When we introduced our 'Drop Off Product Photography' service, what we had in mind was helping our clients trade something they don't always have a lot of (cash), for something they had more of (time), during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.

It takes time to prepare things for photography, to get the really high end and professional images that people need to sell their stuff. But our time can't be free, and so the less time we can spend on doing those tasks, the more savings we can offer the customer.

People mostly don't know how to prepare things for a shoot, so we have prepared a series of posts sharing what to watch out for, and how to get those items to us in good shape. Our cameras are VERY high resolution, but they also show any details, easily removed, that your customers don't need to see.

I will use as an example a simple garment, with zero reflectivity (as in, not shiny like a bottle, like patent leather or plastic). Preparing something that is shiny is a separate post! So I'll assume it's a matte finish garment.

There are five main things that come to mind when preparing your garment.

1. Wrinkles and Creases
   • Use a steamer
   • If the fabric allows use an iron, be careful with this.
   • Pull the fabric a bit to help
   • Use side light to see wrinkles better
2. Dust

   We usually don't even notice dust on our shirts, unless we're going for a photoshoot! Or maybe that's just me. Anyway, our cameras capture EVERY SPECK. Here's how to help.

   • An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Keep it away from dust or pet hairs - at home, in your factory or in transport
   • A lint roller is essential - if you're missing one, loop a piece of masking tape around your fingers
3. Threads

   Very often when we receive garments, there are little threads, still attached, that are sticking out at various parts of the stitching. Your customers don't need to see these in the sample shots online. Things to try, IN ORDER:

   1. If it's a little loop, first try just stretching the garment around the loop - sometimes it retracts.
   2. If it's just a loose end, snip it off!
4. Size

   You don't want your garments to look baggy and saggy! Size is super important - a shirt whose shoulders droop off the model is hard if not impossible to fix, both on camera and in post-production. The solution?

   A fitting session!

   For your first visit, bring all your sizes, and see what works best on our mannequins, or on your model. An improperly fitted garment either looks not great, or costs us more time (and our customers more $$).

5. Transportation

   You've just done all that work, so now how do you not ruin it on the way to us?

   • Use a hanger...yes that's what those little hooks on your car's little roof handle thingies are for (can someone tell me the technical term for those?!
   • Wrap the item in plastic, like the long bags you get from the dry-cleaner
   • Avoid folding things whenever possible

So that's it! Do all these things, and your garments will look way better in the photos, while minimizing your costs.