject (if any).

o If not able to achieve absolute white background with lighting, please do so in post-production using imaging software.

o If opting for grey or off-white, background should still be clean, bright and evenly lit.

o No gradients, patterns or color variations please. Subject must be:

• Attractive, professional model with appropriate dimensions and good skin (see examples below). Models with non-standard dimensions have much higher return rates

• Front lit, i.e., not side lit or backlit.

o Key light should be directly above camera or slightly off camera (see diagram below).

o Additional fill or rim lighting is acceptable but not necessary.

• Shot facing both front and back. o Additional shots from side or with movement are acceptable but

not necessary (see examples).

• Shot from approximately waist level for full body shots (see diagram). o Avoid shooting from eye level, from above subject or from ground

level to eliminate foreshortening (i.e., distortion of subject).

• Vertical and centered in frame. o No creative angles or cropping please.


© Shoptiques 2015

• Posed in simple but fashion-appropriate ways (see examples).

• Completely in focus.

Merchandise must be:

• Clean, wrinkle-free and styled well (something you could see in Vogue, Net-a-porter, Shopbop, Free people).

• Bright, evenly lit and completely in focus so all detail is visible when

magnified. o Avoid excessive shadows, shallow depth of field and motion blur.

Camera and lens requirements:

• Camera and lens must be professional or “prosumer” quality. o Minimum camera resolution: 12 MP (approx. 4200px by 2800px). o Ideal camera quality is Canon 5D Mark III or Nikon D800, but other

professional or “prosumer” DSLRs are acceptable. No point-and-shoot or smartphone cameras please, even if they satisfy the minimum resolution requirement.

o Lens should be professional quality (e.g., Canon L-series) and at least 70mm long to eliminate distortion that occurs with wide-angle lenses.

• F-stop (camera aperture) should be at least f/8 to ensure subject and

garment are completely in focus. Image requirements:

• All parts of image should be clean, bright, in focus and correctly exposed with medium contrast.

o Avoid overexposing (blowing out) subject or garment, and do not underexpose any part of image.

• All images must be retouched to remove spots, unwanted shadows,

blemishes, stray threads, etc., and model’s skin should be smooth.

• Merchandise in image must be color corrected to match the item as it appears to the naked eye under standard daylight conditions (5500 K).

o Computer monitor should be color calibrated to ensure accurate judgment.


© Shoptiques 2015

o If image does not match item as it appears to the naked eye it should be color corrected using imaging software (e.g., Lightroom, Photoshop) to avoid customer complaints and returned items.

• Images should be shot at high-resolution (minimum 2400px by 3600px)

but later resized and delivered at lower resolution (see below).

• All images must be delivered as standard JPEG files, optimized for the web and resized to these dimensions: 1050px (wide) by 1575px (tall) at 72ppi-240ppi.

• Full body shots must be cropped between the nose and lips on top and

just below the feet on bottom (see examples). o For tops and short dresses, please provide full body shot and

additional crop of same image, cropped just below the knee. o For bottoms, pants and skirts, please provide full body shot and

additional crop of same image, cropped just above the waist. o IMPORTANT: When preparing multiple crops of same image, make

sure to take each crop from original high-resolution image, not from resized low-resolution image. Otherwise, pixilation will occur.


© Shoptiques 2015

Suggested Lighting Setup - Diagram 1:


© Shoptiques 2015

Suggested Lighting Setup - Diagram 2:


© Shoptiques 2015

Off Figure (Still Life) Shots

All still life must be:

• Shot against clean, white background or using light tent (see links below). o Everything but item (entire background) should be absolute white.

• Bright, evenly lit, properly exposed and completely in focus.

• Color corrected to match item as it appears to the naked eye under

standard daylight conditions.

• Aligned vertically and centered in frame. Shoes should be shot from three angles: side, 45˚ angle and back (see examples). Bags should be shot outside and inside if possible (see examples). Necklaces with pendants should be shot full and cropped (see examples). Image, camera and technical requirements same as on figure shots. Here is a helpful online tutorial for shooting products with a light tent / light box:

• http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-use-a-light-tent-for-small-product-photography

And here are some light tents available online:

• http://www.wayfair.com/Square-Perfect-Premium-Studio-In-Box-Light-Tent-Cube-SQPF1035.html

• http://www.wayfair.com/Square-Perfect-Photography-Light-Tent-Photo-Cube-Softbox-SQPF1004.html

Jewelry and Accessories All jewelry and accessories should be:

• Shot both on figure and off figure (see examples).

• Handbags, shoes, socks and scarves should be shot on figure as full body shots, and as still life (see examples).

• Jewelry and hats should be shot on figure as close-up (see examples).


© Shoptiques 2015

On Figure Examples Short Dresses:

Shirts/Tops:


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Pants/Shorts/Jeans: (please make sure you can see the top of the item: don’t style over it with a shirt):

Skirts:

shoptiques technical photography guidelines · images shot in the shoptiques studio and images sent...

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