When it comes to your eCommerce photography you want to make sure your products look amazing on camera. Especially when it comes to beautiful clothes, you want your garments to look stylish and allow your customer to visualise themselves sporting your fashions. Good photography is important for any eCommerce store, but especially clothing stores, as you need to give the customer an idea of how the item will look when it’s on.
While clothing photography for your online store can seem daunting, once you’ve selected the right clothes mannequin the task takes care of itself. So, how to choose the right ghost mannequin for your product photography? Here we will break down the different types of mannequins so you know which one to use for your eCommerce store.
Ghost mannequins
You may also have heard ghost mannequins referred to as invisible ghost mannequins, invisible mannequins, or photography mannequins. These mannequins won’t give you a scare, but they are called ghost mannequins because they have multiple detachable parts. With some clever retouching, the outfit looks as though it is floating – being worn by a very well-dressed ghost if you will. With ghost mannequin photography some post-production editing is required to make the mannequin invisible. The editor removes the background from each photograph to create a clean look with just the outfit against a seamless background.
This style of mannequin is excellent because it will appear invisible in photographs, but shows you how the clothes will look in a realistic body form. The customer is going to make a well-informed decision, but the photo still looks sophisticated as the mannequin isn’t visible. For this reason, ghost mannequins are popular with designer retailers, as they create a refined impression.
However, you don’t need to be a high-end store to use a ghost mannequin. Many eCommerce stores use ghost mannequins too as they make for the cleanest photograph showing the clothes only. This is especially great for continuity, as the photographs looking consistent across your online store.
Stand mannequins
Stand mannequins are also referred to as dress forms. Some people believe that dress forms and mannequins are synonymous, but they are slightly different. A dress form serves a slightly different purpose as it is designed for dressmaking and not commercial merchandising. A dress form is a headless, armless and legless form that takes the shape of a torso. It is often made of papier-mâché and covered in another fabric such as linen or velvet. There is usually a fitting on the bottom of the dress form as it is connected to a stand.
While a dress form is not designed for modelling clothes, it can actually be used as a mannequin, which is useful if you already have one to hand. As a dress form is used by tailors, if you put your clothes on it, it can be evocative of couture or vintage connotations. If your designs are bespoke or handmade, using a dress form can be an effective way to highlight the USP of your products. However, if the clothes were not made on a dress form, it may not be the most convenient mannequin to use.
Torso mannequins
Torso mannequins, as the name would suggest, are only the shape of the torso. This type of mannequin is favoured by many as it is easy to come by, easy to move, and easy to fit anywhere. You can also find torso mannequins with detachable limbs for adaptability.
Torso mannequins are useful in situations where you only want to style garments for the upper body. If you needed to model trousers, then a full-body mannequin would be needed; but if you’re predominantly selling shirts, this could be an appropriate option. Torso mannequins as well as being compact and easily transportable, are the least expensive mannequin.
Realistic mannequins
These mannequins live up to their expectation. These are the kinds of mannequins that in a shop you occasionally mistake for a real person. They are designed to look lifelike and are made of fibreglass to give them a realistic human skin look. Their bodies are modelled on average human measurements, and they have faces painted realistically. The heads are typically covered in wigs.
These mannequins are mostly used in stores to model clothing as part of visual merchandising. They can be effective to real-life customers as they can visualise another person in front of them wearing the clothes. We would recommend you avoid realistic mannequins in your eCommerce store as they are expensive and difficult to transport. Due to the customised nature of these mannequins, it can be unusual for such unique looking mannequins to be modelling the clothes in regards to continuity. Also, the lifelike mannequins can appear uncanny to your online users; this kind of mannequin is better suited to a store environment.
Headless mannequins
If you do need a full-body mannequin, these are a preferable option to realistic mannequins. These look much more sophisticated and less eerie.
Like realistic mannequins, these are also crafted from durable fibreglass and are made in various sizes, shapes, and colours; which is helpful as it means you can select a style suited to your vision. This is a good choice of a mannequin as they don’t offer any emotions. A neutral mannequin is desirable as it doesn’t influence the customer’s opinion of the clothes.
Best mannequins for a clothing photoshoot
So now that you know all about mannequins for eCommerce, which is the best fit? While all mannequins are useful in their own right, we would usually recommend ghost mannequins for eCommerce clothing photography.
Because photographs are so important when it comes to making a sale in eCommerce stores, you really can’t afford to compromise on the quality of your photographs. Ghost mannequins make for the cleanest and most professional-looking photos every time and inspire confidence in your customers. With a ghost mannequin and a good photographer, you are guaranteed to have excellent photographs for your eCommerce store.
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