Leather Hi Rez Virtual Photoshoots- A New Niche?

With COVID-19 restrictions in place, many forms of people photography are at a standstill, and justifiably so. Some have trialed streaming over the internet, but in many cases this only results in screen shots with a low resolution images. While this may be ok for social media and some on-line promotion, it certainly has its limitations. What would it take to fine tune this process without investing in quite a bit of high end electronics?

The camera:

• First one would need a camera that is capable of high resolution (generally 240 ppi or above).
• The camera should have the ability to either have an memory card or directly upload images to the web. 
• The camera should either have the ability to to time lapse photography or at last have a built in self timer
• The camera should perform reasonably well taking images with room lighting or natural light

OK, so these features are not really high end, in fact, some cell phone cameras have these features.

Setting

• If indoors, the room should have plenty of natural light
• Should be free of distracting elements. One way of achieving this is to hang a bed over a wall for a plain background. Tacky.. no.. you would be surprised how many professionals have used this technique.
• Should be spacious enough that you can move around as necessary and yet position your camera to capture the concept.

Communication

You will want some method of communicating (both visual and voice) with the person to whom you are sending the images. This could be your cell phone (if not used as a camera), or a Skype session over a laptop.

Lighting

This can be the trickiest part for someone who may allow others to adjust lighting. As above, ideally a room well lit with natural light would work well. If a model does not have professional lighting, experimentation is the key here. Try a mini session and look at the images and evaluate whether they are too dark or overexposed. Where are the shadows? Are any props light appropriately?

The Session

The client or photographer should agree on what type of session and how images may appear. Pinterest is a great resource for almost any kind of inspiration. Once the session has begun, the photographer or client may continue to communicate over Skype of whatever other method that has been set up.

After the Session

Images should be uploaded to a source where the client or photographer can access them. It may be a dropbox account, or it may even be a google drive account.

While this certainly is not a perfect arrangement, it is practical for almost everyone. Of course there are cameras that can may be able to accept web controls to to exposure, but this may be getting into expensive options.