Let’s face it—buying clothes online can be tricky. Without seeing or feeling garments in person, your customers rely on product images to make decisions. A 2023 survey shows that more than half of shoppers look at retailer-provided imagery when deciding whether to buy clothing.
If you’re taking your own clothing photos, you’ll want them to look as professional as possible. This guide covers everything you need to know about shooting clothing for your store, from product photography styles to equipment and capturing techniques.
3 clothing photography styles
Gone are the days of one or two photos against a neutral background. Today’s online stores use multiple images in different styles to give shoppers a complete picture of each item. A mix of detail shots and various angles helps customers feel confident enough to hit that Buy button.
Here are the most popular approaches to clothing photography:
1. Flat lay
Flat lay photography shows your clothing on a flat surface from directly above. With a white or neutral background, nothing distracts from your garment’s color, patterns, and texture. This style works great for accessories and men’s clothing.
Flat lays are perfect if you’re DIYing your photos—they need minimal setup with no models or accessories required. With Shopify Magic, you can easily replace or remove backgrounds without any photo editing skills.
2. Models and mannequins
According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, sizing issues are why many customers return clothing. While measurement charts help, seeing how garments actually fit on a body makes all the difference.
If your budget allows for professional models, show your clothing on various heights and body types to help customers visualize how items will fit them. Friends and family can make great models too!
No models available? Mannequins work well too. They show how your garments drape and fit on the human form. Since mannequins come in different shapes and sizes, using a variety can still show what clothes look like on different body types.
3. Lifestyle
Lifestyle photos put your clothes in real-world settings, like a model walking down a street. Shot in natural light, these images show how colors and textures appear in everyday situations and give customers styling inspiration.
Pick locations that complement your clothing. A sundress looks great at a park picnic. Or choose settings with colors that enhance your garments—if your clothing line features earth tones like green, brown, and burnt orange, a wooded area with similar colors creates a cohesive look.
🌟Resource: What Is Color Psychology? How To Use Color in Marketing
What you need to photograph clothing
You don’t need fancy equipment to take great clothing photos. Here are a few basics that can elevate your images:
Space
While professional photographers might use warehouses as studios, you can start much smaller. A room or blank wall in your home or store works perfectly fine. The key is having enough space to position your clothing, backdrop, camera, lighting, and any accessories you’re using.
Camera
Modern smartphones take amazing product photos—with almost no learning curve. Pair your phone with a mini tripod for steady, consistent images, and use the rear-facing camera for sharper results.
Want more professional-looking images? A DSLR or mirrorless camera can make a huge difference. Mirrorless cameras offer the newest features, but DSLRs can be more budget-friendly. Whatever you choose, using a tripod, understanding your settings, and learning basic composition will dramatically improve your photos.
Lenses
If you already have a DSLR or mirrorless camera, the kit lens (the one packaged with your camera) often works well for clothing photography. For more versatility or a specific look, you might want to add a prime lens (one that doesn’t zoom) or a zoom lens.
Here are a few lenses to consider:
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Macro lens: These capture incredible close-ups—perfect for showcasing fabric texture, intricate stitching, or detailed embellishments.
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Standard prime lens: A 50 mm prime lens works beautifully in low light and is ideal for photographing people wearing your clothing.
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Standard zoom lens: This versatile option lets you switch between full-body and detail shots without changing lenses.
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Wide-angle lens: These capture more background in your frame. While they can cause some distortion (especially with models close to the camera), you can use this creatively for artistic shots.
Using a smartphone? You can add clip-on lenses to get specialized looks or higher-quality images.
Lighting
Studio photographers typically use artificial lighting. A three-point setup—consisting of key light, fill light, and backlight—works wonderfully for clothing photography. You can position each light to highlight specific details like stitching and graphics, and brighten shadows created by fabric draping. Here’s how they work:
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Key light: Your primary light source facing the product
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Fill light: Illuminates the opposite side to reduce harsh shadows
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Backlight: Positioned behind the product to create depth and separation from the background
You can find complete three-point lighting kits online (with stands included), or build your own setup with individual studio lights.
Not ready to invest in lighting? Try shooting outside or near a large window to use natural lighting as your main light source.
Backdrop
Most clothing photographers use white or light gray backdrops to showcase colors and textures without distractions. For lighter-colored garments, a slightly off-white or gray backdrop creates better contrast than pure white.
While you can purchase premade backdrops, budget-friendly alternatives like sheets, large paper rolls, or canvas drop cloths work just as well for getting started.
How to photograph clothing for your ecommerce store
- Create a shot list
- Choose a location
- Get your set ready
- Prepare your clothing
- Adjust camera settings
- Take photos
- Edit your images
A successful clothing photography shoot requires planning. Follow these steps to create professional product images:
1. Create a shot list
A shot list outlines the photos you want to take and how you want them to look. This planning step captures important details so you don’t miss anything on shoot day. Your shot list should include:
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Goals: How will you use these photos? Are they just for product pages, or will you need them for social media, email campaigns, and ads?
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Inspiration: Collect visual examples that match the style and mood you want to capture.
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Clothing items and variations: List all items and color variations you need to photograph so nothing gets forgotten.
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Angles and composition: What angles will showcase your clothing best? Do you need front, back, and side views? Close-ups of details? Lifestyle shots?
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The extras: Note any props, models, or specific lighting setups you’ll need.
A shot list is especially helpful if your photo shoot spans several days. You can organize it using a spreadsheet, slideshow, or document. Take inspiration from Damson Madder, who includes illustrations of all clothing items for an at-a-glance reference.
