Need help with lighting for clothing photos, Please help

[horsegal305]

Hi, I am very new to photography. But I have decided to start my own webstore. I can not afford to hire a Photographer so I have decided to buy the lighting, but not sure what to buy.
I need the photos to be very professional. It will mostly be clothing items taken on a dress form. I need just a pure white background, the clothing needs to be vibrant in color and show all the details.
Right now my camera is a Nikon coolpix 8700, it does ok, but what kind of camera would you prefer?
I am working on a budget, so I can't afford to but thousands of dollars worth of equipment either. Any suggestions?
Also, heres a photo of the sort of images I will be needing for my store.

[horsegal305]

Originally Posted by horsegal305

Hi, I am very new to photography. But I have decided to start my own webstore. I can not afford to hire a Photographer so I have decided to buy the lighting, but not sure what to buy.
I need the photos to be very professional. It will mostly be clothing items taken on a dress form. I need just a pure white background, the clothing needs to be vibrant in color and show all the details.
Right now my camera is a Nikon coolpix 8700, it does ok, but what kind of camera would you prefer?
I am working on a budget, so I can't afford to but thousands of dollars worth of equipment either. Any suggestions?
Also, heres a photo of the sort of images I will be needing for my store.

I am looking at a Canon 40D, let me know what you think about that also

[klam]

You will need at least two flashes to achieve that look. One flash to blow the blackground white(seamless white background paper 56" roll) and the other flash to light the subject. The background flash will need to be off-camera pointing towards background. The flash for the subject should be off-camera also. I would get one shoothrough/reflective umbrella and a light stand and mount for the flash. You will also need a wireless trigger or wired trigger cable to fire the off-camera flashes.

There are other possibilities for setup but that is what I would use.

[ttosifa]

Originally Posted by klam

You will need at least two flashes to achieve that look.

You can do it with one flash as long as you will not need the ground in the shot. Find a white wall or white seamless paper. Hang a white sheet or some white ripstop nylon between the flash and your dress form. Bring the white sheet in as close as possible.

Angle the background relative to the flash so that the background is approximately equidistant from the flash. Let light go past your sheet (not through it!) and hit your white background. Be sure to properly expose for the dress form (maybe spot meter).

If you do this right, you can get the background pure white simply by adjusting the white diffusion material. If the background is not white enough, add more diffusion material to reduce the light hitting the subject (it shouldn't take more than two since the background needs only 1/2 stop more light than the subject to be pure white (assuming it starts from white).

[horsegal305]

OK, when you say "flash" do you mean flash from the camera or flash lights? I thought about getting continuous lighting but read its not the best. I am not sure how to use the others that flash when the picture is being taken. Are they easy to use?

[Garnacha]

Flashes as in strobes or flashguns (ex. SB-600, vivitar 285). Your camera does include a hotshoe so its possible you could do these shots with the right adapters, but I'm just speculating as I've never used those cameras. I know it's probably getting old for everyone but you might want to read http://strobist.com as it gives you a good idea on lighting.

There are two options that you could take in my opinion. Studio lights are great, and if your intention is to only shoot indoors then the power they have is great (read Alienbees for example). The other option is to go with smaller flashguns (SB's for nikon, Speedlights for cannon etc.) which could cost about the same if you decide to buy the newer models, or even more expensive, but there are refurbed/used models that can be cheaper. It really depends on what you want to do with it.

With either option some modifiers (umbrellas/softboxes), stands and remote triggering (radio/wired) are a few additions you'd have to make.

Maybe someone else can chime in on using the 8700 for these shots, hope it helps some.

[FocalFrenzy]

Your choice of camera is totally up to your own personal preferences. I would reccomend using a single flash set-up, to keep costs down. An "Off-Camera" flash, coupled with a shoot through umbrella and a reflector will give you the results your looking for. I would also have one white and one black background. These do not have to be the long "Continuous" kind, unless you wish to include matching shoes. If you have the available wall space, you won't need a backdrop stand. You will need a stand for the umbrella. I use the Cactus wireless triggers for my flashes, but if you don't have the danger of other people tripping over wires (such as in taking your shots at home, or after hours), you can save some cash by using the wired flash connections.
It hasn't been mentioned yet, but, the shot that you posted would be better on a black background. If using only one flash, If you expose for the white in the dress, the white background looks under-exposed, and if you expose for the background, the dress will be over-exposed losing detail. A white background will work with almost any color except white (unless you use multiple flashes). For white clothing I use a black or dark gray background. I hope this is helpful. If you decide to use multiple flashes, most of what I posted will still apply.

[zona5101]

here is an instance where continous lighting might be a good application. The subject will not care how hot the lights get, nor will there need to be any consideration for extended shutter speeds. Before you go off and invest in flashes, stands, triggers and the like check out some DIY continous lighting.
Let me google that for you