#cgi photography

Changing Definitions

The future of High End Fashion industry used to mean only Haute Couture- that most exclusive of fashion worlds, inhabited by exclusive designers. Their skilled workers, and their rich and famous clients. The trouble was, these hand-made works of art were one of a kind and slow to make. Today, driven by practicality and market opportunity. The most high end fashion brands have expanded the term to include Designer wear (occasion- specific bespoke clothing) and RTW or Ready to Wear (colloquially called “premium retail” or “high street retail”). The latter is particularly attractive, because fashion houses can sell these at scale while commanding handsome margins.

Fashion Trends Driven by evolving Tech and Consumer Sensibility

Therefore the future of high fashion is likely to be shaped by a number of factors. Most importantly commercial considerations, but also by advances in technology, changes in consumer behavior, and shifts in cultural and societal values. In particular, today’s fashion conscious buyers are interested in aligning with brands. That are extensions of themselves- reflective of their personal styles, political leanings, and moral values. This last is a strong reason that brands everywhere include environment-friendliness, social impact, and sustainability in their brand positioning statements, marketing materials, and even the product design itself. A few other potential trends that could shape the future of high fashion include:

Greater customization and personalization of fashion items, especially driven by data analytics

Inclusivity and diverse representation in fashion campaigns and runway shows

Continued growth of the digital and e-commerce aspects of the fashion industry

Emergence of new technologies such as mixed reality in fashion retail

Data-driven Fashion

3D printing, AI, and Virtual Reality, driven by Data Analytics will become the dominant methods for brands to be retain their individual identities but still respond with agility and efficiency to fast-changing consumer tastes.

Brands are already increasingly using Big Data to do segmentation, seasonal planning, and purchasing. Especially AI-driven insights will mean brands can identify emerging trends faster. It reduce waste or missteps, and improve their design cycle time and customer response. AI-assisted designs for intricate jewelry, accessories and even clothing will become inputs for 3D-printed manufacturing. In both of the new designs of molds, or the products themselves.

Mixed Reality FashionVirtual Try-ons and Digital Recreations

Blending the physical and digital worlds has big implications for fashion. The obvious one is virtual try-ons, a concept that brands are already putting huge amounts of money and research into perfecting, because it is a direct boost for the multi-trillion dollar eCommerce industry. The benefits of virtual try-ons are well known- brands can save on expensive retail space, while consumers can try an unlimited selection with privacy and convenience.

VR has also been commonly used in the past to create 3D interactive experiences for marketing. For example, Ralph Lauren recreated its flagship store in 3D for users to navigate in as part of its “RL50” launch.

Digital Runways and Virtual Catwalks Beyond virtual try-ons, virtual reality will create personalized fashion catwalks of tomorrow.

Designers use creative ways to expand the catwalk experience. Its from using “light” touches of VR / CGI elements to fully immersive, avatar-based fashion shows. Here are a few notable variations:

Louis Vuitton’s 2017 live-streamed “Series 5” campaign featuring Selena Gomez, optimized for a headset experience

Chanel’s “Paris Cosmopolite” and Prada’s “Apostasy” shows were short films featuring models walking through meticulously created virtual cities

ASOS’s “Virtual Catwalk” AR app lets customers point to any flat surface. however choose a product from ASOS’s catalog, and see models wearing those products

Gucci’s “Epilogue” show again featured models walking in a virtual landscape, but this time it was presented as a video game

Dundas, Tommy Hilfiger and Etro built entire fashion shows in VR, with digital avatars displaying digital versions of their new releases. Guests could interact with each others’ avatars as well

The Helsinki Fashion Week introduced the “Digital Village” concept, where users could “wear the clothes in cyberspace, pre-order the looks in real life, and…claim an asset on the blockchain, use it, trade it, and exchange”

Conclusion

An image is considered worth a thousand words and more so in the furniture E-Commerce world. Images are the only preview that customers get before they make their purchase. The best way to showcase the furniture pieces is through lifestyle images. Companies have found the most creative, cost-efficient, and aesthetically pleasing way of creating attractive images. 

 CGI rendering services goes beyond photography. Photographing and then editing huge files can be a tedious as well as an expensive process. This is why CGI is preferred. Let us look at the benefits of CGI for the furniture E-Commerce industry. 

1. 3D CGI Is Cost-effective

A huge part of the budget goes into creating photos for advertising campaigns, promotions, and websites. A studio photoshoot has enormous overhead costs, including rent, creating prototypes, lighting, paying the photographer, and then extra costs for editing. CGI photography is much cheaper. Since a large proportion of the work is done online, it does not require any additional costs. Information is more important than prototypes.  Once the dimensions and material qualities are known, attractive images can be created with great details. No studio, no rent, no props, and no additional editing! 

2. 3D-CGI Gives Companies and Designers More Control over Image Quality

Product shoots are subject to many variables like the lighting, creative vision of the photographer and the editor, and more. This may result in some confusion as well as double work. In the case of CGI, the whole process is in complete control of the brand manager and can be changed, previewed, and edited according to the vision that the brand wishes to follow. This limits the variables and provides consistent, better-quality output. 

3. The Editing Process Is Easier for 3D-CGI than for Studio Photography

Post editing is a big part of images. With CGI-created images, feedback can be immediate and efficient. Big changes can be made without the need to “reshoot”. The changes can be made with more ease, and the edits look completely natural. Corrections and edits are made easier and more cost-effective.

4. 3D Product Renderings Can Be Efficiently Re-Branded or Customized

From a number of flagship products in different colours to a crisp, beautiful background design for each image, it is very easy to re-create and re-brand with CGI images. When asked to choose the real image, many people mistake CGI images for the real ones because of minute attention to detail. This is great for the furniture as well as the backgrounds used. 

5. The Capabilities of 3D-CGI Extends beyond Creating Photorealistic Exteriors

It is easier for CGI designers to push their creative boundaries and move past the limitations of photography. 3D product renderings can be used to show the inside view like - cut-away, panels, and zoomed-in images. This helps the brand to promote the unique attributes of their furniture and make them look attractive and palatable for their audience.

It was time to curb my arrogance.

As a purist photographer, the pandemic helped me stop being so stubborn. For as long as I can remember, my main focus has been what I can do with a camera. I never showed interest in mastering Photoshop. I didn’t care for the advanced tools of Lightroom. To me, the more I could do in-camera, the better. I was a purist photographer. You know the type. Some of you like the purists. Some of you…