# using mannequins as models?



## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

i had a rather silly thought today at work: instead of struggling to find hep, fresh models that would admittedly be more interesting to look at (probably), would using a mannequin suffice? i figure you can have a lot of fun with a mannequin's posing and such, put them in funny places, put funny faces on them, whatever, but would that actually be more distracting than having a model? i had it in my mind to have it be a running gag kind of thing, somewhat like iron maiden's eddie in a far-fetched kind of way, like a spokes-mannequin. 

weird? been done to death? stupid? distracting? or, hey, hm, interesting....


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## rossplaysdrums (Mar 24, 2011)

I picked one up the other day off of craigslist. I just use it to take pictures of some of the stuff we print for customers, we don't have a clothing brand or anything.


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## nascarbob (Mar 29, 2008)

We use them from time to time and the pictures are mixed into our site. Photoshop works great for fantastic backgrounds when needed. The absolute best thing is they work for free.


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## Shokeapparel (Jan 25, 2012)

haha I'd use ones with gas masks on.

Might be onto something there!!!


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## Shokeapparel (Jan 25, 2012)

Or ones all standing round a bar, smoking cigarettes and drinking keg beer.
Or maybe a group of them standing round with the tees on watching a mannequin stripper. haha

Or a few sitting at the bus stop waiting for a bus with the tees on...

It's pretty much endless..


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## idonaldson (Sep 29, 2008)

I like it because they do not talk back and don't require lunch breaks.


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## Shokeapparel (Jan 25, 2012)

There cheap also..


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

damn, shokishi, are you reading my mind? you need to be careful of that, i'll corrupt you if you get in too deep.

but, basically, you've hit the nail on the head. i mentioned 'spokes-mannequin,' and what you joked about is absolutely along the lines of what i was thinking, putting the thing in real life settings, it posed doing what people do, and it's a recognizable icon of your company that's cheap, identifiable, and you don't have to worry about whether or not this model is photogenic or appealing to the right niche in terms of just looks. my idea isn't to buy one of those plastic or fibreglass deals you find in a department store; rather it would be my own construction, probably out of a thick, durable material like canvass (because i'm not a woodworker by any stretch), that was basically a life-size artist's mannequin just like this one: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKZMa2nNBr4[/media] . if i made it from canvass and stuffing, having an internal PVC skeleton and joints that could be tightened (i have ideas on that, but haven't done any shopping), the cost should be low and the thing itself pretty lightweight. the drawback is for standing i would need a stand of some kind, but i don't think that would be an issue as there are a couple of different ways it can be done. also, i would want the hands to be able to do some light gripping, but again that's only a minour technical detail to work out.

i used to play 'gardens of time' on facebook, and this mannequin is featured prominently in the game. i always thought it was fun, funny, and oddly enough had a lot of personality, but only if you give it context. the mannequin itself is instantly recognizable and iconic just by itself.

yes? no? maybe? meh?

seriously, though, shokishi, other than the strippers, those are two settings i had thought about using. the idea is every day situations, maybe a few that aren't quite G rated (but aren't profane or anything), and some fun settings. the best ones would tell a story along with it.


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## Shokeapparel (Jan 25, 2012)

Yeah pays to be different..

Could have a few crack head ones in alley ways too... Nahh.. jokes.


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

unless my niche turns out to be crack heads, which is always a possibility, i would probably avoid that one in favour of something that i think my market would do themselves, like play pool at a bar or wake up with a strange girl (who would be in the foreground wearing the shirt, the mannequin still in bed). if i used a gas mask, i would probably sit it on a public toilet, too (which actually might be better to photoshop). 

and you could photoshop the whole thing, you don't even need to build one. to me, though, part of the charm is the real world interaction that you can't fake. kind of like stealing someone's yard gnome and hauling it hither and yon and taking pictures of it, what would be the fun in photoshopping that? i think people can see through these fakes pretty easily in general.


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## Shokeapparel (Jan 25, 2012)

Yeah agree, That happened here at the round about at the end of my street.

Every single garden gnome and statue from all over town was stolen and placed on this one round a bout in the middle of the road.

Looked like the whole statue hood was having a party.

Pretty cool seeing it at 6am going to work! Sun coming up, surreal experience..


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

heh heh, that would be awesome.

if nothing else, it would give someone a good excuse to get away for a little while, too. i can't complain about what i do, but it would be nice every now and then to get some fresh air and pretend that what i'm doing is beneficial towards a business.


