We sell ghost mannequins at Mannequin Madness, but to get the most value out of the ghost mannequin one must be aware of the current trends in photography equipment and software. So we look to industry leaders in that field to share their expertise on our blog.

The blog post below was written by Iconasys, whose software is trusted by over 6,500 leading brands and retailers such as Walmart, Nike, Amazon, Macys and Adidas, just to name a few. Don’t let the big names scare you, their software solutions are quite affordable and easy to use. The blog post contains a video of how their photo solutions are deployed and below the video are their recommendations on a ghost mannequin.

Apparel Photography can come in many forms. The most common methods depend on the sales channel and/or platform being used. For example, Amazon Product Photography requires Apparel to be shot on live models or in a flat lay style. For Social Media, the most common and popular method is lifestyle photography – showing apparel on a model in a public setting whereas in eCommerce Product Photography, we often see customers shooting apparel on a Ghost Mannequin or Live Model.

While our Shutter Stream Product Photography Software can be used to streamline any kind of apparel photography in a studio setting, this article discusses the workflow and tools included in the software to obtain Apparel Photography with a Ghost Mannequin effect.

One of the most important considerations when shooting for a Ghost Mannequin effect is the mannequin itself. We suggest considering a mannequin with removable parts (ex. removable neck, removable arms etc..). Although these can be more expensive, the amount of time and effort you will save in post production image editing due to having these removable features will likely cover the extra expense of the mannequin.

A rotating mannequin base is also a benefit so users can easily position the mannequin at desired shooting angles. You can purchase a ghost mannequin on a rotating base attached like these.

The next consideration for your apparel photography would be lighting, this will typically consist of 4 to 6 softboxes, backdrop stand and white paper backdrop sweep. It is important to consider good quality lighting with high CRI rating to ensure you can shoot colors accurately. Iconasys is a provider of Apparel Photography Lighting Studio kits that are very high end without the ‘professional’ price tags. These kits are pre-packaged and include everything required for Apparel Photography.

Shutter Stream Product Photography Software will work with a long list of compatible cameras allow users to compose and capture images directly from the computer. Also included in the software is image editing tools that range from automated background removal, manual cut out, color correction, exposure adjustment and image enhancement tools. it will prove to be a suitable software for users of any skill level to very easily and efficiently create web and catalog ready Ghost Mannequin images in just minutes.

During image capture, in addition to mouse control image capture, users can also synch a Shutter Release trigger to the camera to prevent walking back and forth to computer for every capture. The process we used was capture a front and back view of the mannequin, as these are captured, they are instantly uploaded to the computer for viewing.

After we confirmed image quality, we then import into the Editing area of the Shutter Stream Software and auto-clip the mannequin and apparel from the mannequin (one click – apply to all) then proceed with using the Polygon Lasso tool to manually remove the mannequin from the frame. We then exported images and during this step we batch renamed and resized the images.

The entire process to compose, capture, edit, process and output the Ghost Mannequin Apparel images took about 5 minutes.

About Iconasys: Iconasys has emerged as the leader in Fashion, Apparel & Clothing photography solutions by delivering the professional and advanced solutions for still and 360 product photography that make it easy and efficient for users to create high quality images. Since initial launch, we have gained the trust of over 4,000 customers globally including some of the largest brands (Nike, Adidas), retailers (Wal-Mart, Amazon, Macy’s) and professional photographers. Our solutions are tried and tested in the most stringent high production environments and used by those who require the highest image quality. We have no doubt our solutions will meet your apparel photography requirements. If interested in 360 Apparel Photography, consider an Iconasys 360 Product Photography Turntable.

Source: https://blog.iconasys.com/creating-ghost-mannequin-effect-when-shooting-apparel-photography/

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