In the processing of creating a 3D model all angles of an item have to be photographed. The 'Harald of Mayfair' evening dress at The Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) provided a series of unique challenges for this process.
First, the fabric on the skirt is reflective, making it difficult to capture from different angles. Second, the bodice is beaded, which captures the light in quite a dazzling way. Third, because of the relative lightness of the fabric as it hangs from the mannequin, each rotation of the item risks causing movement in the hanging folds, meaning that photographs from a fixed point might capture a slightly different form of the dress in each tiny rotation.
To address these problems, the team built a new rotating plinth for dress photography, making the movement between rotations as smooth as possible.
First, the fabric on the skirt is reflective, making it difficult to capture from different angles. Second, the bodice is beaded, which captures the light in quite a dazzling way. Third, because of the relative lightness of the fabric as it hangs from the mannequin, each rotation of the item risks causing movement in the hanging folds, meaning that photographs from a fixed point might capture a slightly different form of the dress in each tiny rotation.
To address these problems, the team built a new rotating plinth for dress photography, making the movement between rotations as smooth as possible.
| Subject | Vivien Leigh |
|---|---|
| Source | Royal Albert Memorial Museum |
| Date | 2019-05-15 |
| Format | Photograph |
| Type | Research process |
| Coverage | 1950s |