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## Shokeapparel (Jan 25, 2012)

Corporate?

Plz nooooooo!!


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## Skinbus (Jul 2, 2007)

Just use your friends as models. Get them to pose in any way you need. Check out "threadless.com" to see what I mean.


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## Shokeapparel (Jan 25, 2012)

He wants to be different


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

me, corporate? ah, no.  

you're right, it's about being different. it's also about being easily identifiable. don't get me wrong, i know plenty of appropriately attractive people that i could get to model, that would be relatively easy, but those people i would probably want for specific settings. 

thanks for the advice, skin.  i could do it like threadless. then i would be just like threadless. that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but it definitely wouldn't have much of me in it. as far as posing, i certainly could pose an artist's mannequin in far more positions than an actual human. 

i was at one of those specialty dog stores today and found a toy dog made with the exact material i had in mind. my wife said it was muslin, and she's probably right, dunno. i always thought that was more cheesecloth-y, not canvas-y like this stuff, but what do i know?


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

I actually saw some sexy looking ones on fleabay.
Not your mom's mannequins. 
I had the same idea. Put monster masks on them and make them look kinda goofy. 
My main target is college kids and collegiate types who wanna have some fun.
I live halfway between Rutgers and Princeton Universities and I figured that the girls I could hire as models might be pretty dern nice looking.
A few thousand college-age girls to pick from!!!


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

i checked out some mannequins here and there. they're expensive and none of them had the look and articulation i wanted, although i did find some artist model hands that would work out great, i think. 

one of my goals now that the wife and i are separated is that when i finally get moved out to go full-blown with it and break out the lathe. i think that's really the only way i'm going to get the perfect mannequin for me. i just have to learn how to use a lathe! lol. subsequent models i might try to make out of vacuum forming plastic or fibreglass, two things i've always wanted to get into but, well, the wife wasn't too hep on me trying. 

don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with college chicks! lol. my main idea was to establish some kind of brand identity while keeping it fun. it also make my brain happy to come up with scenarios to put the thing in, even if it's jamming a fishing pole in its hand and propping it up waist-high in the river down the road or rigging it up somehow to take a pic of itself in the bathroom mirror. i would also be ridiculous about it and put it on a dating site.  just things that people do every day in real life. hey, how about standing in a bookstore reading a magazine about wood-working? too philosophical? lol. 

the funny thing would be if people wanted me to start making them mannequins and weren't interested in the shirts at all....


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

I live close to NY city, so I thought that maybe, propping up a mannequin in Times Square with a shirt on it might be fun. The tourist 20-something girls that pass by could pose with it and I would get some cute girls in the pics.
There are a million ideas, if you don't take it too seriously and just have fun with it. I mean, they are t-shirts. They're supposed to be fun.


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

you hit the nail right on the head, ralph.  living in NY would give just so many opportunities, i wouldn't even know where to start. i can think of tons of them right off the top of my head, and i've never been to NYC (though i have come to the conclusion that me and new york state don't get along ~ long story). 

there are some construction issues i'd have to grapple with, and some logistics. a normal mannequin wouldn't be much of an issue to prop up, but my mannequin, being built specifically for this (and by my hands, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence in some people... pfft), may be more problematic. and heavy. any anyone that's had to lug a typical store mannequin around may tell you some of the comical experiences they've had reminescent of an abbott and costello routine. 'didn't this thing have five fingers when we left the shop?' 'no, it had four fingers and thumb.' 'oh. well, then the good news is we only broke four fingers. the bad news is we also broke the thumb.'

yeah, i think you get it.  for me, the pretty people are for the background.


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

If your in or know someone in LA American Apparel has a crap load of mannequins on sale for $80 (thats cheap) at the headquarters downtown. These are full bodies in different poses not just torsos. These would be cool for what you describing.


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

I say go for it! so dome videos too. cheesy stop motion style. I could think of a million and one ways to feed this idea....do it do it do it


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

JOHNSY said:


> If your in or know someone in LA American Apparel has a crap load of mannequins on sale for $80 (thats cheap) at the headquarters downtown. These are full bodies in different poses not just torsos. These would be cool for what you describing.


Anyplaces in NY city?
Thats a lot closer to me than LA!


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

mrfunone said:


> Anyplaces in NY city?
> Thats a lot closer to me than LA!


Not sure what there distribution is out there in NY. you may want to check you local AA and ask whats up. Im at the maufacturing spot about 3 times a week so Im constantly seening them for there summer clearance sale.


