Techniques
Product photo checklist
Most listing images fail on something small: a soft focus, a shadow across the label, a background that is nearly white. Run this list before you publish.
Before the photo: the product and the setup
Half of all photo problems are decided before the shutter is pressed. Cleaning the product, choosing a plain surface and getting the light to one side takes two minutes and removes most of the retouching.
- Product clean: no dust, no fingerprints, no lint.
- Everything that ships is in the frame, including accessories.
- Plain surface, contrasting with the product.
- Soft light from one side, with white card on the other.
- Room lights off, flash off, direct sun avoided.
- Camera stable — propped, not handheld, for anything close up.
The image itself
These are the checks that decide whether the image reads as professional at thumbnail size, which is where most buyers see it first.
- Product in focus across its whole depth, not just the front edge.
- Product fills most of the frame, with an even margin.
- No clutter, no hands, no phone reflection in the product.
- Colour matches the real product, checked against a neutral reference.
- Shadow soft and in the direction of the light.
- Sharp at 200 px wide — check the thumbnail before uploading.
Before publishing: channel rules and the listing set
The final pass is about the channel rather than the photograph. These are the things that get a listing suppressed, and they are all avoidable.
- Main image: white background, product only, no text or badges.
- Correct aspect ratio and at least the minimum pixel size.
- Secondary images cover scale, detail, contents and use.
- No promotional text, watermark or border anywhere.
- Condition shown honestly, including every flaw.
- Same lighting and framing across the whole catalogue.
Automating the repeatable half
Several of these checks are mechanical — background, relight, crop, export at the right size — and those are the ones Zenith AI – Product Photo handles, so a batch of photos arrives already compliant.
The checks that stay human are the ones that need judgement: is the product in focus, is the colour honest, does the set answer the buyer's questions.
How 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 should I check before publishing a product photo?
Focus across the whole product, an even margin, accurate colour, a clean background, the right aspect ratio and no text or badges on the main image. Then check that the set covers scale, detail, contents and use.
How do I know if a product photo is good enough?
Look at it at thumbnail size, next to a competitor's image in the same search results. If it reads clearly at that size and looks like it belongs in the grid, it is good enough. Most quality problems are invisible at full size and obvious at 200 px.
What gets a listing image suppressed?
Promotional text or badges, watermarks, borders, a background that is not white on the main image, a product that does not fill the frame, and an image that does not match the product title. Each channel enforces these to a different degree.
How many images should a listing have?
As many as the channel allows, with each one answering a different question: what it is, how big it is, what is included, how it is used, and what condition it is in. Listings that answer everything in images get fewer questions and fewer returns.
Try it on your next photo
Free to download on the App Store. iPhone and iPad only.