Photo guide
Photograph and prepare a handmade item for Etsy
Buyers on Etsy can't pick up your item, so your photos have to show its colour, texture and details. This guide takes you from your first shots to a finished Etsy gallery, with a free tool for each step.
This guide covers product photos only, not video, titles or descriptions.
Every tool runs in your browser, so your photos are never uploaded.
What Etsy asks for
Etsy
- Your first photo becomes the listing thumbnail.
- Etsy recommends a horizontal (landscape) first photo.
- At least 2,000 px on the shortest side is recommended. A first photo under 635 px on either side may show up lower in search.
- Transparent areas show up black, so give every photo a solid background.
Step by step
Step 1: Plan the gallery, starting with the first photo
Etsy uses your first photo as the listing thumbnail, so make it your clearest shot of the whole item. Then add photos that show different views, close-up details, the item in use and each variation you offer.
- Leave some space around the item: Etsy shows thumbnails in square, portrait and landscape crops, so the edges may be cut off.
- If you sell variations, such as colours, you can link one photo to each option in Etsy.
Step 2: Correct the colour
Indoor light often gives photos a yellow or blue cast, and buyers of handmade items care about true colour. White Balance removes the cast so the item looks the way it does in daylight.
Step 3: Fix the brightness
If a photo came out dark or flat, Brightness & Contrast brightens it and brings back contrast. Adjust gently: an over-brightened photo loses detail in its light areas.
Step 4: Crop the first photo to landscape
Etsy recommends a horizontal (landscape) first photo. Crop it with the item in the centre, and crop the other photos to remove clutter.
Step 5: Bring out texture and detail
Handmade items are often chosen for their texture: the grain of wood, the weave of a fabric, the glaze on a mug. A light touch of Sharpen Image makes that detail clearer. Too much sharpening adds halos, so compare before and after.
Step 6: Resize to Etsy's recommended size
Etsy recommends photos at least 2,000 px on the shortest side. A first photo under 635 px on either side may show up lower in search results.
- Only scale down. Etsy notes that enlarging an image can lose quality, so reshoot a photo that is too small.
Step 7: Check the photos before you publish
Run your photos through the Etsy Listing Image Checker. It checks size, format and shape against Etsy's guidance and warns about transparency, borders and text, all in your browser.
- Transparent areas show up black on Etsy, so give every photo a solid background before you upload it.
Prepare the whole gallery in one product
Start a product with Etsy already selected. Add your photos once, prepare them with the same tools and download the finished gallery as one package. Your work is saved on your device.
Start a product