Tips for Creating Great Product Images

Preparing Product Information

We like to get images that are about 1000 pixels x 1000 pixels (or larger), but can work with just about anything.

tip: During processing, we currently crop and scale images to fit within 500×500 pixels – but as the average user’s monitor display increases in size, and bandwidth speeds increase, we will very likely also increase the size of the images we provide to our member stores – so if we have higher resolution images from you to start with, we will be able to reprocess images with no loss in quality.

Below are a few samples of good images, poor images, and a few other things to avoid :

GOOD QUALITY IMAGES

tips:
Size ~ it looks clean and sharp at full size (500px X 500px, or larger)
Background ~ the primary product image usually works best when it’s over a solid white background color. Other backgrounds are not “bad”, but as you are trying to create images that look great in a wide range of websites, a white background is usually best.
Secondary Images ~ Shoppers like to see multiple pictures of your products… so help your retailers out by supplying a few additional pictures for each product – include pictures with products in/out of the package, pictures of kids playing with the toys, etc. Secondary images are also displayed at 500×500 when shown full size.

tip: images with solid white backgrounds are also much easier to process. Help us to keep your products looking great by following a few simple guidelines on backgrounds .

good-image
good-image2
good-image3
A White Background is Good ~ One of the nice things about images over a solid white background is that we can automatically process the images to make them look their best - cropped to edge and centered.
A White Background is Good ~ One of the nice things about images over a solid white background is that we can automatically process the images to make them look their best - cropped to edge and centered.

POOR QUALITY IMAGES

Here are a few samples of what can make a “poor quality” image:

  • Low Resolution 
  • High Res Image Saved at a Too Low Quality
  • High Res Image Saved as a GIF
  • Rotated Images
  • Cropped Images
  • Colored Backgrounds 
  • Group Photos (multiple products in one image)
  • Borders and Effects
Low Resolution ~ When product images are supplied in a low resolution format (anything less than 300 x 300 pixels) they will not show up well when the shoppers tries to look at the full size image. Scaling up a low res image only produces a grainy, blurry full size image.
Low Resolution ~ When product images are supplied in a low resolution format (anything less than 300 x 300 pixels) they will not show up well when the shoppers tries to look at the full size image. Scaling up a low res image only produces a grainy, blurry full size image.
High Res Image Saved at a Too Low Quality ~ Images will look blotchy when saved at a low quality JPG setting.
High Res Image Saved at a Too Low Quality ~ Images will look blotchy when saved at a low quality JPG setting.
High Res Image Saved as a GIF ~ Photographic images may look flat or noisy when saved as GIF formats. GIF images are limited to 256 colors, while JPG images are not.
High Res Image Saved as a GIF ~ Photographic images may look flat or noisy when saved as GIF formats. GIF images are limited to 256 colors, while JPG images are not.
Rotated Images ~ While this is easy fixed, when at all possible, please rotate images so they are standing straight up. Because of the quantity of products we process, rotated images can be easily missed.
Rotated Images ~ While this is easy fixed, when at all possible, please rotate images so they are standing straight up. Because of the quantity of products we process, rotated images can be easily missed.
Cropped Images ~ "Hey, I want to seethe whole toy!"
Cropped Images ~ "Hey, I want to seethe whole toy!"
Color Backgrounds Create Problems ~ Color backgrounds (even off-white or gray) will not crop or scale automatically... and they usually look out of place in a website where other design styles are at work.
Color Backgrounds Create Problems ~ Color backgrounds (even off-white or gray) will not crop or scale automatically... and they usually look out of place in a website where other design styles are at work.
Group Photos ~ It's hard to show a customer a good product shot when they can't tell which product they are supposed to be looking at, or when other products are distracting from the one they want.
Group Photos ~ It's hard to show a customer a good product shot when they can't tell which product they are supposed to be looking at, or when other products are distracting from the one they want.
Borders and Effects ~ Avoid borders, special frame effects, graphical titles, or other graphics effect. These "add-ons" tend to cause image processing problems. They also usually mean your product will be smaller than other products when displayed in search results or category browse pages.
Borders and Effects ~ Avoid borders, special frame effects, graphical titles, or other graphics effect. These "add-ons" tend to cause image processing problems. They also usually mean your product will be smaller than other products when displayed in search results or category browse pages.
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