Composing Marketplace Listing Photos That Sell — Clearing the Background

On reselling apps, how easy a photo is to read translates directly into how easily it sells. What makes a photo hard to read almost always comes down to three things: background, brightness and subject size.

Make a white background

When everyday clutter on the floor or desk gets into the shot, the item looks cheap. Just laying down a sheet of white paper or cloth lifts the item and adds a clean feel.

Shoot in bright window light for natural color

A dark photo makes the condition look worse. Shoot at a bright window using natural light. Soft light through a lace curtain is more even and prettier than direct sun.

Shoot big and level

When the item is small in the frame, it’s unclear what you’re selling. Shoot the item on the larger side, leveled with the grid. Make the first photo one that shows the whole item, and from the second on, show details like angles and any scratches — that’s considerate.

Composition tips

For the first whole-item photo, placing it slightly high with space below steadies it. For detail shots, putting the part you want to show on an intersection with the rule of thirds gathers the eye. A clean background with space around the subject lifts the item further (→ Negative space).

Composition guideNegative spaceSee the full guide for this composition →

BeforeAfter

Start with just this

Lay down a sheet of white paper or cloth, shoot at a bright window, with the item on the larger side and leveled. First photo: the whole item, bright; from the second on, angles and scratches. That alone all but graduates you from “photos that don’t sell.”