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

I see some good ones on fleabay for about $100.
I want to put monster masks on mine and make them look weird and kooky. Bring them to Times Square, and have cute tourist girls have their pics taken with them to show their friends back in Nebraska or Sweden or wherever.
Maybe, other places around the city too.
It would be a cool look having the city in the background. It would be cheap to have some hotties pose for no money. Just for the fun of being in a weird pic. 
I'll tell them that I'm shooting for a advert.
I guess I'll need release forms?


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## RagnarssonSv (Jan 20, 2011)

We got a decent camera and started putting more time into our photoshoots with good results quality wise, it looks much better in the webstore with modells wearing the t-shirts then just a template showcasing the design imo. Havent seen much of a change in sales or anything tho like I thought, eq Better looking = Quality stamp = more people that feel secure enough to purchase.

What is you guys view on Modell photos vs templates in the shop and what would you say would suit our designs the most? If you got time feel free to check out our webstore and come with critique: yourcupoftee.se - Shop
Obs go back to page 3 to see both modell photos and templates.


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

i looked at some prices, but the kind of mannequin i want apparently doesn't exist except in dummy form. and that's an idea for y'all, too, you can make your own mannequin/dummy out of strong cloth and PVC pipe. there's a place in dayton that sells used office and retail equipment, but don't quite remember the price of mannequins, but $100+ sounds about right. 

i do have another brand idea that requires old, beat up, trashed mannequins. new or new looking won't suffice. some of the advertising ideas i have (either it's brilliant or quite stupid, not sure) would see the destruction of some mannequins. a shame, perhaps, as i would otherwise like to get some artist friends to paint faces on the things any way they want. were the initial investment not an issue, i would ideally have the 'quins painted all up anyway the artist felt compelled, warehouse them, and see if i can get some people i know who should have their 'new' art gallery back up and running again by then to have a show, split the money with the artist, and at least recoup the investment on the 'quins that survive (which isn't likely to be that many, lol). 

my mom's b'f and i were going to build a vacuum former, but he had to have surgery on his foot and is out of commission for a couple of months. that would have been perfect to make your own 'quins any way you want and for a fraction of the cost. that would have worked out well for me as i wanted to make a stormtrooper costume for the 501st, and, hey, if it turned out i could make them, do up some unique 'quins for sale (what can i say? i'm a capitalist, no legal way of making money is out of the question to me, lol. check it out, how's this for unique for an attention getter: take your shirt, do a little cutting and sewing so you have four sleeves, and put it on your four armed 'quin?). 

i thought the models on your page three were fine. personally, i like to see a model and just the shirt on a product page. templates are fine and used a lot, and often far better than the guy's buddy's skanky girlfriend in a bad pic wearing your gear. most ppl, imo, don't have much vision when it comes to pics they take, it's usually something that's already been seen a million times, like the 'cool' kids posing against a wall, sometimes laughing hysterically (presumably because they're so cool and/or high on goofballs!). and i admit, i would have a 'quin posed with a wall... more specifically spiked to the wall. laughing hysterically, of course. (the point of some is to have an unsettling effect. the point of some others is to pose them just like AA ads to mock them. as long as it has a (preferably provocative) story....)

anyway, yeah, good models, and if i had to choose b/w just models or just the shirt, personally i prefer models. that's just me, it hardly needs to be that way at all. i think models work not only b/c of beauty and/or interesting ppl helping to sell the shirt, but also who the market is supposed to be as to eliminate any doubt. my market is, apparently, sado-masochistic mannequins. 

i'd love to hear some scenes y'all come up with. this kind of stuff is fun to me.


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

Here is a pic of what American Apparel is selling for $80 each. I was just there today still a large selection left.


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

You can spray paint the quins to make em look like they are in the middle of the Apocalypse or something.
Use some Photoshop to make the backdrop look like a warzone or part of the Zombieclypse!
My designs will be kinda off beat and kooky anyway, so, it would work for me.
I just bought some vampire blood (stage blood)
to hand print onto my ZOMBIE KILLA shirts.
Each shirt will be different with blood patterns splattered on them.
Alien blood=green
Ghost blood=glow 
Monster blood=purple
etc...........................


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

JOHNSY said:


> Here is a pic of what American Apparel is selling for $80 each. I was just there today still a large selection left.


this pic is just a small portion of what is available.


