How to photograph clothing for eBay: the shots buyers need

On eBay, the photos do the selling a shop rail would do in person. A buyer can’t feel the fabric or check the label, so your pictures have to answer those questions for them. Here is what eBay itself asks for, and a simple shot list that works for almost any piece of clothing.

The rules eBay sets

• Size: every listing needs at least one photo that is at least 500 pixels on its longest side. eBay recommends about 1600 × 1600 pixels, so buyers can zoom in.
• How many: you can add up to 24 photos to a listing, and eBay doesn’t charge for them.
• No additions: eBay’s picture policy doesn’t allow added borders, text, artwork or watermarks of any kind.
• No stock photos for used items: a second-hand piece needs photos of that actual piece.

Any phone from the last few years takes photos far larger than eBay’s minimum, so size is rarely the problem. Light and background usually are.

Light and background

eBay’s clothing guide recommends natural light where possible and a solid-coloured background. Its selling guide adds that natural light gives the truest colour, while flash distorts colours and casts shadows. A window on an overcast day is hard to beat.

For the background, eBay says white is generally best. Its clothing guide also suggests contrast: a light background for dark clothes and a dark one for light clothes, so the outline of the garment stays clear. (eBay’s own help pages disagree about overhead lighting: one recommends bright overhead light, another says to avoid it. Use whatever gives you even light without hard shadows.)

The shots a clothing listing needs

eBay’s guide for a shirt listing names the front, the back, the labels and any close-ups. In practice that becomes:

1. Front, laid flat or on a hanger, the whole garment in frame. This is usually your main photo.
2. Back, the same way.
3. Brand and size label, usually the neck tag, close enough to read.
4. Care label, which often shows the fabric and the country of origin.
5. Details and flaws: buttons, zips, prints, textures, and any mark, hole or pilling.

Showing flaws feels counter-intuitive, but eBay recommends exactly that: clear close-ups of any blemish, damage or wear. Its clothing guide notes it keeps returns down. A buyer who has seen the small mark before paying is far less likely to send the item back.

Why the label photos matter twice

Labels answer the questions buyers filter by: brand, size and material. eBay calls these item specifics, and it describes them as the most important way to help buyers find what they’re looking for. If you photograph the labels clearly, you (or a tool) can copy the details from the photo instead of guessing.

This is also how WonderSnap drafts a listing: it reads the brand, size and fabric from the label photos. When a label is faded or unreadable, the field is flagged for you to fill in rather than guessed. So a sharp label photo saves you time twice: once in the draft, and once in fewer buyer questions.

Clean white backgrounds, honestly

You don’t need a studio for a white background. Many sellers remove the background afterwards. If you do, keep the item itself untouched: a buyer of second-hand clothing wants to see the real colour, the real wear and the real flaws.

In WonderSnap, white backgrounds are only applied when you ask, and only to the main photos (front and back). Labels, close-ups and flaw photos stay as you took them, the item is never redrawn, and you can switch back to the original at any time.

A quick checklist

• Even daylight, no flash.
• A plain background that contrasts with the garment.
• Front, back, brand and size label, care label, then details and flaws.
• Labels close enough to read every word.
• No borders, text or watermarks; your own photos, not stock images.