2. Choose a location
Decide when and where your photoshoot will take place. Your shot list helps determine what environment works best. For ethereal silk organza dresses, try a wooded area during golden hour (about an after before sunrise or sunset). For pajamas, a bedroom setting makes perfect sense.
You don’t need a big budget to find the right space. A simple backdrop in your backyard or a chair in the corner of a room works well. Loungewear brand Losano uses a minimalist setup featuring a wall with wood beams and a chair.
You might even ask local businesses if you can shoot at their location. Menswear brand NØLSON, for example, took photos outside a Parisian restaurant.
When selecting a location, consider whether you have enough space for setup, what lighting is available, and what props you might need. If possible, visit at the same time of day you plan to shoot to account for any factors that might affect your photos. For outdoor public locations, check if your city requires a photography permit.
3. Get your set ready
Before adding props, backdrops, lighting, and your camera, evaluate the space. Make sure it’s clean and free of clutter that could appear in your photos. If you’re working with models, consider their comfort—is the room too hot or too cold?
Position your backdrop and props before setting up lights so you can properly illuminate the area. Tape down any cables to prevent tripping hazards. Take test shots to see if any adjustments are needed before the actual shoot begins.
4. Prepare your clothing
Clothing requires special attention because small details like wrinkles, lint, pilling, and loose stitches can ruin your images. Inspect each garment closely for imperfections and give it a quick pass with a lint roller.
Iron or steam everything to remove wrinkles. Group your pieces together so they’re easy to grab when needed. Hang items on a rack away from your working space until you’re ready to photograph them.
5. Adjust camera settings
As you set up your camera, keep these key settings in mind:
White balance
Lighting affects how your camera captures color. Auto white balance works well for most situations, automatically finding the brightest part of your image to use as the white point. This balances the surrounding colors so your photos look natural, even as lighting conditions change.
Flash
You typically won’t need flash when using continuous lighting for product photography. This makes it easier to set your exposure correctly. Flash is most useful when you lack adequate light or need to capture moving subjects.
Image format
Always shoot in the highest quality format available. For DSLR or mirrorless cameras, this is typically RAW format, which preserves the most detail for editing. If RAW isn’t an option, choose the largest JPG setting your camera offers.
Exposure
Exposure consists of three elements working together:
1. ISO: This controls your camera sensor’s sensitivity to light. In well-lit settings, use a low ISO (like 100 or 200) for crisp, clean images. When light is limited, a higher ISO (like 1200) brightens your photo but may introduce some grain.
2. Aperture: This measures the size of your lens opening. A lower f-stop number (like f/1.4) lets in more light and creates a shallow depth of field (background blur). A higher number (like f/22) keeps more of your image in focus, ideal for showing entire garments clearly.
3. Shutter speed: This determines how long your lens stays open. Fast shutter speeds (like 1/1000) freeze motion, while slower speeds allow more light but may introduce blur if you’re not using a tripod.
These three settings work together to determine if your image is properly exposed. Adjust them in relation to each other to get the right balance.
These exposure modes can simplify your shooting process:
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Manual mode: Full control over ISO, aperture, and shutter speed
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Aperture priority: You select the aperture, and your camera automatically sets the shutter speed
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Auto exposure: Your camera chooses all settings based on available light
6. Take photos
Here are some tips to help you capture great clothing shots:
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Try different camera angles: While straight-on shots clearly show your clothing, adding different angles gives customers a complete view of each garment. Show front, back, and sides.
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Include close-ups: Customers care about details—pocket designs, fabric textures, stitching quality. Multiple close-ups highlight the unique features of your clothing.
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Think about composition and framing: Composition balances elements within your photo, while framing determines what’s included in the shot. Together, they create visually interesting images that draw attention to your products.
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Take more photos than you think you need: Extra shots give you more options during editing and increase your chances of capturing the perfect image.
7. Edit your images
Once you’ve completed your shoot, review all your photos, select the best ones, and edit them. Photo editing typically involves:
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Removing backgrounds when there are distractions
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Correcting colors to ensure accuracy (especially important for clothing)
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Applying filters for consistent brand aesthetics
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Adjusting exposure for even lighting
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Cropping for better framing
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Resizing images for web and social media
Professional photographers often use Photoshop and Lightroom, but many free online tools work well for basic editing. Shopify’s Media Editor uses AI to detect products in your photos and can replace backgrounds with solid colors or scenes—all from the Shopify mobile app.
Read more
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Clothing photography FAQ
What is the best camera setting for clothing photography?
Clothing photography works best with a DSLR or mirrorless camera set to manual or aperture priority mode. These settings give you more control over focus and aperture value, resulting in sharp, well-exposed images with professional quality. For beginners, aperture priority is often easier—you select the aperture while the camera handles shutter speed automatically.
How much does clothing photography cost?
The cost varies depending on your approach:
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DIY setup: Purchasing all-new equipment (camera, lighting, backdrops) costs about $5,000, but you can start with much less by using what you already have.
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Professional photographer: Hiring a pro typically costs between $200 and $500 per hour.
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Models: If you want people wearing your clothes, you’ll need to compensate them for their time.
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Editing: You can either hire a photo editor to polish your images or use free applications to prepare photos for your website and social media.
How do you photograph clothing?
You can use several techniques to showcase your clothing:
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Flat lay: Arrange clothes on a flat surface and shoot from directly above—perfect for simpler items and accessories.
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Lifestyle shots: Feature clothing in real-world settings to inspire customers and provide styling ideas.
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Models: Show how garments actually fit and move on a human body.
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Mannequins: Demonstrate shape and drape without the expense of hiring models.
For the best results, use a combination of these techniques to give shoppers a complete understanding of what they’re buying.
