Sandal/Shoe Photography

[chex]

A client wants me to photograph her sandal collection. Was wondering if someone could help me figure out how to set up the shot so that the sandals dont lie flat

e.g. in this shot from zara the strap floats as it would when worn

The sandals are beaded and have no support of their own...pic attached

[William Wilson]

Try searching on layflat techniques it's easier to support flimsy straps but not simple you still need wires to hold shape.

[DanielStone]

Nylon fishing line(thin thin thin stuff) can work well too, just have some c-stand arms to hold/the ends. Position accordingly for best angle.

Otherwise, try using some rigid wire, something strong, like copper.

The big issue is that you want to 'sculpt' the shoes/sandals so they look like they're filled with a foot, not flat and floppy... Make sure t bid enough time in, see f you can borrow a difficult pair or two, and try it out. Time yourself, and then add another 30% to that.
Bill accordingly.

Patience and air conditioning can make this an enjoyable job! One of my first assisting jobs was working with a studio shooter shooting still life's of sandals, many of which were like the one in your picture. With careful planning, a stylist to aid in making sure the shoes looked their best, and good lighting technique, the 3d affect was quite noticeable in the resulting shots.

We also used a 'lazy susan' rotating platform to rotate the shoes/sandals on axis, the shoe perfectly centered.

Cheers,
-Dan

[slash-5]

Foot model?

[tomrock]

I used to shoot shoes for Sears back in the eighties and we'd hot-glue wire to the backs that couldn't be seen from the camera. Sears was really picky about how they looked.

[chex]

thanks for the replies, I've been using wire, will post a few if I'm allowed.

I liked the fishing line idea but I think it'd have been difficult to prevent the sandal twisting around itself given its design.