# How to shoot marketplace product photos with an iPhone

> What the marketplaces ask of a listing photo, and how product photographers meet it with a window, a sheet of white paper and a phone.

**In short:** Shoot the main photo square, on plain white, with the product whole and filling at least 60% of the frame, lit by a window to one side and taken at 2x from a step back. Keep text, borders and watermarks off it, and use the other photos for the sides, the details, the scale and the product in use.

A Stensa guide, updated 2026-11-05. The page: https://trystensa.com/guides/marketplace-product-photos

## What the marketplaces ask for

Every marketplace publishes its own photo rules, and they change. This is what each one's seller pages said in November 2026. Check the linked page before a big shoot.

| | Shopee | Lazada | TikTok Shop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photos | A cover photo plus up to 8 more ([Shopee](https://seller.shopee.ph/edu/article/2990)) | Up to 8; the first is the main image ([Lazada](https://lazada-sellercenter.readme.io/docs/createproduct)) | Up to 9 ([TikTok Shop](https://seller-ph.tiktok.com/university/essay?knowledge_id=7654208161449730&lang=en)) |
| Shape | Square, 1:1 ([Shopee](https://open.shopee.com/documents/v2/v2.media_space.upload_image?module=91&type=1)) | Not fixed | Square, 1:1 |
| Size | Up to 10 MB, JPG or PNG | 330 to 5000 px a side, up to 3 MB, JPG or PNG ([Lazada](https://open.lazada.com/apps/doc/doc?nodeId=30718&docId=120947)) | At least 600 × 600 px, up to 10 MB |
| Main image | Solid background, white recommended, for Shopee Mall ([Mall rules](https://deo.shopeemobile.com/shopee/cms_cdn_bucket/1b80ba122b384a868cc9ce0a19e6d938_PH%20Copy%20of%20Mall%20Listing%20Guidelines%20-%20Seller%20Education%20Hub.pdf)) | No official rule found | Front view on a solid colour, white recommended ([TikTok Shop](https://seller-ph.tiktok.com/university/essay?knowledge_id=7654193087743745&lang=en)) |
| Product fill | At least 60%, whole and uncropped, for Mall | No official rule found | At least 60%, not cropped |

A few honest notes on that table:

- **Shopee's background and fill rules are for Shopee Mall.** Shopee does not publish a background rule or a minimum pixel size for ordinary sellers. The Mall rules are the best guide to what Shopee considers a good listing, so they are worth following anyway.
- **Lazada's own pages disagree.** One developer page gives a 3 MB limit, an [older one](https://lazada-sellercenter.readme.io/docs/uploadimage) says 1 MB. Lazada's white-background and product-fill advice appears only in second-hand sources. A photo that meets the TikTok Shop rules will meet anything Lazada is likely to ask.
- **No text on the main image.** Shopee Mall rules out watermarks, borders, montages and added text on the cover, and allows only a small logo in the top-left corner. TikTok Shop's guidelines ask for the same clean main image. Save the "Free shipping" banner for a later photo, if anywhere.

### One standard that meets all three

Shoot to the strictest version of each rule and one set of photos works on every marketplace:

1. **Square**, exported at about 2048 × 2048 px, the size [Shopify recommends](https://www.shopify.com/in/blog/smartphone-product-photography) for square product photos. It is well inside every limit and sharp when buyers zoom in.
2. **The main image is the product alone,** front on, on plain white, filling at least 60% of the frame and not cut off at any edge.
3. **No text, borders, stickers or watermarks** on the main image.
4. **The other photos show what the first can't:** the sides and back, close-ups, the product in use, and its size.

## Set up a white background

The standard background is a white sweep: one sheet of paper that runs up a wall behind the product and curves down under it, so there is no line where the table meets the wall.

- **Use a sheet of white poster board** or a roll of paper. Tape the top to a wall or a box, let it curve down, and tape the front edge to the table.
- **Pure white, not cream.** Shopify warns that off-white or cream paper makes editing and lighting harder: it never turns white, and it tints the product.
- **Keep it clean and flat.** Creases and dents show as grey lines. Small paper is cheap, so replace it when it marks.

> Photo: A white vase, a white stone disc and a small dark ball on an all-white set in soft daylight. An all-white set in soft daylight: the shadows stay soft and the whites stay white, which is what a listing’s main image needs. Photo by Anita Austvika on Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/photos/a-white-vase-sitting-next-to-a-black-and-white-object-UF_3gG5Fsz8).

## Light it with a window

You don't need studio lights. A large window does the job well if it is used properly.

> Diagram: A top view. A window runs down the left side. A product stands on a white sweep in the middle, with dashed light rays from the window. A white foam board stands on the right side of the product, and an iPhone faces it from the bottom. The window lights the product from the side; the white board across from it bounces light back into the shadows. Move the board closer for softer shadows, further away for deeper ones.

