Types Of Photography for Fashion Ecommerce

Updated on November 3, 2022 in Photography by Nishant Shrimali

Fashion eCommerce is one of the most versatile eCommerce businesses. What works for one eCommerce might not work for another. And this can even be seen in the types of photography for eCommerce.

Brands of all categories and niches have different styles and types of photography that they choose. In this article, you’ll learn about those types of photography for fashion eCommerce.

Types of photography for fashion eCommerce

Flat Lay Fashion Photography

Cost: Low

Efforts: Low

Photography Skill Set: Beginner

Customer Experience: Balanced

Flat-lay fashion photography is a type of photography in which the products are put on the ground or a table and captured from the top angle. This is one of the most cost-efficient photography techniques but also very effective.

Visitors can quickly look at the product, engage with it, and enjoy a good customer experience without getting distracted.

Here are a few tips that you must consider for the following type of photography for fashion eCommerce.

• Steam-iron the clothes to ensure there are no least wrinkles on the clothing.
• Use soft lighting to avoid any hard shadow over the product.
• Use a clean, solid color background (like a white sheet) to make the product stand out.
• Make sure the product is properly spread on the ground. Use pins or tape to hold the product in its natural shape.
• Take close-ups of important sections of clothing like the collar of the shirt, cuffs, design or pattern of the clothing, etc.
• Show the inside of the clothing as well, especially if you are capturing products like blazers, coats, suits, overshirts, etc.

Ghost Mannequin Photography

Cost: Economical

Efforts: Average

Photography Skill Set: Moderate

Customer Experience: Informative

Ghost mannequin fashion photography is a type of photography where mannequins are used to showcase the product and are later removed from sight during post-production.

This results in a hollow or ghost-like effect where the clothing looks body fit, but no one is wearing it.

Ghost mannequin is a type of fashion photography that helps showcase the clothing product most impressively. 

Firstly, it is cost-effective as you don’t need models. Second, it lets your customer see the product and how it will look when they wear it.

Most importantly, it allows you to eliminate any distractions in the frame and focus on the product.

Here are a few tips that you must consider for the following type of photography for fashion eCommerce.

• Go for mannequins that are specially designed for ghost mannequins. It will reduce the preparation time during photography.
• You’ll have to capture the inside of the product that was initially hidden in the mannequin shot. So make sure you shoot both of them consecutively. It will make file management much easier.
• You can use pins, clutches, and tapes to make the product fit the mannequin. They can be easily removed during image post-production.
• Using a backlight to create a clean separation of the clothing product from the background is advised.
• Ensure that the whole product is in frame with no portion getting cropped. Leave some negative space around the product to be sure of that.

I would also suggest you learn about Ghost Mannequin vs Flat Lay Photography.

Model Fashion Photography

Cost: High

Efforts: High

Photography Skill Set: Advance

Customer Experience: Professional and informative

Model fashion photography is a type of photography where models are used to showcase the products in the best way possible. The goal of model fashion photography for eCommerce is still to highlight the product.

That is why models are generally accepted just to stand straight or have subtle and not too expressive poses.

Still, if the eCommerce branding aligns with being loud and expressive, you can also request those poses.

Model photography for fashion eCommerce is one of the most effective types of photography as it tells the customer exactly what the product looks like. Models are also a great connection with the customers.

For example, if you are selling athleisure, a model with an athletic body type will be the best fit.

Here are a few tips that you must consider for the following type of photography for fashion eCommerce:

• Discuss with the model what kind of mood and poses are looking to capture.
• Align the type of model with the product type, as explained in the example above.
• Ensure that the whole frame is well-lit. Refer to our lighting guide to learn everything about eCommerce photography lighting.
• Keep the model’s hair and makeup subtle and natural to avoid distracted customers.
• Prepare a sheet of various types of photographs (like a full model, backside, sideways, cropped, details, etc.) that you need to capture and stay consistent with them.

Bonus Read

We can further divide the types of photography for fashion eCommerce into indoor and outdoor categories.

But you must note that indoor, that is, studio photography, is one of the most professional eCommerce product photography styles.

It allows you to keep the environment in control and capture consistent images.

Outdoor, on the other hand, is mostly best for user-generated content and not the brand itself. But still, if that aligns with your brand, you can go ahead with it.

The aim is to present your products professionally and customer-friendly way. An aim that PixelPhant helps in achieving.

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