Complete Guide to Item Photography on Poshmark

I've been selling on Poshmark for over 9 years. In that time I've tried a ton of different methods of taking photos for my shop. I've always wanted it to look somewhat uniform, but had to try a number of things to figure out what works best for me. In this article, I'll do my best to save you some time with trial and error in this department- I'll touch on plenty of different presentation options and share what I've found that works.

Uniform looks best.

Regardless of what style you use to present your products, having some sort of consistency and uniform look is going to make your shop look the most appealing. Think of online shopping at any other retailer, most of the photography is going to look like it is intentionally designed to look a certain way continuously. YOU are your own online retailer if you sell products online on any platform, so consider your vision and branding when deciding how you'd like to present your products. 

This does not mean every listing has to look exactly the same, but it does mean that your framework for each one should be complimentary every single time. For example, if you are selling clothes and are able to find stock photos of your item, like with a model wearing the item, that's one of the best options to use as your cover shot. But it's not always possible to find model photos, so what do you do to maintain consistency? I've seen some very successful sellers make a tasteful collage for their cover shots including a model picture and just the item together in the collage, and then when there is no model picture, the item alone still matches the other listings they've made. Another option is to maintain the same background for all items, including model photos. meaning like plain white backgrounds or something of that nature. Here's an example of each: 

Examples of styles

This can be a really fun part of your business because you get to exercise your creativity a bit and expand (or start) on your branding. In my time on Poshmark I have seen and used a ton of different styles of product presentation. I've tried stylized flat lay photography, hanging items on a plain white wall, hanging items on a wallpapered wall, I've used a mannequin, I've used software to remove the background entirely, and to remove the background to replace it with another. I am for sure skipping some in there that I've forgotten I've tried, but trust me when I say I have probably nearly exhausted my options. 

I've also seen a lot of what other people have done to present their products, both good and bad. Some examples of poorly planned photography are when people hang their clothes against a bookshelf or in a messy closet, which distracts from the item you're displaying. Sometimes people will just drape an item over the back of their sofa so its not even hanging or laying flat. I've also seen people lay their clothes on a dirty floor - like with pet hair and dust and stuff that is totally normal to have in your house but not what you want to be showing your potential buyers that your products are around. Lighting can be really dark or overly bright, making the items appear a bit different than they really look. Also making the space around the item take up more of the photo than the actual item, so you have to zoom in on the product and then compromise image quality. Once again, consider an online retailer when you think about these things. Backgrounds are tidy- maybe totally plain white backgrounds or possibly stylized to fit the brand or the item. Lighting is usually pretty consistent, but is always bright and clear. Items are displayed clearly, not laid on some odd shaped object. Also consider how you are presented if any part of you is in the photos- meaning like when you sometimes have no choice but to have your hand in a photo because a tag simply will not lay flat on its own- were you just gardening or finger painting with your kid? Are you finger nails looking clean and not chipped, dirty, etc. This may seem a little extreme, and it's not to shame anyone who struggles to keep their hands looking manicured, because I for sure struggle with that sometimes. But it is intended to get you thinking and considering the most professional way to present what you're selling. 

Now, in contrast to some of these faux pas, here some of the most attractive photography and item presentation that I have seen on Poshmark, in my opinion. Sellers who have clear branding often stylize their photos to look uniform, match their shop banner, etc. This is actually something I decided to try with my new Poshmark account, which you can read more about here. The blank white (removed) background is possibly one of my favorite looks, because it just looks so simple and professional- it's like a less is more aesthetic, and that goes a long way for letting your items speak for themselves. Utilizing stock model photos of the item (when you can find them) is also a win for professionalism.

Deciding what works for you

Understand that having professional looking presentation can be one of the most labor intensive parts of selling online. Presentation is probably one of the top two or three time consuming tasks in my business. This is important to consider up front to save yourself some time, because I have changed photography styles in my shop multiple times over the last nine years, and that means taking all new photos and editing them every single time. That's a lot of work when you have hundreds or potentially thousands of listings!! So, my pro tip here is to give this some good thought before you jump in feet first. 