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

32"BUST 24"WAIST 34"HIPS 5FT 9" TALL FEMALE MANNEQUIN DURABLE PLASTIC (F2) | eBay

This is more of what I had in mind!


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

mrfunone said:


> 32"BUST 24"WAIST 34"HIPS 5FT 9" TALL FEMALE MANNEQUIN DURABLE PLASTIC (F2) | eBay
> 
> This is more of what I had in mind!


OHHHHH you want the creepy "real doll" looking mannequins


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

Yeah.
A guy version and a girl version.
Pose them together, make the hug and hold hands.
Pose them with real people.
Like college girls.
Like those Old Navy adverts.
I wanna keep it light and fun and kooky and funny.

How much would real girl models cost me? 
Is there a union or something?
50 bucks for an hour???
I want cute girls, but, cute like the geeky incredibly cute girl next door who wears glasses and dresses kinda oddly. Thats my target.
College age and 20 somethings who wanna have fun during their "lost decade".


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

i'd be going more for the AA 'quins. they're more of a blank canvass. really, just the general form of a face is best, but i would make anything work ~ just have to drop the nice ones off a tall roof. for most of them i'm going for an industrial-ish, broke-down and band-aided back together feel. 

and no photoshop! lol. if i did that, to me, that would defeat my personal concept. these shirts are one-offs, the shirt in the ad is the actual shirt you buy (cleaned and repaired when applicable), so there's an adventure the actual garment has gone through. of course, not every shirt would be a 'hero' shirt... but those that are cost more. (i'm completely breezing over the concept here, all of which amounts to selling the brand itself if possible. to me, for this particular idea, selling the brand is the point, and why there's a mystery and anonymous nature about it. i don't necessarily plan on making one-offs for the rest of my life even if ppl are willing to pay the asking price.)

the adventure of it, though, isn't human friendly. 

so, two lines, both uses mannequins, but with highly different branding functions. one features the one 'quin, is likeable and put in common situations. the other belongs to a much more high-minded, high-end market with an arty flair. with both, though, i think it's important to get out there in real life ~ people can tell the difference... not to mention i don't do photoshop, lol.


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

mrfunone said:


> Yeah.
> A guy version and a girl version.
> Pose them together, make the hug and hold hands.
> Pose them with real people.
> ...


Here is how the whole model thing works for the most part.
-some models will work for free but need the photos for there portfolio which means they want professional looking work.
-some models work for gear as payment
-pro / paid models of course cost some dough my models were around $500 each for half day (4hours) and thats because I know one of them. Plus makeup / hair artist $300 The make up artist would have been more expensive but I know a bit about the biz and had my stuff together as far as what I wanted for the look. there was no back and forth. here is the look I want sketched and typed up on paper. so the price came down. there was no back and forth.
Also I had a pro photographer through the one model I knew so we did half day for fairly cheap  I also do photography about 12 years experience and hired him to get a refresher course at the same time. so I do all my own shooting now. you will get quotes from pro photographers for $1000 plus then a charge for additional retouch. Just varies.
I use paid models for my higher end gear and always will.
If you look to get "free" models you are dealing with a few issues and I have dealt with these issues.
-1. free model equals a maybe commitment. you will most likely shoot on a weekend with so did they go out drinking the night before and decide to bail on you.
-2. are they "free" because later they are going to sue you later for using there image (pro or not, friend or not download a model contract contract online that states use of image and image release consent to do what you want with the images)
-3. work for trade. Same issues as above but are they going to back out of the deal later saying they dont like your gear or something and try and charge you cash. I have not had this happen but have been warned about it but I always do contracts. 
-4 free = check your models past history, has he/ she done some "questionable shoots" that may conflict with your brand later.

just note these are different experiences that could happen and not all people will try and cheat you. My suggestions ask friend and fam who they know that know someone. Check model Mayhem for some local models in your area drop them a line and see what you can work out. also you can take pics from there and show w photographer as far a what looks you are trying to achieve. This is kind of the short of it. hope it helps a bit.


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

OY!!!
That seems like too much work!
Maybe I'll try selling pantyhose on ebay instead.
I want a quirky look, so I don't really care about all of that fussy stuff. So long as the pics come out well.
Why can't I just use some local college girls to pose for me?
There are THOUSANDS of them around here!
I don't really care if they've posed for KINK magazine or anything like that. It would be GREAT to find a Bettie Page lookalike!
YOWZA!
In fact, some gothy or punk girls would look GREAT!


