Better Listing Photos and Video, Shot on Your Phone

The jobs your photos do, and the rules they follow

• Why photos decide the sale
• The rules your photos must follow

Light, your phone, and the look of your shop

• Light does most of the work
• Your phone, set up properly
• Backgrounds, surfaces and props

The thumbnail, the full set, and styling for your product

• The thumbnail
• The full photo set, in the order buyers ask
• Styling by product type

Honest editing and a video you can film in an afternoon

• Editing that stays honest
• Listing video you can film in an afternoon

A shoot day, a reshoot plan and a checklist

• Your photo system

Online, your photos stand in for the buyer's hands and eyes. This module shows what they have to replace, the two different jobs they do, what Etsy gives you to work with, and how to score your own listing in 15 minutes.

• The buyer can't touch it: what photos have to replace
• Two jobs, two audiences: the click and the order
• What Etsy gives you to work with
• Audit your own listing in 15 minutes

Etsy has a short set of rules about listing images: show the real item, use your own photos, and handle mockups and generated images in specific ways. This module covers each rule exactly, then the honest-editing habits that keep you well inside them.

• Show the item the buyer actually gets
• Your own photos, not someone else's
• Mockups, renders and generated images
• Honest editing: what's fine to fix and what isn't

Good light fixes more photos than any phone, app or prop. This module shows you how to find it at a window, shape it with a bedsheet and a sheet of white card, control your shadows, and build a reliable setup from two lamps when there's no good window.

• Window light: which window, what time, and why the ceiling light ruins color
• Soften it, bounce it: a diffuser and a reflector for under $10
• Shadows you want and shadows you don't
• When there's no good window: two lamps set up properly

Your phone is already a good enough camera. This module shows you the few settings that take control back from it, the features to switch off, how to hold it steady and level, and how to shoot plenty and choose well.

• The settings that matter: grid lines, tap to focus and exposure lock
• What to switch off: digital zoom, heavy portrait blur and beauty filters
• Steady and square: a stand, a timer and lens height
• Shoot more than you need, then choose

What sits behind and around your product decides whether your shop looks like one shop. This module helps you choose a background, find surfaces you already own, use props with restraint and write it all down in a one-page style guide.

• One background for the whole shop: why consistency sells
• Surfaces you already own: boards, linen, paper and tiles
• Props that give scale and story without stealing the scene
• Building your shop's look: a one-page style guide

Your first photo does most of its work at the size of a postage stamp, beside dozens of competitors. This module shows you how to make it readable, frame it for every crop Etsy makes, and test a change without risking a listing that sells.

• It has to read at postage-stamp size
• Filling the frame, and the crop Etsy will make
• Standing out in a grid of look-alikes
• Testing a new thumbnail without risking a best seller

The first photo wins the click. The rest of the set has to answer every question a buyer would ask if they could hold the item. This module gives you a shot list in the order those questions come, shown with real products.

• The question order
• Scale shots that don't lie
• Detail, texture and the handmade proof
• Variations, personalization previews and the "what you get" shot

Every material fights the camera in its own way. This module gives you a setup for shiny metal, glaze and glass, fabric and knitwear, and prints and downloads, so each one looks like itself.

• Jewelry and anything shiny: reflections, tiny scale and on-body shots
• Ceramics, glass and home goods: surfaces, glaze color and in-use shots
• Textiles, clothing and knitwear: flat lay, worn, drape and texture
• Prints, wall art and digital downloads: honest mockups and file previews

A good edit makes the photo look like the item on your table, not better than it. This module covers the few adjustments that matter, getting color right, one look across your shop, and files that upload cleanly.

• Free phone editing: the five adjustments that matter
• Getting color right: white balance, and checking against the real item
• One look for every photo: save your edits and apply them in a batch
• Export and upload: sizes, file types and the limits that catch sellers

A few silent seconds of video can show movement, drape and sparkle that no photo can. This module covers what to film, how to film it steadily on your phone, and how to get it onto a listing inside Etsy's limits.

• What video shows that photos can't
• Four clips worth filming: turn, use, make and unbox
• Filming on a phone: same light, steady, and no talking
• Trimming and uploading

Good photos are not a one-off project. This capstone turns everything in the course into a routine: one shoot day for a whole collection, a reshoot list ordered by your own Stats, photos that work beyond the listing, and a one-page checklist you can keep by the window.

• The shoot day: batch shooting a whole collection in one session
• Reshooting old listings in order of what's already seen
• Reusing your photos for social posts and your shop page
• Your one-page photo checklist, and reshooting one real listing