Play with a few different styles and see what you think suits you, your style, your time, and your business. If you want to do cute flat lay photos where everything is stylized with complimentary clothes and accessories, I love that for you, but I've tried it and its a lot of work! When I tried that style I wanted to have other available items pictured to try to increase bundled sales. It worked, but bear in mind that you then have to take all of the items out of storage to photograph them, they must look presentable (free of wrinkles, random fuzzies, pet hair, etc.), you have to put them all away, you have to describe in the listing what's for sale in this particular listing and that your buyer can find the other items listed separately, you have to consider that someone may buy one item that's featured in other listings' photos and once that item sells you need to go update any other listing with that item pictured and say it's no longer available, and that process then becomes perpetual. If you're down with that much effort, then do it, because those photos often look really cute and the product visibility can truly be quite helpful, but with the way I have my items stored and organized and the amount of time I have to commit to this business, all that extra work is not for me. 

Now, say you want to try to plain white background route. I've done this using Canva and it's still a little bit of work. I have to take my own photos, possibly find stock/model photos, upload them to Canva, add them to my canvas, remove the background, and then download them back to my phone so that I can then upload them to Poshmark. Not nearly as many steps as a stylized flat lay, but still more effort than just taking the photos on a plain hardwood floor and using that as a consistent background. Consider your tech-savviness for this option and the apps/software you have at your disposal. If you're not good with things like this, that's okay, this just may not be the right option for you.

And like I said, you can use a background that is available in your home already and not have much editing to do at all. I've used really cute wallpapered walls as my background, hardwood floors, plain white walls or doors, and even simple-patterned bedspreads. For this type of option, consider lighting and consider whether you want to hang your clothes or lay them flat on a surface. Both options can work really well and show items beautifully, it just comes down to preference. If you choose to hang clothes, make sure you use simple hangers or even the same hanger each time. Using a plastic store hanger that has a big size M on the neck of the hanger on an item that is an XS looks unprofessional. So find something simple and cute to use that will help with the uniform appearance. I've hung clothes from over the door hooks and tiny push pins in the wall and it usually looks pretty cute. 

Other considerations

Lighting is super important as well. This may sound a bit like the opposite of what you would think you should do, but I would avoid as much natural light as possible. Here is why: If you are taking photos one day and it's perfect and bright and sunny out, your photos are going to have a beautiful natural warm glow. This is great lighting, BUT... if you go to take photos again the next day in the same well-lit spot and it's cloudy and overcast, your photos are going to look slightly cooler toned and bluish. To add another layer to this, if you take photos in the same spot at night, your indoor lighting is going to cast a completely different light again than the sunny day and the cloudy day lighting. All of this will make your items look inconsistent. My pro tip is to take photos under a bright, warm-white light. I actually currently take photos in my basement that does not get a ton of natural light under a light like the one pictured. These bulbs are pretty inexpensive and very bright, so there's nothing lacking by not having much natural lighting. 

Good lighting is going to show everything on your items, including random fuzz, pet hair, and wrinkles. Two more pro tip items- lint rollers and wrinkle release spray. Get em and keep em in your photography area. 

Here’s a quick recap:

Quick Do's

DO make your photography/presentation style as simple or complicated as you prefer

DO find a spot to take photos with good, indoor lighting

DO keep your cover shots looking uniform

DO keep any necessary supplies for photography in your photography area (again, lint rollers, wrinkle release spray, tape measure, etc.)

DO make sure your backgrounds for your photos are simple and not going to take away from the item you're selling

DO use the whole 1x1 square you have to show your item

Quick Don'ts

DON'T overcomplicate your photography/presentation style if you are not willing/able to maintain it

DON'T take photos in a spot where there is natural lighting as it will make for inconsistent lighting

DON'T let your cover shots get out of hand and looking inconsistent

DON'T leave your photography supplies all over the place, it will keep you from either taking the photos at all, or keep you from presenting them as well as you would like to

DON'T take photos against a busy/chaotic/dirty background

DON'T leave a bunch of unused space around the item, DO make it as big as possible while showing all edges of the item