1. **Put the window to the side,** about 90 degrees from the direction the phone faces. [Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/in/blog/smartphone-product-photography) recommends a large window and the set close to it: the closer the product is to the window, the softer the light.
2. **Avoid direct sun.** A sunbeam on the product makes hard edges and blown highlights. Hang a white sheet, a shower curtain or baking paper over the window, or shoot when the sun is on the other side of the building. [Squarespace](https://www.squarespace.com/blog/how-to-shoot-product-photography) points out that early morning and late afternoon light is softer.
3. **Fill the shadow side** with a white foam board or poster board standing across from the window. Move it in and out until the shadow side shows detail but still has some shadow.
4. **Turn off the room lights,** and don't use the phone's flash. Mixed light gives two colours, and the flash flattens the product and throws a hard reflection.

## Use the right lens and angle

Product photographers mostly work with a [50 to 105 mm lens](https://www.pixelz.com/blog/create-killer-product-photos-mens-neckties/) and avoid wide angles, which stretch whatever is nearest the camera. On an iPhone 17, the 2x setting is equivalent to [52 mm](https://www.apple.com/iphone-17/specs/), right in that range.

- **Switch to 2x (or 3x) and step back** until the product fits. A box keeps its straight edges and a bottle stands upright.
- **Tap the zoom buttons; don't pinch.** Pinching past the lens buttons is digital zoom, which only crops and enlarges the picture and loses detail.
- **Shoot at the product's own height.** Something upright, such as a bottle, a bag or a box, looks right from eye level or just above. Flat things, such as a wallet, a scarf or a phone case, look best from straight above.
- **Use the grid and the level** (Settings › Camera › Grid and Level) to keep the product straight and the horizon line of the sweep level. Where to put it in the frame is its own subject: [the rule of thirds and the rule of odds](https://trystensa.com/guides/rule-of-thirds-and-odds).
- **Lock focus and exposure.** Touch and hold the product on the screen until **AE/AF Lock** appears ([Apple's camera guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-your-shot-iph3dc593597/ios)). Then drag the sun icon up a little: white backgrounds tend to come out grey, and a touch more exposure makes them white.

## Shoot the full set

The marketplaces' guidelines and Shopify's list of product shots agree on what a full listing shows:

1. **The main image:** front on, on white, product alone.
2. **Side and back:** TikTok Shop asks for each image from a different angle.
3. **Close-ups** of the details buyers ask about: fabric, stitching, labels, ports, the texture of a cream.
4. **The packaging**, and the product beside it, so buyers see exactly what arrives.
5. **Scale:** in a hand, on a person, or next to something everyone knows the size of.
6. **In use:** the bag worn, the mug full, the plant in a room. This is where a styled background belongs.
7. **Variants:** every colour or size you sell, either one per photo or together in one lineup shot. For a whole range, [keeping a catalogue consistent](https://trystensa.com/guides/consistent-product-photos) covers fixing the setup so every listing matches. Keep that group shot off the main image: TikTok Shop's [US listing-quality rules](https://seller-us.tiktok.com/university/essay?knowledge_id=481891871868714) count several variants staged together in the main image against a listing.

## Before you shoot

- [ ] **Clean the product.** Wipe off fingerprints and dust, peel stray stickers, and steam out creases. A product photographer [told Adobe](https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography/type/product-photography.html) that glass cleaner, scissors and an adhesive remover on set save hours of retouching later.
- [ ] **Clean the lens.** A phone lens carried in a pocket is almost always smudged, and a smudge makes everything look hazy.
- [ ] **Check the edges of the frame** for tape, paper edges and the table showing past the sweep.

## Doing it in Stensa

Stensa exports Shop photos square, ready for a listing. **Hero Bottle** stands one tall product on the left third with a small accessory. **Box & Bottle** puts the packaging beside the product at eye level, so buyers see what arrives. **Size Lineup** steps small, medium and large up from left to right, to show every size in one shot. Each template comes with a recommended zoom, and the photo is taken when the product sits in its guide and the phone is level.

## Sources

- [How to list a product](https://seller.shopee.ph/edu/article/2990), Shopee Seller Education Hub
- [Mall listing guidelines](https://deo.shopeemobile.com/shopee/cms_cdn_bucket/1b80ba122b384a868cc9ce0a19e6d938_PH%20Copy%20of%20Mall%20Listing%20Guidelines%20-%20Seller%20Education%20Hub.pdf), Shopee Seller Education Hub
- [Image upload](https://open.lazada.com/apps/doc/doc?nodeId=30718&docId=120947), Lazada Open Platform
- [Listing guidelines](https://seller-ph.tiktok.com/university/essay?knowledge_id=7654193087743745&lang=en), TikTok Shop Seller University (PH)
- [Add and manage products](https://seller-ph.tiktok.com/university/essay?knowledge_id=7654208161449730&lang=en), TikTok Shop Seller University (PH)
- [Smartphone product photography](https://www.shopify.com/in/blog/smartphone-product-photography), Shopify
- [How to shoot product photography](https://www.squarespace.com/blog/how-to-shoot-product-photography), Squarespace
- [Product photography](https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography/type/product-photography.html), Adobe
- [Set up your shot with iPhone camera](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-your-shot-iph3dc593597/ios), Apple Support