Ghost mannequin photography is a type of photography that result in a transparent person. A ghost mannequin is an object that is photographed in an empty room to produce a photograph of a person floating in midair with no visible means of support. It could also be the result of a camera’s iris accidentally setting to the wrong aperture, or when someone’s reflection becomes superimposed on the lens. In this post you will learn more about Ghost Mannequin Photography.
Tips to take a ghost mannequin photography
1. Pick a great subject
This is a common idea for mannequin photography, and it is true. Great subject means it is a beautiful subject that catches your attention. Such as a female model with noble and graceful appearance, an elegant woman who is dressed in amazing gown, or a stunning girl with nice figure.
2. Prepare the camera
Camera flash can be used to make a transparent object’ but it also has disadvantages. It may cause extra reflection on the wall or ceiling, which makes the result look bad. The idea of mannequin photography requires clean background to show only the figure of the person being photographed. Prepare camera by removing unnecessary items from inside camera, such as film reel, optical filter and so on.
3. Prepare the background
The background should be clean and simple. The white wall is a good choice, but it would be better if you use a black background such as black cloth, in order to show more detail of the person’ and let light to reach the person being photographed more easily without any unnecessary reflection.
4. Prepare a stand for photography
Prepare some stands (the highest possible, depends on your camera) to hold the photography equipment, such as tripod or stand for camera. Using tripod will make you have more time to pay attention on other things in the scene because it can hold itself even in mid-air without support from hand or somewhere else .
5. Prepare to set the appropriate aperture
You should make sure the aperture is correctly set now. Different background will have different optimal apertures. It is common for photography that the person needs to stand against white wall or cloth with black background . The optimal apertures are f/2.8 or f/1.4 . If you use smaller aperture, such as f/5.6 or f/8 , it will lead to worse result than using larger aperture . It is because smaller aperture lets less light into the camera, and it makes background dark, which makes transparent subject more obscure, and this is not what we want for photography .
6. Set the appropriate shutter speed
Shutter speed should also be set correctly now. Some people take photography and use 1/60 sec. for it, but this is not appropriate now. You need to set the correct shutter speed for background blur or cause motion blur in order to make this kind of photography more realistic . Some people think that ghost mannequin photography must be done with very slow shutter speed, such as 1/4 or 1/2 sec., but this is wrong. It is better to use faster shutter speed than slower one , because you will get better blur effect among others with faster shutter speeds, and this is important for photography .
