“Fashion is a statement, not a style. Fashion does not have to be worn casually, nor outside the runway. Fashion is fit for all sizes, for all people of all ages. Fashion is an art of personal self-expression, not an excuse to be pretty, popular and charismatic.” – Author Unknown
As the world of the Internet and social media continues to evolve, the methods of clothes shopping have become more refined and in other ways, more diverse. Today, by simply making a page on Facebook or an Instagram account, you can immediately sell your clothes online for everyone to see without having to pay a cent for its promotion. Ever since the advent of this method of shopping, advertising your sartorial items and products has been somewhat of a stiff competition—regardless of whether your items are preloved (slang for used by the one selling them) or brand-new. And considering that the premium for selling your stuff online—especially on social media is practically nonexistent, it is inevitable that a lot of individuals would jump the bandwagon and start a business which they can do effortlessly anywhere in the world via a smartphone. Making a sale would depend on many various factors such as the number of followers you have, the quality of products you are offering, the prices you have in comparison to competitors and last and definitely the most vital of all, the way you photograph your items for sale .
Remember that when it comes to online selling, product photos are literally the only basis your prospective buyers have. Unlike in a physical retail store where customers are free to fit and feel a product before buying, no such thing exists for its online counterpart. For this reason, product photos may make or break a sale. With this in mind, it is imperative that you take only the best photos, but if you are new to the online industry or may be blissfully unaware, you may be committing fatal mistakes that are keeping you from making a sale. Here are the most common errors one can do in taking photographs of sartorial items whether wholesale clothing or retail.
1.) Not preparing the garment
Like any product you intend to sell, the clothes you should have up for sale should look its best—worthy of showcasing to customers. By this, it would mean that the clothes would need to be washed, pressed and free of stain and wrinkles. Making sure that clothes are presentable should be a perfunctory practice when it comes to photographing clothes yet surprisingly, many sellers would overlook this aspect. Remember that Photoshop can only take you so far and would take years to master. So, with this in mind, it is best to rely on a good and presentable raw product rather than having to edit out imperfections later.
2.) Not utilizing a mannequin or a live model
Compare a photo of a piece of clothing laden out in a flat surface to one that is worn by a mannequin or a live model. The comparison would immediately tell you which one looks better. Having a mannequin or a live model wear the products you are showcase would convey the shape your clothing products have (whether they are blousey, tapered or snugly fit).The thing with laying it out on a flat surface is that it makes prospective buyers skeptical. Sure, it looks great flat, but how well would that translate when it is already worn? Having a live model wear the clothes allows your products to come to life and would inspire customers to visualize how they would look like wearing it.
3.) Not providing enough imagery
As your photos are the only way you can exhibit your sartorial products, it is only logical that you would post as many product photos as you can. And yet, most online sellers would neglect this with the assumption that two or three photos would suffice. Providing potential customers with a lot of photos from a myriad of angles would help them visualize better. Remember, your pictures are vital to what makes a product sell, so make sure you compensate for the lacking physical aspect of your product well.
4.) Not enough lighting
Think of your sartorial products as models and stage them in a way as you would models. Remember that in photography; lighting is a crucial concept, and it makes the difference between a good photo and a bad one. When it comes to your clothing products, not enough lighting can make a particular garment’s rather misleading. Without enough illumination, sartorial items that might appear as maroon may actually be bright red or certain blues look violet. Lighting would also make the details and embellishments of your product more noticeable and visible, so use it to your advantage. Expose your products appropriately and let customers appreciate the different characteristics and facets of your clothing products.
5.) Not editing properly
When it comes to showcasing apparels , the presentation is everything. So, with this in mind, you should have an awareness as to how to edit your products appropriately. Do not modify them too much as to appear deceptive, neither should you under-edit it and make your products look incredibly underwhelming. Hit the right balance between making your products look attractive and sellable without overdoing it and deceiving your potential buyers. To give your catalogue a professional touch, edit all pictures in the same way—with the cropping lighting, background decals uniformly set and consistent with each other. For a nice touch, give it your personal watermark as well. Doing it this way would give your prospective buyers the impression that you are serious about your online business and would be more receptive in buying from your shop.
Now that you have an awareness of what these sartorial product photography blunders are, be sure to avoid committing them or at least rectify them the next time you put your clothes up for sale. Then you will notice how much more attention your products will be getting which would ultimately translate into sales.