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

mrfunone said:


> OY!!!
> That seems like too much work!
> Maybe I'll try selling pantyhose on ebay instead.
> I want a quirky look, so I don't really care about all of that fussy stuff. So long as the pics come out well.
> ...


Just depends on what your going for. Its good to get a network of people together for the future of things. thats how I look at it. when I get to a certain point ill have these people in place to handle things and wont be scrambling later. this is just my thought process and why I did the investment. The model I didnt know is actually calling me these days to shoot for free because she likes the gear and the exposure she got from the pics.


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

just another set of reasons why i want mannequins instead, lol. still, there's no way around getting a decent camera and actually learning how to use it along with lighting set-ups. i don't want to go pro with this thing by any stretch, but i can't afford a pro photog, not when my bro-in-law has a 12 megapixel camera collecting dust, ya know?


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

ryan barker said:


> just another set of reasons why i want mannequins instead, lol. still, there's no way around getting a decent camera and actually learning how to use it along with lighting set-ups. i don't want to go pro with this thing by any stretch, but i can't afford a pro photog, not when my bro-in-law has a 12 megapixel camera collecting dust, ya know?


 I hear that... I use a Mannequin for all my short run tees. I have a small light box set up that fits both torsos at the same time if needed. Im putting out new short tees weekly so it makes no sense for me to collect models for all the shots...my lady steps in from time to time though. this is what my short run photos look like after I edit them.


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

Yeah, I want good pics, but, thats not too hard these days.
Its all that other stuff that makes me batty.
Just get some cute college girls, give them some beer, and let them model shirts for me.
WOOHOO!


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

mrfunone said:


> Yeah, I want good pics, but, thats not too hard these days.
> Its all that other stuff that makes me batty.
> Just get some cute college girls, give them some beer, and let them model shirts for me.
> WOOHOO!


HAHA hell yeah...been there done that.


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

great job on those shirts, they look awesome.  nice design, too. learning that skill would be great, though not appropriate for what i have in mind. is that difficult to do? 

i think getting random ppl to pose for you shouldn't be a problem. approach them professionally and nicely, offer them a card to show you're not a pre-vert (as far as they know, at any rate), shirt and camera in hand, and why wouldn't they? yes, you probably should have a release form.  dunno, though, if it's just for a blog, i don't know if that's necessary as opposed to just a good idea. 

i need to learn some good photography techniques. i know about some basic key, fill and back lighting, but that's about it, and i haven't a clue about how to snap the kind of pics i'm really going to need. i guess that's what's youtube is for! lol. (there's a double role for all this as we do trophies and awards, too, and really need to grab some knowledge on how to take quality pics. the ones we have on our facebook page embarrass me for the most part.)

for a minute i thought it would be funny to do a line using models aged 70+ and fat chicks, not just the 'plus' sized girls that some companies think is big and they're only size 9. anything i could hang a shirt on or put a shirt over is fair game. how about a 'speed limit 145' shirt draped over a stop sign (temporarily, of course)? or drop off a hundred shirts in seats at an NFL game, when worn makes a huge team logo (and your web addy ~ national exposure for $700? sure, i might take that. what's funny is if some NFL actually allowed this, you know that pic is going to get around, and every other screen printer in america will follow shirt, er, suit)? tie an anchor around a shirt and let it sit at the bottom of a pond or river for a month as a 'durability test.' anything wild, crazy, stoopid or bizarre.... hey, hooker, wear this shirt. still, though, no photoshop! rigging up a weather balloon to hit the stratosphere with your shirt in frame would be cool.


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

Thanks for the compliment. As with anything you will be happy with they take a little time but with that comes great return as i do the work my self. I shoot with a Cannon Eos T3i, to get the lighting I use 3 flood light from home depot like $12 each ultra white bulbs,4 white nylon shower liners $4 from Walmart. draped over PVC framing with the lights behind them to soften the light. If you go to a camera store you can look at there lighting and basically build it from home depot supplies. then comes the photo shop ive got my technique down to about 30 mins per shirt per view. The key is getting your lighting right then there is less photopshop.

If I can make a strong suggestion... have people sign off or state on video (cam phone) that they are releasing you to use their likeness for XY and Z promotion. It will save you alot of headache in the future. Been there and it will put there mind at ease to know your not going to cut n paste there head on some porn sight. also you can gain fans by having them follow you on your social media to look for there pics.


