Product photography for online stores and marketplaces: how to take photos that sell

Product photography for an online store or marketplace is a series of images that replaces the buyer's chance to hold the item: a main shot on a clean background, several angles, details and texture, the product in use, scale and packaging. Good photos convey colour and size honestly, look consistent across the whole catalogue and meet the platform's requirements. It is the photo that first decides whether someone opens a listing and believes the description.

Below is a practical guide: which shots you need, how to prepare for the shoot, what to watch in lighting and retouching, and how to stay within marketplace rules.

Why photos decide online sales

In a physical store a buyer can touch the fabric, inspect a seam and compare the shade in daylight. Online they only have images and text, and they see the images first. In marketplace search results dozens of similar products sit side by side, and people choose which listing to open based on the main photo — often within a second.

Poor photos hurt sales twice. First, the listing is opened less often because it gets lost among competitors. Then returns and negative reviews increase if the product looks different in real life. So the job of product photography is not just to make things pretty but to show the product attractively and honestly.

Remember where the photo will be seen, too. In marketplace results the main shot appears as a small thumbnail on a phone screen. A product shot from a distance, surrounded by clutter or on a busy background turns into an indistinct blob at that size. So check the main image not on a large monitor but scaled down to listing size in the mobile app.

Which shots a product listing needs

For most categories, this set works well:

1. Main shot. The whole product on a clean light or neutral background, from its most flattering angle, filling the frame.
2. Additional angles. Front, side, back and top, depending on the product.
3. Details and texture. Material, seams, fasteners, buttons, surface texture, labelling.
4. Product in use. Clothing on a model, tableware on a table, appliances in an interior — helps people picture the item in their life.
5. Scale. The product next to a familiar object or in a hand, so its real size is clear.
6. Contents and packaging. What is in the box and how the packaging looks on delivery.
7. Variants. Every colour and version shot under identical conditions.
8. Infographics. Key specifications and benefits on one or two slides — if the platform allows it.

For products where movement or a mechanism matters, add a short video to the photos: a 360-degree spin, a demonstration of a feature, a try-on.

Marketplace requirements: what to check before the shoot

Every platform — Uzum Market, Wildberries, Ozon, international marketplaces and others — has its own image rules. They cover aspect ratio and minimum resolution, the background colour of the main photo, whether text and infographics are allowed, watermarks, logos and the number of photos per listing. Rules are updated from time to time, so before shooting check the current requirements in the seller dashboard rather than last year's instructions.

A practical tip: if a product is sold on several platforms and your own website, shoot with compositional room to spare and at high resolution. Then the same frame can be cropped to different ratios without losing quality. How packaging and the listing work together on a marketplace is covered in packaging for marketplaces.

Preparing the products and the shot plan

Half the quality of product photography is created before the lights go on. Before the shoot day:

• Make a shot list. A table with SKU, colour, the list of required shots and platform requirements. Nothing gets forgotten and nothing needs reshooting.
• Prepare samples. New, with no scratches, dust, fingerprints or warehouse stickers. Iron or steam clothing; stuff shoes so they hold their shape.
• Group products. First everything shot on one background with one lighting setup, then interior and model shots.
• Prepare props. Lifestyle shots need neutral objects that support the product rather than compete with it.
• Set a colour reference. Keep a physical sample at hand to check the shade during editing.

Light, background and catalogue consistency

Professional product photography relies on controlled light. Soft diffused light shows form without harsh highlights and shadows; separate sources bring out texture and volume. Glossy, glass and metal surfaces need special setups, otherwise the whole studio is reflected in the frame.

Consistency matters just as much. A catalogue where each item is shot from a different height, on a different background and at a different colour temperature looks chaotic and cheaper than it is. Fix a standard:

• one camera height and angle for similar products;
• the same product position in the frame and the same margins;
• one background and one lighting setup for main photos;
• a single colour treatment for the whole series.

Write this standard down so future deliveries can be shot in the same style, even by a different photographer.

The job of product photography is to show the product better than it looks on a shelf, but not better than it really is. Anything beyond that line comes back to you as returns and reviews.

Editing and retouching: where the line is

Post-processing is almost always needed: correcting colour and exposure, removing dust and small shooting flaws, cutting out or cleaning the background, cropping to platform requirements. But retouching has an honesty line:

• Allowed: removing dust, lint and stray reflections, evening out the background, correcting geometry distorted by the camera.
• Not allowed: changing the product colour to a nicer one, removing real features of the item, improving size or proportions, adding things that are not in the box.

Pay special attention to colour accuracy. A buyer who receives a beige jumper that looked sand-coloured in the photo will leave an unhappy review. Check colour against the physical sample and view photos on several screens, including a smartphone — most buyers browse listings on their phones.

Infographics on the listing: useful, not misleading

Infographic slides help communicate the essentials quickly: material, dimensions, contents and key functions. A few rules so infographics help rather than hinder:

• one idea per slide, large type that is legible on a small screen;
• only verifiable specifications — no unfounded best, number one or most claims;
• a single style for all the brand's listings, tied to packaging and logo;
• copy in the buyer's language — Uzbek and Russian versions are often needed;
• checking platform rules: some do not allow or limit text on the main photo.

Common mistakes and a checklist

• shooting on a phone in random light, with yellow or blue casts;
• different backgrounds and angles within one category;
• the product is small in the frame with lots of empty space;
• no detail or scale shots, so buyers cannot judge size and quality;
• heavy retouching after which the product no longer looks like the real thing;
• overloaded infographics with tiny text;
• ignoring the platform's current requirements.

Before uploading, check: is the main shot clear as a thumbnail; does the colour match the sample; are angles, details, scale and in-use shots included; are all variants shot under identical conditions; do file sizes and ratios meet platform requirements? If you are launching your own online store, think ahead about how photos will work in the catalogue — see an online store in Uzbekistan.

If you need product or catalogue photography, as well as video for listings and social media, the Dasta Creative team handles such projects as part of its photo and video production service.