How to take listing photos that sell
On Vinted, eBay, Depop and Poshmark, buyers scroll through a grid of small square thumbnails and decide in a second whether to tap. Your first photo does most of the selling. The good news is you don't need a camera, a studio or editing skills. A phone, a window and a few habits get you most of the way.
1. Light: use a window, not the ceiling light
Soft daylight from a window is the best free light there is. Stand the item or hang it facing the window, with the light falling on the front of it. Avoid:
- Overhead room lights, which give a yellow tint and harsh shadows.
- Direct sunlight, which blows out whites and creates hard shadows. A thin white curtain or overcast day softens it.
- The phone flash, which flattens texture and adds glare to shiny fabrics and packaging.
Colour accuracy matters more than you might think. "Not as described" returns often come down to a colour that looked different in the photos. Natural light keeps colours true.
2. Background: plain and uncluttered
A plain wall, a door, a sheet of white card or a clean floor works. What matters is that nothing competes with the item: no unmade bed, no laundry pile, no pets (however cute). If you can't get a clean background, a background remover can replace it with plain white afterwards. Ours does up to ten photos at once on your own device.
3. The shots buyers look for
Most platforms allow plenty of photos, and buyers use them to answer questions before they message you. For clothing, aim for:
- Front, full item: your cover photo. Straight on, the whole item in frame.
- Back, full item.
- Brand label and size tag, in focus and readable.
- Fabric or care label, which answers "what's it made of?" before anyone asks.
- Close-up of the fabric or texture.
- Details: buttons, zips, embroidery, hardware.
- Any flaws, clearly shown. Honest flaw photos prevent returns and bad reviews.
- On a person or mannequin, if you can, to show fit.
For shoes, add the soles and the inside label. For electronics, show it switched on, plus serial numbers and all included accessories.
4. Framing for square thumbnails
Phones take tall photos, but most marketplaces show square thumbnails in search results. If you upload a tall photo, the app crops it, often cutting off a collar, a hem or the toe of a shoe. Two ways around it:
- Leave space around the item when you shoot, so the crop doesn't touch it.
- Make the photos square yourself before uploading. The square photo resizer adds white edges instead of cropping, so the whole item always shows, and it can do 50 photos at once.
5. Keep it steady and sharp
- Wipe the phone lens. A greasy lens is the most common cause of hazy photos.
- Tap the screen on the item to focus, and hold still. Brace your elbows or use a cheap phone stand.
- Shoot at the phone's normal 1× lens. Very wide lenses distort shape; digital zoom loses detail.
- Shoot flat lays from directly above so the item doesn't look tapered.
6. Keep editing honest
Brightening a slightly dark photo, straightening it and cropping out clutter are all fine. Changing the colour of the item, smoothing out flaws or using stock photos of a different item invites returns, and most platforms' rules require photos of the actual item you're selling.
7. Be consistent
Using the same background, light and layout for every listing makes your shop look professional at a glance, and it makes photographing each new item faster because you stop setting up from scratch. Many sellers batch it: steam or press a pile of items, photograph them all in one session in the best light of the day, then list them over the following days.
Quick checklist
- Window light, no flash
- Plain background
- Cover photo: front, full item, square
- Labels, fabric, details and flaws all photographed
- Lens clean, photo in focus
- Colours true to life