Product photos with your phone: a practical guide for small businesses
Light, background, framing and consistency to shoot your products with a phone, and how to improve them without showing something different from what you sell.
What you need (and what you don't)
A recent phone, a window with natural light and a plain background are enough to start. A white card or a well-stretched sheet works as both background and reflector.
Clean the lens before you start and clean the product too: dust and fingerprints show far more in a photo than to the naked eye.
Soft, side light
Place the product near a window, out of direct sun. Side light shows volume without harsh shadows.
- Turn off ceiling lights if their tone differs from the window light.
- Use a white card on the opposite side to lift shadows.
- Avoid the phone flash: it flattens the product and creates glare.
Shots worth having
For each product, try to have a basic set of photos:
- A clean front view, with space around it so the platform can crop.
- A side or back view if it adds information.
- A close-up of texture, material or label.
- The product in use or in context, if it helps show its size.
Keep the same distance, height and light across the catalogue: consistency makes the shop look more polished.
Check each platform's rules
Marketplaces publish their own image requirements (background, minimum size, whether text or logos are allowed) and update them. Always check the current version in your seller dashboard before uploading.
Improve without misleading
You can clean the background, fix the light or create a context scene, but the product must look as it really is: same colour, shape, apparent size and included accessories. If a scene is generated or illustrative, do not present it as a real photo of the product in use.