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

ryan barker said:


> great job on those shirts, they look awesome.  nice design, too. learning that skill would be great, though not appropriate for what i have in mind. is that difficult to do?
> 
> i think getting random ppl to pose for you shouldn't be a problem. approach them professionally and nicely, offer them a card to show you're not a pre-vert (as far as they know, at any rate), shirt and camera in hand, and why wouldn't they? yes, you probably should have a release form.  dunno, though, if it's just for a blog, i don't know if that's necessary as opposed to just a good idea.
> 
> ...


YES!!!
You is the marketing man!
T shirts are all about marketing and creating a buzz around your product.
Anything goofy, kooky, offbeat,whacky that can cause your brand to go viral, is good!
T shirt cannons, dropping shirts from an airplane, getting sexy girls to wear your shirt with nothing else, except for a bikini bottom. There are a BILLION ways to promote the brand. 
The cheaper the better!
I was thinking of making some short (15-20 seconds) Youtube vids. 
I am just starting out and I have to work around my BUSY schedule to do things right now. I can't just drop it all and do this full-time just yet. I have to do it in dribs and drabs. But, hopefully, in a year or so, I will have enough business to quit my 7 day jobs and do more of this stuff. 
I will start making up some product this weekend and see how it looks. 
I want to sell online, but, also do some shows and fairs in the area. There seems to be a TON of shows around here. I live about halfway between NY city and Philadelphia. There are milllions of people in that zone! 
If I can just get a few of them................

The senior citizens and the big girls are BRILLIANT ideas!!!


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

bryan, just looking at some youtube videos on lighting, i figured there must be a low cost way, so i'm glad you mentioned that. it just needs to look good, i'm not out to open up a portrait studio.  i would be impressed with myself if i ever got that look you did in under an hour *after* i learned how to do it, lol. 

while i'm confident that once i get settled in my new situation enough to get around to snapping trophy pics with a little practice, and do passable shirt pics enough to show off the screen printing service, it's the photos for the brands that have me wondering how i'm going to do it... lots of lighting issues, not sure how to achieve the effects i see in my mind's eye, and a ton of outdoor shots. 

heh heh, big gals and grandparents... why not, right? there used to be a beer called 'old frothingslosh' or something close to that that had a big girl on it as if she'd just won a beauty contest. that's what it's known for and it always stuck with me as hilarious and interesting just because it cut across the marketing grain. today, people still follow the tried and true paths, and that's great and makes sense, but it's not memorable or interesting. sleazy companies like american apparel and abercrombie go right for the crotch, which obviously works, but it's vulgar in its crassness... and unoriginal. i would hate to be known for ads that were criticized for being akin to amateur softcore porn. 

of course, i'm totally not opposed to the 'sex sells' idea, and i plan on having some of that, but that's only one facet to me. i get into the story a pic tells ~ no story then it's just a picture. for example, one concept involves a series of pics somewhat like a comic wherein a real stripper does her thing, then during a sit-down with a customer, she picks up her drink and turns into the mannequin, kind of illustrating the two sides of herself, the dancer with broken dreams and the money-earner conning suckers out of drinks, going from human to plastic. i don't have every single frame plotted out yet, but there's a story there, sad as it may be, but yippy skippyness and mostly naked skanks are *not* what the brand is about. (the real challenge is to put a shirt in that scenario, lol.)

i feel it's important to hit on the good and bad, to strike a balance. i don't want for it to be depressing, or just all about sunshine and rainbows, as much as covering a broad spectrum searching for ppl for which these ads resonate with. imo, that's memorable, that's a repeat customer, that's a customer that will tell the story the shirt represents to someone else, and that's free advertising. it's also a lot of work, creativity, technical ability (which i don't have yet), and money (which i see as an investment... and which i don't have yet, either, lol ~ i've always said the only thing keeping me from being rich is money. but, when the cheap ads in cosmo runs around $87K, you need to find alternative ways of advertising, eh?).


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

That sounded like Bergman or Fellini.
I just wanna have fun with it and make a few shekels too.
I'll show you some stuff before Summer is over.
I gotta start making up some product.
So much to do, so little time!


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

ryan barker said:


> bryan, just looking at some youtube videos on lighting, i figured there must be a low cost way, so i'm glad you mentioned that. it just needs to look good, i'm not out to open up a portrait studio.  i would be impressed with myself if i ever got that look you did in under an hour *after* i learned how to do it, lol.
> ........


