Upon hearing that Shopify would be supporting video functionality along with photos, I'm completely excited. As a self-described "fabric snob" this does so much - being able to see how a garment moves and contours a body is very different in video than in static photography. I've been envious of Amazon's in-house brand, which features this same video functionality, for some time now. I've played around with various apps to try to install it, but up until now, everything has been clunky at best. With the announcement that this feature will go live in October 2019, I started working on how to get the look I wanted (a white background) and have come to a pretty decent solution. Read on for more on how I did this.
1. Setup. You'll need 4 LED static lights. These aren't the flash / strobes that you use in standard photos. I got mine off amazon. The lights I use to light the model are these:
This kit comes with 2 lights and stands as well as softboxes to soften the light (this is nice to have). Total price for the model lights are $100. Just so you know, the quality on these isn't 5 stars... they're pretty basic but they do the job.
You'll need 2 more lights for the background. For that I used these:
You'll want the kit that's $159.99 - the 2 lights with stands. You don't need the batteries, they're completely unnecessary.
Along with these 4 lights, you'll need a white backdrop. This can be as simple as a white painted wall if you are just doing tops. For full body shots including feet/shoes you'll want to have a white floor as well. You can buy a piece of white vinyl from any fabric store, or you can get a white backdrop on amazon as well. Vinyl, paper... they'll all work well.
Position your 2 background lights about 4' in front of the background an turn them on. Then, in front of that, position your model about 8-10' in front of the background. Your model lights should be about 4-6' in front of your model. I have an image with a top view of this:
2. Video recording. You'll want something for video recording. I have a nikon DSLR. As long as you can record video with it, it's great. I have a Nikon D300 and the quality is amazing. If you are using a DSLR, check out the user manual to adjust the settings in camera. The better you get the video looking in-camera, the easier it will be to obtain your end result.
3. Editing. This is the part that will take the longest at first to figure out, but like anything in life, once you've tried it and understand it, it will get easier over time. I uploaded the video from the camera into Adobe Premier Pro and used a few different techniques to make the background seamless white. Honestly, it took me a while the first time as I don't have a lot of experience with that editing software, but after the first couple tried it became much easier and faster to do. The video below goes through everything start to finish. Please add a note below if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them the best that I can!
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December 08, 2020
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