Product Photo
The techniques behind a product photo that sells
Everything between the product and the listing image: light, background, framing, shadow, crop and colour. One technique per page.
Product photography looks like a camera problem and is mostly a light problem. The same phone takes a listing-quality photo in a doorway and a useless one under a ceiling light, and the difference is where the light is coming from and what is behind the product.
These pages cover the techniques in the order they matter: lighting first, then background, then framing, then the finishing steps that get the image into a marketplace format.
Techniques
Pages in this cluster
Product photography lighting at home
How to light a product with what you already have: window light, a white wall, a sheet of paper. Includes the two mistakes that…
Read the guideProduct photo background ideas
Which background to use for which channel: pure white for marketplaces, styled scenes for social, and how to choose one that…
Read the guideFlat lay product photography
How to shoot a flat lay that looks deliberate: camera square, light at one side, props kept to a minimum, and the grid that keeps…
Read the guideLifestyle product photography
A product in a scene sells differently from a product on white. How to choose a scene, keep the product the hero, and produce one…
Read the guideProduct photo editing
The edits that make a product photo sell — crop, white balance, background, sharpening — and the ones that turn a sale into a…
Read the guideBulk product photo editing
How to process hundreds of product photos without losing a weekend: batch shooting, consistent setup, and the order of operations…
Read the guideProduct photo retouching
The retouching that makes a product photo look professional — clean edges, no dust, controlled reflections — and the retouching…
Read the guideProduct photo shadows
Why a product without a shadow looks pasted in, how to shoot a natural contact shadow, and what to do when the original has none.
Read the guideProduct image size guide
The pixel dimensions each marketplace and social channel wants, why square is the safe default, and how to shoot once and export…
Read the guideProduct photo checklist
A 20-point checklist to run before a product photo goes live: light, focus, background, crop, colour, text and the marketplace…
Read the guideProduct photography without a studio
A studio is a room with controlled light and a plain background. Here is how to build the equivalent on a kitchen table, and when…
Read the guideProduct photography for beginners
The first ten things to get right when you start photographing products, in the order that makes the biggest difference to your…
Read the guideHow it works
Three steps from a phone photo to a finished image
Scan or upload
Take a photo in the app, or pick one you already shot on your iPhone.
Let the AI work
The app removes the background, relights the product and builds the scene.
Export and list
Save a marketplace-ready image at the size your listing needs.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the single most important technique?
Soft, indirect light from one side, with the product at an angle to it. It gives the product shape and texture, keeps the colour accurate and produces a shadow soft enough to look natural. Almost every other problem is downstream of the light.
Do I need a lightbox or a backdrop?
No. A window, a white wall or a sheet of paper and a plain surface are enough for most products. A lightbox helps with small, highly reflective items, but it is not where the gains are.
How much editing should a product photo get?
Enough to make the product look like the product: background cleaned up, white balance correct, crop right, sharpening light. Anything that changes the item itself — removing a scuff, slimming a shape, altering a colour — turns a sale into a dispute.
Try it on your next photo
Free to download on the App Store. iPhone and iPad only.