Essential Guide to Etsy Product Photography

Etsy listing photo checklist

Use this checklist before you publish an Etsy listing. The technical items and the policy items come from the Etsy help center and the Etsy house rules. The other items are common practice for product photos. Etsy can change its numbers, so read the current help pages before you rely on one.

Technical requirements

Item	What Etsy says
Photo count	Up to 20 photos per listing (How to Create a Listing)
Size	Etsy recommends at least 2000 pixels in width and in height
First photo	At least 635 pixels in each dimension, or the listing can rank lower in search
File size	A file over 1 MB can fail to upload on a slow connection
File types	JPG, GIF, PNG, SVG or HEIC. Animated GIFs and transparent PNGs are not supported
Thumbnail	You can adjust the thumbnail and crop each photo in the listing editor
Video	You can add short listing videos of 5 to 15 seconds

The size, file and format rules are on the Etsy help page Requirements and Best Practices for Images in Your Etsy Shop.

Policy

A mockup is a computer-made image of a product. A production partner is a company that helps you make an item. The Etsy listing image requirements set these rules:

• The photos show the actual item that you sell, not stock photos, artistic renderings or photos from other sellers
• For a personalized item, the first photo shows a finished, customized item, not a blank product or a mockup with placeholder text
• Mockups appear only in later photos, for example to show the personalization options
• If a partner prints your original design on a base item, such as a mug, a stock mockup can show the result
• If a production partner manufactures your unique product, the photos show the real finished product

First photo

The first photo is the thumbnail in search results. The Etsy guidance on search visibility asks for a single, clear, well-lit image of the finished product, not a collage. Use this list for the first photo:

• One image of the finished product, not a collage
• Sharp focus and even light
• The product in the center, and it fills most of the frame
• Easy to identify at thumbnail size on a phone screen
• Clear contrast between the product and the background
• Little or no text on the image

Other photos

• Front, back, sides and top
• A scale reference, for example a hand, a common object or a ruler
• Close-ups of texture, materials, stitching or finish
• The product in use or in a room
• Each color or variation that you offer
• The packaging, if it is part of the offer
• Any wear or flaws, for vintage items

Shop consistency

• The same style of light as your best listings
• Backgrounds from the same family of colors and materials
• True colors, with no filter that changes the color of the product

Photo order for a listing

The diagram below shows one simple order for the first ten photos. Etsy now allows 20 photos, so you can add more variations, sizes or details after these ten. You do not have to fill every slot. Use each photo to show something new to the buyer.

Tips by product type

Product type	What to show
Jewelry	Macro close-ups of settings and texture, the piece on a model for scale, and both sides of earrings or clasps
Clothing	The garment on a model or a dress form for fit and drape, close-ups of the fabric, and the measurements in the description
Home decor and furniture	The item in a room with a few other objects, plus close-ups of materials and joints
Prints and wall art	The print itself, a close-up of the paper or canvas, and the print in a frame or on a wall for size
Digital products	What the buyer gets, for example the pages of a planner or the file printed in a frame
Vintage items	Each mark, stain or repair, photographed close up

Light and setup

Daylight from a window gives soft, even light for most small products. A light box helps with very small items such as rings. Do not photograph a white product on a white background or a black product on a black background. At thumbnail size, the product becomes hard to see. Before you publish, look at the listing on a phone and on a computer.

Use this checklist with Claude or ChatGPT

Claude or ChatGPT can review a set of listing photos against this checklist. Paste the checklist into a new chat and attach the photos in the order that you plan to use. If you cannot attach the photos, describe each one in a line. Then ask for a review. For example:

Below is my Etsy listing photo checklist, then the 8 photos for one
listing, in order. The product is a handmade ceramic mug. For each
photo, say what it shows and which checklist items it covers. Then
list the checklist items that no photo covers, and suggest a better
order. Do not guess pixel sizes; I will measure them myself.

Before you change your photos, read these cautions:

• Make sure that the pixel size and file size are correct in the file information on your computer. The AI cannot reliably measure them from an uploaded image.
• Do not rely on the AI for the current Etsy rules. Read the Etsy help center, because Etsy changes its limits.
• Remove location data from phone photos before you upload them, or turn off location in your camera app. Also read the data settings of your workspace.

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