Lighting for Apparel & Products???

I am looking for suggestions as to the best lighting system for under $200 for photographing sports apparel on a mannequin and other sports products.

In the past I have only needed to photograph smaller items that I could use natural indirect light and it worked great. But with a full size mannequin and I can't get the full coverage I need for good full soft lighting.

I really don't know if I should be looking at a lightbox or an umbrella lighting system or something else completely.

I shoot with a Panasonic FZ 10 digital camera (which I really like). Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Michael

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Originally Posted by Michael01

I am looking for suggestions as to the best lighting system for under $200 for photographing sports apparel on a mannequin and other sports products.

In the past I have only needed to photograph smaller items that I could use natural indirect light and it worked great. But with a full size mannequin and I can't get the full coverage I need for good full soft lighting.

I really don't know if I should be looking at a lightbox or an umbrella lighting system or something else completely.

I shoot with a Panasonic FZ 10 digital camera (which I really like). Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Michael

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If you want full and soft lighting you can get two pieces of foam core ($5/each) and make a 90 degree angle. You can use a flash unit to point directly into the foam core and the reflected light will be soft against the mannequin. Hodgy used that technique many many times. I've used it, and it works really good.

You just need pieces of foam core that are larger than the mannequin. Also, another alternative would be to use an umbrella and have the flash point into the umbrella and reflect back onto the subject.

Loren

Thank you for the suggestion!

What type of foam are you referring to and where can I get it? Home Depot?

Best Regards,
Michael