How to take pictures of clothes without a mannequin (or a model)

A mannequin does one job: it gives a garment shape. Without one, you have to create that shape another way, and there are three reliable options. A flat lay puts the garment on a flat surface and photographs it from directly above. A hanger shot hangs it from a hook or door so gravity shows the drape. A wall pin fixes the garment to a plain wall or board, which works for t-shirts, sweatshirts and kids' sizes that look lost on a hanger.

Choose by fabric, not by habit. Structured pieces such as denim jackets, shirts, knitwear and jeans look best flat, because the shape is already in the cut. Flowing pieces such as slip dresses, wide trousers and long skirts look best hanging, because a flat lay squashes the movement out of them. If you sell both, set up both corners once and leave them in place; you will shoot faster than if you rebuild a setup for every item.

Whatever you choose, keep it the same across your shop. Buyers scroll a grid of thumbnails, and a shop where every item sits on the same grey sheet in the same light looks like a brand. A shop with a bed, a sofa and a floor in three photos looks like a clear-out.

Spread a plain sheet, a large piece of white foam board or a sheet of matte card on the floor next to a window. Grey and white both work; avoid patterned bedding and wood grain, which compete with the garment. Steam or iron the piece first. Creases you barely notice in the room look like folds in the fabric on a phone screen.

Button the garment fully, close the zip and smooth it from the centre outwards. Fold sleeves in slightly or bend them at the elbow so the outline looks like a person's, not a starfish. Tuck a few sheets of tissue paper inside the body and the sleeves; it lifts the fabric off the floor and gives it volume, which is most of what a mannequin adds.

Stand over the garment and hold the phone level, parallel to the floor, with the whole piece in frame and a little space around it. A step stool helps for dresses and coats. Turn on the grid lines and line them up with the shoulder seam and the hem so the garment is square. For the full method, including folding and styling props, see our guide to flat lay photography for clothing. Jeans have their own shot list in how to photograph jeans to sell.

Use a slim wooden or velvet hanger that matches the garment's shoulder width; a wire hanger from the dry cleaner makes shoulders sag and leaves points in knitwear. Hang it from a single hook or a door frame against a bare, light wall, with the phone on a tripod or a stack of books at chest height so you are not looking up at the hem.

Clip trousers and skirts by the waistband, not the legs. Pin the back of a loose dress or shirt with two clothes pegs hidden behind the garment to suggest a waist. Stand a little away from the wall so the shadow falls behind the garment rather than beside it. The method has its own details, covered in how to photograph clothes on a hanger.

For small pieces, pin the garment straight to a board or a wall with dressmaker pins at the shoulders and hem, slightly stretched so it does not ripple. This gives a cleaner outline than a hanger, especially for baby clothes, crop tops and swim cover-ups. Long dresses that do not fit the wall are covered in how to photograph dresses for sale.

Shoot in daylight from a large window, without direct sun on the garment. Overcast days are ideal. Turn off ceiling lights; mixing warm bulbs with cool daylight gives you a garment that is one colour on the left and another on the right. Place a white board on the side away from the window to lift the shadows.

Use the main camera lens, not the wide-angle, and step back rather than shooting very close, which bends straight hems into curves. Tap the garment to focus, then drag the exposure slider down a little if white fabric loses its texture. Do not use the flash. Before you move on, compare the colour on screen with the garment in your hand. Colour is the most common reason for a return. Our product photography lighting setup guide goes further if you want a lamp for evening work.

Flat lays and hanger shots describe a garment, but they do not show how it fits a person. That is the question behind most messages from buyers, and it is why on-model photos tend to sell clothes faster. You do not need to buy a mannequin or book a model to get them.

Upload your flat lay or hanger photo to put clothes on an AI model, choose one of 42 ready models (22 women and 20 men) or let Garmo pick, and you get one to six on-model images in under a minute for a set of three. It keeps the colour, pattern and details of your photo. If your input is a flat lay, the flat lay to model page shows what to expect; for hanger and rail photos, see hanger photo to model.

Keep your own flat lay in the listing as well. The on-model image shows the fit; your real photos prove the item exists and show labels and flaws. Garmo shows clothes on a stock model and does not predict how a garment fits a particular size, so keep measurements in the description.