Here you go my pics start like this. Its a very simple setup. you dont have to invest in a spantastic camera I take pre shots with the phone. as far as out door shots you can accomplish alot with a reflector and some sun. the picture on my FB page header was taken with my cannon and a reflector and my lady. doesnt need to be too complicated. Start with what you have. if its a cell phone camera or a digital pocket cam just invest in a small reflector to kill the harsh shadows. if you take a look at say Johnny Cupcake shots those are really simply done with that natural state look. reflecto is key to getting that natural shot.


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## atigerwanabee (Sep 30, 2011)

You gave me an Idea that I never thought about. There are tons of places here that have some very life-like *mannequins. With the right lighting you could really showcase your designs. I think it is cost effective in the long run as oppose to hiring Models. Good Call!
*


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

thanks, bryan, i love seeing ingenuity and side-stepping the expensive 'must-have' equipment. i made a note at work today as i was playing around with a design at lunch to remember not to forget about 'ghost tees' as i called them.  i probably would just use it as an excercise b/c i hate to steal your ideas.

inspired by the floating look of the tees, but not wanting to take the idea, i did come up with an idea of making a tall thick wire frame with removable arms to make putting the shirt on easy. it would kinda sorta have a floating vibe to it. heh heh, i could just slap pics of faces on the head from that point if i felt the need. 

i don't think any of this need to be complicated, either, certainly not like i want to do. just as interesting or appealing may be making a simple T from 2x4's (i don't know why i call this idea 'the gallows pole'... just sick in the head, i reckon, lol). make your mannequin out of sticks bundled together if you have a 'green' clientele. spray paint it if you want.  i just think you should use the kinds of materials that fit your brand and the customer can take note of. 

shirt templates with models are often obviously just that, and while there's absolutely nothing wrong with going that route, particularly since it won't distract from your product, it's still kinda boring to me. is it a lost sale? no, but maybe a little bit of a lost opportunity to stand out in the customer's mind. consider, too, that templates don't wear your hat.  

nothing against using real people, lol. you at least get someone that's wearing an ensemble (of sorts) to suggest the type of situation the shirt can go with, and it puts a sharp definition on who the garment is meant for usually (just for me i want to be a bit more ambiguous about that just because the one brand could appeal to younger geeks and, well, older dorks such as myself, so i don't want to lock in on just one age bracket as much). what gets me are the girlfriends these guys think are so hot, but aren't photogenic and can't pose... not that it matters much because none of them can take a picture worth a damn and the backgrounds are generic or played out. it's like, really? you have five designs, you couldn't have come up with a more interesting scene? lol. 'well, that distracts from the design.' so, you can't have additional pics showing off just the design or what? 

want morbid? how about frankensteining together a mannequin from old prosthetic limbs? that would be freaky, huh? well, since apparently crash test dummies are, like, never for sale it seems, why not? talk about your niche market ~ the first tee shirt designed for one-armed guys! i'm a freakin' genius....


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

Thanks this is by no means anything new by technique but I just put a spin on things. template "ghost" tees are available all of the web but they look like crap and your customer can see that its not a real tee product you produce you just put a graphic on it. thats what drove me to do the actual product ghost style. takes a bit o work positioning steaming shirts for wrinkles lighting position changes per tee color blah blah but worth the work.

here is a freebie. get a bail of hay and some 2x4s and create 2 scarecrows one male one female and use them as your models. post them up in random places bus stops, shopping malls, in some creepy wooded area, abandoned house, rail yard factory whatever... that could look kinda cool if you do it right.


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

How about an inflatable "doll"?


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

hah, would have never thought of having to steam it.  the outdoor shots are going to be a challenge, i think.

hell, yeah, an inflatable doll would work.


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## JOHNSY (Dec 20, 2010)

ryan barker said:


> hah, would have never thought of having to steam it.  the outdoor shots are going to be a challenge, i think.
> 
> hell, yeah, an inflatable doll would work.


oh yeah yeah the more you do before the photo the less you do in photoshop. I do very little in photoshop. mainly just remove background, collar and sleeve rebuild and a little color adjustment.


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## biggermo (Oct 28, 2011)

I always use my friends as models. I tend to just ask the ones with the most tattoos! Maybe if they sold mannequins with tattoos on them......Now there's an idea!


