Ghost mannequin services

Apparel photography without dimension makes your products look flat, and customers love to see how the product is meant to be worn in real life. But coordinating live models can be expensive, and mannequins can distract from your products in photos.

Smart fashion retailers keep it simple: they use a mannequin to showcase products, and then edit the mannequin out of their photos.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how the ghost mannequin editing process works:

For ghost mannequins that aren’t manipulated at the neck joint, like pants, watches and hats, we can edit the apparel to add natural volume and texture.

1. First, you’ll need two images: one image of the clothing with the mannequin, and one without the mannequin (so that the inside label is visible). 2. We put the two images together at the neck with a clipping path. 3. For ghost mannequins that aren’t manipulated at the neck joint, like pants, watches and hats, we can edit the apparel to add natural volume and texture. 4. We combine the ghost mannequin with other services, such as color correction or shadow effect, to enhance the clothing or accessories. 5. That’s it! You’ll have apparel that looks as though there is an invisible form wearing it.

Color accuracy can make or break a sale. In online shopping, customers can't touch or see your products in person, they rely on your photos to make decisions. If the color in your product images doesn't match what arrives in the mail, you'll likely be dealing with disappointed customers and an uptick in costly returns.

Proper color adjustment ensures your product images are true to life. This not only builds trust with your shoppers but also helps avoid confusion or mismatch when selling across platforms like Amazon, Etsy, or your own website. Adjusting colors is especially important for apparel and accessories, where slight differences in shade or tone can influence a buyer's decision.

Whether you're matching the actual product color or showcasing your items in different color variants, precise color editing helps your products stand out and keeps your customers happy.

Background removal is the process of isolating your product from its original setting so that only the item itself remains - no distractions, no clutter, just a crisp, clean backdrop (often pure white or transparent). Whether you call it cutouts, knock-outs, or silhouettes, this technique is a must-have for modern ecommerce and catalog photography.

Why does it matter? Because a clean background:

• Puts the spotlight on your product, making it the star of the show.
• Ensures consistency across your website or marketplace, from Amazon to your Shopify store.
• Makes your product thumbnails look polished and professional, helping buyers focus on what you’re selling not what’s behind it.
• Lets you drop your products into any scene you want for marketing, seasonal campaigns, or social media.

In short, background removal transforms even ordinary photos into compelling product images that sell.

Ghost mannequins are great for keeping a consistent look in your product thumbnails, especially if you don’t have live models for every image on your site.

When ghost mannequin is a great choice for your product photos:

• To add life, texture and volume to your products, especially apparel and accessories
• If you need to cut the expense and challenges of hiring live models
• When you want to show the back and front, or a 360-degree view, of your product
• To showcase the inside of the apparel, as well as the brand and label on the inside tags.

When it might be better to use live models instead of ghost mannequins:

• An item of clothing with one joining section
• Simple shapes including tops, sweaters, pants and dresses

Depending on your brand, we recommend a combination of ghost mannequin and live models. Live models add some human-ness to your products, and put them into context for consumers. Ultimately, it’s up to you!

Find out more about how our image editing process works.

Ghost mannequin pricing depends on the complexity of each edit. Every image is different, but we follow standard pricing guidelines to make sure your rate is always clear and objective, even if you’re working with a different designer.

There are only two pricing categories for ghost mannequins: simple or complex. Here’s an overview of how we categorize each image:

Simple ghost mannequin – $0.89 per image

The simplest ghost mannequin projects involve joining an article of clothing at one place, for example the neck of a t-shirt.

Great for:

• An item of clothing with one joining section
• Simple shapes including tops, sweaters, pants and dresses

Complex ghost mannequins – $1.79 per image

More complex ghost mannequin projects require joining multiple parts of an item of clothing, for example neckline and sleeves, or waistband and leg holes. These are also necessary for clothing that comes in more than one piece (a bathing suit, for example) or apparel with cutouts.

Great for:

• Two-piece bathing suits or underwear sets
• Jackets
• Garments with cutouts

Absolutely. If you have a large number of images for your project, or a unique set of needs, we’re happy to offer custom volume pricing. Just reach out using our contact form or give us a call, and we’ll provide a quote tailored specifically to your requirements. This way, you get the best value no matter the size of your project.

Your talent and creative energy is best spent on doing what you love - not spending hours in Photoshop piecing together photos to create invisible mannequins.

We edit every ghost mannequin project by hand. We’re not finished until every clothing and accessory looks natural, and colors and textures look just right.

Over 40,000 clients have entrusted their image editing needs to us, and we’ve enhanced and brought to life more than 8 million images.