How do I take product photos for my online shop with a phone?
Start with the phone you already use for Instagram. Before you shoot, read the questions under your last product post. For a handmade mug, “How big is it?” and “Is the glaze shiny?” are two different photographs worth taking.
Set up beside a window
Wipe the lens. Set the mug on a matte surface and turn the handle towards light coming from the side. Switch off the ceiling light if it adds a yellow cast. Rest your phone on a stack of books so you can repeat the framing for the next colour. A white sheet of paper opposite the window can lighten the shadow under the handle.
| Photo | What the buyer can learn |
|---|---|
| Whole mug with the handle visible | The shape and colour of the model they are choosing. |
| The mug held in a hand | How large it feels in use. Give its measured capacity in the description. |
| Close-up of the rim and glaze | The texture, thickness of the rim and finish. |
Check the photo where buyers will see it
Open the shop’s product grid on your phone. If the square thumbnail cuts off the handle, move the phone back a little and retake the main shot. Then open the product page and zoom in on the glaze photo. If the table is sharper than the mug, tap the mug on the screen to focus and shoot again.
Compare the actual mug with the screen in daylight. If editing has turned its cream glaze white, adjust the exposure and compare again. Keep the originals without story stickers or captions. For the image description, write what the photo shows, such as “Cream ceramic mug with a blue handle, seen from the side”.
How to keep colour consistent across the set
Colour problems are easiest to miss when you review one picture at a time. Line up three mugs, shoot each separately, then view the results side by side. Check whether the same white tabletop looks blue in one shot and yellow in another. If it does, see whether a lamp was switched on or the setup moved relative to the window. Re-shoot the set under consistent light before trying to correct three objects individually.
A phone may brighten an entire scene for dark blue glaze and darken it for a white mug. If your camera app lets you lock focus and exposure, use it when shooting the set from the same position. Inspect the highlights on the rim as well. A white patch with no detail can be the reflection of the window. Turn the mug a few degrees and check whether the shape of the rim becomes readable again.
Which views matter for clothing or jewellery?
For a T-shirt, let the main photo show the cut, a second show where the sleeves end, and a third show the fabric up close. Another front view will not answer a buyer who wants to know whether the material is see-through. Choose a view and light that make that property visible, and give measurements for the size being photographed. The picture helps people interpret the measurements when comparing the item with a shirt they already own.
For earrings, photograph both together when the price is for a pair. Show the fastening and give the length in millimetres. Reflections in polished metal can hide its outline. Move white card around the piece until the edge becomes visible, and check the phone’s reflection is not obscuring the decoration. If you sell silver and gold versions, photograph each rather than tinting one photo with a filter.
How to prepare the files for your catalogue
Keep originals labelled with product, colour and view, such as “cream-mug-handle” and “cream-mug-glaze”. Order them on the page according to the buyer’s decisions: whole item first, scale second, details last. Make a separate copy for an Instagram promotion if you want to add a price or headline. If you also send products to Google Merchant Center, check the rules for the main product image. Google lists promotional overlays and watermarks among the reasons an image can be disapproved.
For a final check, show the page to someone who has never held the mug. Ask which colour is for sale, how large it is and what comes in the box. If they expect the wooden spoon in your photo to be included, remove it from the main shot or clarify the offer in the description. That small misunderstanding tells you exactly what to change before photographing another twenty products.
How many photographs belong in one shoot?
Make a short shot list for the specific model. For the mug, write “whole mug, handle to the right”, “held in a hand”, “rim and glaze”, and “maker’s mark underneath” if the mark matters to the buyer. Complete those views for each colour while the light is similar, then select one usable picture per view. Five near-identical pictures make it harder for a shopper to find the single image that actually explains the size.
After the first deliveries, read the comments about appearance. If two buyers say the mug looked bigger online, change the scale shot and move the measured capacity closer to the colour selection. You now have a specific reason to reshoot that view without repeating every other photograph in the range.