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

the sleeves and collar obviously have to be redone, but the key here, imo, is that the shirt is still real and looks real, not just a cool template. what's your site addy, i must have missed that.

mo, sure, you could paint right on the mannequin. spray paint it neon pink if you want, put some ink or paint right on it with a brush or paint pen or marker, make a stencil... i reckon you could glue lightbulbs to it if you wanted, eh? that's one thing that does actually interest me to a certain extent with this idea, the decoration and modification of it. i think i'd mentioned asking artists to paint mine and i'd split the money with them, but it has also crossed my mind that selling them for a charity would be nice, too. 

my brother-in-law is a tattoo artist. if i wanted tattooed and/or pierced people, he could hook me up! lol. i've noticed tons of models that are just fairly plain looking and have lots of tats, particularly sleeves b/c, well, i guess that's pretty much all we can see. 

i have an unusual problem with the one brand i have in mind because each shirt is a one-of-a-kind. you can't slap that on a template, nor would i think most people want to buy a shirt that's been wore, even if it was by a model (i mentioned the stripper ad earlier, so this would be an exception, and in the description i would add, 'unwashed, smells like stripper') and part of the unusualness of the shirts is they come scented (that's just an idea i'm playing with). also, i don't want the typical look for backgrounds ~ i have no problem with sites that do that, but a brick wall b/g isn't going to get me excited (unless that brick wall is crumbling or otherwise has some character about it) especially when there are so many alternatives. 

we mentioned building scarecrows (i even called them that in another thread that went pretty much ignored, lol), and i just wanted to note that you could do them out of wood (you could use sticks you find in the woods if you want), used wood, and PVC pipe which is cheap. what's cool with these ideas is because you have to put thought and your labour into them, each one is unique and cheap. you could literally drive around on trash day and probably find enough materials to build a mannequin.  

heh heh. i'm going to do that, make shirts for one-armed people. just sew up the other sleeve as an option. how's this for a saying, 'i thank god for the one good, strong arm He has blessed me with. what have you thanked Him for today?' funny this is, i'm not spiritual in the slightest, but it seems a good way to say to ppl stop your complaining! lol.


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

...........smells like stripper!
YUMM!
Hope she is a hot blonde!
Or brunette.
Maybe a nice redhead with a few freckles?
So long as she's a hottie!


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

biggermo said:


> I always use my friends as models. I tend to just ask the ones with the most tattoos! Maybe if they sold mannequins with tattoos on them......Now there's an idea!


Yeah, who needs pro models?
Just get some friends, give them some cheap beer and work 'em till they drop!


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

or tie them up and put duct tape over their mouths. no one said models had to do it voluntarily.


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

real people *would* add an extra something you can get with mannequins. i'd love to get a high speed shot of a hot mess battling with cops, her hair flying, screaming, wearing the shirt. a party girl passed out on the toilet. a guy bound and gagged, dominated by a fat chick pulling the chain around his neck to display the shirt. four generations of a family in the same shot giving the finger. a bunch of naked people just wearing the shirt. you know, every day life kind of stuff....


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## biggermo (Oct 28, 2011)

> Just get some friends, give them some cheap beer and work 'em till they drop!


That's exactly what I did. I live in Portugal and summertime's all about bbq and the beer is very cheap. We just had to remember to get the photos done before we looked too messy. 

It wasn't easy!


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## biggermo (Oct 28, 2011)

> Just get some friends, give them some cheap beer and work 'em till they drop!


That's exactly what I did. I live in Portugal and summertime's all about bbq and the beer is very cheap. We just had to remember to get the photos done before we looked too messy. 

It wasn't easy!


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

ryan barker said:


> real people *would* add an extra something you can get with mannequins. i'd love to get a high speed shot of a hot mess battling with cops, her hair flying, screaming, wearing the shirt. a party girl passed out on the toilet. a guy bound and gagged, dominated by a fat chick pulling the chain around his neck to display the shirt. four generations of a family in the same shot giving the finger. a bunch of naked people just wearing the shirt. you know, every day life kind of stuff....


You are my marketing guru!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

thanks, but i'm not sure if that's necessarily a good deal for you, lol.


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

Teach me more wisdom, oh master!


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

hm, not sure if i'd call it wisdom, lol. i think most of us can't afford a more mainstream marketing scheme and have to find alternatives, and i'm a big advocate of doing things yourself when possible and applicable. too, i think we need to stick with mainstream methods to the extent that it doesn't confuse or turn the customer off, but within that framework there is, imo, a lot of room to be creative in your marketing, branding, site look, etc.. 

then again, going as mainstream as possible might be what works best for some people and brands. 

to me, these are fun, interesting and different ideas. the odd things still are asides, you still have to instill confidence in the customer and do things like show the actual design amidst all the craziness.


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