How to photograph your fabric for a stitching quote

Light and background

• Daylight by a window, out of direct sun, which bleaches colour and throws hard shadows.
• Flash off: it flattens texture and changes colour.
• A plain background: a white or neutral sheet on the floor or a bed works well. Avoid patterned rugs and wood grain.
• Filters and beauty modes off, and wipe the lens first.
• Hold the phone parallel to the fabric, directly above it, so lengths are not distorted.
• A sheet of white paper in one shot gives a reference for true colour.

The shots to take

Take more than you think you need. For an unstitched suit, this set covers almost everything.

• Everything together: all the pieces laid out, so we can see the whole suit at once.
• Each piece flat and whole, with a tape measure laid along its length.
• The width: a tape measure across the fabric from edge to edge.
• The label or listing: the piece list and lengths. See how to read an unstitched suit label.
• Close-ups: the neckline patch, borders, embroidery and a section of the print.
• The reverse of the embroidery, which shows how dense and scratchy it is.
• Held to a window: a single layer with your hand behind it, to show how sheer it is.
• Your inspiration: a catalogue image or screenshot of the design you want. Our guide to briefing a tailor with screenshots helps.
• A kameez that fits, laid flat, if you want it used as a template. See using a kameez that fits as a template.

Getting colour and detail right

Phones adjust colour automatically, and screens differ, so describe the colour in words as well: “teal, closer to green than blue”, or “the pink is dusty, not bright”. If the photo does not look like the fabric in your hand, say so. For embroidery, get close enough to see the stitches, and for prints, include one shot that shows the scale of the pattern against the tape measure.

Evening photos under household bulbs turn whites yellow and blues grey. If you can only take photos at night, say so, and add a daylight shot of one piece the next morning for comparison.

Take the photos before you do anything else to the fabric. If you plan to pre-wash it, photograph it before and after, so any shrinkage or change in colour is on record. Do not cut, pleat or pin anything for the photos: we need to see each piece as it came. If you have several suits, photograph them one at a time and keep each suit’s photos together, so nothing gets mixed up.

Sending them

Upload the photos with your Stitching Only quote request, which takes fabric photos, screenshots and sketches, or send them on WhatsApp. Add a line saying which piece is which, and mention anything the photos cannot show, such as whether the fabric has been washed. The unstitched suit stitching page explains what happens next.