Top photo tips for taking great pictures!

Stylebook's background slider works with specific easy to take images. If you follow the instructions below you should get crisp beautiful photos for your closet. Great looking photos will improve your use of the app since you'll be able to identify all of your items at a glance. Below are more detailed instructions on how to get great results.

Use A Contrasting Background:
Always photograph your clothes on a solid background that strongly contrasts with the piece of clothing (the best thing to use is a solid color bedsheet). The background doesn't have to be black or white (although it can be) but it should should be a contrasting color. For example if you have a navy and cream striped sweater, photograph it on a red or green blanket.

Use A Matte Background:
Don't use a background that is reflective or shiny because the highlights in the image may cause problems during background removal, especially if you are using a flash.

Smooth out the background:
The best backgrounds are flat solid bed sheets sheets but avoid wrinkles. Just smooth it out before you set up your photo.

Keep The Corners Clear:
It sounds funny but avoid getting any shadows or other objects the corners of the picture...just trust us.

Use A Digital Camera: 

Using a digital camera is especially helpful if you have an older model phone. Your digital camera will be able to focus better and the pictures will look more vibrant. You can see how to import your images from your camera into Stylebook here.

Focus:

Make sure pictures are in focus and clear. The item your want to add to the closet should look sharp. To focus on the iPhone tap the screen on the area you want to see in focus. I usually tap the center of the piece of clothing. 

Keep The Light Bright and Even:

Photographing your clothes in a room with a lot of windows is a great idea. Daylight normally looks best - just make sure you don't have direct sunlight shining right into the camera, which can cause a washed out appearance. 

An alternative is to use the flash on a digital camera to light your clothes with even light. It also easily eliminates any shadows that may cause problems during background removal. However beware of pictures that have a dark halo around the clothing because of the flash. If that happens make sure your hand isn't covering the flash, turn the flash power up or switch to using bright day light instead.

We followed all of those steps to take this picture of a silk dress on an embroidered cream bed spread. Test it out in Stylebook on your iPhone or iPod touch to see how it turned out!

Advanced Tip:
White Balance:
Find the white balance menu in your digital camera's settings. If you are using a flash set it to flash, if you are photographing inside with lamps select tungsten (for traditional light bulbs) or fluorescent (for energy efficient bulbs), and if you're using daylight select one of your camera's daylight options. This will make the colors in your photograph look more realistic and give you a better background removal.

Great photos are key to building a great digital closet but if you don't have enough time to bother with all of the above tips use the shopping feature to find photos of similar clothing items.

Things To Avoid

1. Dark Rooms - Don't take your photos in a dark or poorly lit room. It's better to save your photo sessions for Saturday morning when the sunlight will make your clothes look their best!
2. Patterned Backgrounds - Don't take photos of your clothes on the carpet, hardwood floor, or a patterned area rug.

See more Stylebook photo tips here

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