Short answer
Shoot next to a window in soft daylight, put the product on a plain surface with a sheet of white card behind it, turn off flash, use the phone's main lens at 1× from a little further away, tap to focus, and take the same set of angles every time: front, back, sides, top, a detail close-up, and one shot with a hand or ruler for scale.
Light: use a window, not the flash
Light matters more than the camera. Set up next to a large window on a bright day, with the product beside the window rather than directly in front of it, so light comes from the side. Avoid direct sunlight, which creates hard shadows and blown-out highlights; a thin white curtain or overcast day softens it. Turn off overhead room lights, because mixing warm bulbs with daylight gives uneven color. Turn the flash off: it flattens texture and causes glare on glossy surfaces.
- Best timeMidday on an overcast day, or any bright hour with indirect window light.
- Fill the shadow side with a sheet of white card or foam board opposite the window.
- For shiny products such as jewelry or glazed ceramics, move the reflector until the glare moves off important details.
Background: plain, clean, and out of the way
A simple background keeps attention on the product and makes later editing easier. The cheapest good setup is a sheet of white or light-gray poster board curved from the table up the wall behind the product, called a sweep, so there is no visible horizon line. Wipe the surface clean, remove anything that could be mistaken for part of the product, and leave space around the item so you can crop later.
Phone settings that make a difference
Modern phones take excellent product photos if you avoid a few defaults.
- Clean the lens. A fingerprint smear is the most common cause of hazy photos.
- Use the main 1× lens or 2×, and step back slightly. Ultra-wide lenses distort shapes close up.
- Tap the product to focus, then slide the brightness control down slightly if highlights look washed out.
- Turn off filters, beauty modes, and portrait blur, which can alter edges and textures.
- Turn on gridlines to keep the product level and centered.
- Use a small tripod or lean the phone on a stack of books to avoid blur.
The shot list: capture every angle once
Shooting a consistent set of angles gives you material for the whole listing and lets you or an AI tool build images without guessing. Take each shot even if you don't plan to use it; a missing angle is the most common reason a product image has to be invented or skipped.
- Front, straight on, product filling about 80% of the frame.
- Three-quarter angle, which usually shows shape best.
- Back and both sides.
- Top-down, for flat items, open containers, and jewelry.
- DetailsTexture, stitching, clasps, labels, signature, glaze, or hardware.
- ScaleThe product in a hand or next to a ruler, with the real measurements written down.
- What's includedEvery item in the package, laid out together.
File format and size
Phones take photos far larger than marketplaces need, which is good: you can crop without losing quality. Some phones save HEIC files by default. Etsy accepts HEIC, but many other tools and stores don't, including Lystiva, which accepts JPG, PNG, and WebP Source photos up to 20 MB. On an iPhone, you can choose the “Most Compatible” camera format to save JPGs instead. Keep your originals untouched and export copies for each destination.
Where AI fits in
Phone photos are a great starting point for AI product photography, because the photo is real evidence of the product. In Lystiva, your phone photos become a Source: AI analysis proposes product facts, you confirm or correct them, and Studios create new presentations from the real photo. Re-shoot keeps your camera angle and pose locked while rebuilding lighting, backdrop, and surface; Lifestyle places the product in real rooms and everyday settings. The better and more complete your phone photos, the fewer gaps any tool has to work around.
Common mistakes to avoid
Most poor product photos come from a handful of fixable problems.
- Mixed lighting from a window and warm room bulbs, causing color casts.
- Shooting too close with a wide lens, which bends straight edges.
- Busy backgrounds or props that look like part of the offer.
- Heavy filters that change the product's real color.
- Only one angle, leaving buyers to guess about the back or the size.
Questions sellers ask
Can I take professional product photos with a phone?
Yes. With soft window light, a plain background, a steady phone, and the right lens, current phones produce listing-quality product photos.
What is the cheapest product photography setup?
A window, a sheet of white poster board as a background, a second white card as a reflector, and a stack of books or a small tripod to hold the phone.
Should I use portrait mode for product photos?
Usually not for the main photos. Portrait blur can soften product edges and details. It can work for lifestyle shots where the background matters less.
What angles should I photograph?
Front, three-quarter, back, sides, top-down where relevant, close-up details, a scale shot, and everything included in the package.
Sources
Requirements change. These are the official pages this guide was checked against, so you can confirm the current rule yourself.