How to Photograph Items to Sell on Facebook Marketplace

It’s spring time (although it just snowed here, again) and I’m wanting to lighten up the load of stuff.  So I’m over here slowly cleaning out, donating, organizing and selling!  I wrote a post of tips for selling on Facebook marketplace (check it out here) and another on tips to buying (click here).  I’ve been doing both for quite awhile and have had some really great luck on both fronts.

Photography Tips for Selling on Facebook Marketplace

Since I’m working on moving things out and listing them, I thought it would be helpful to share how I do one of the most important parts of selling, the photos!

• Use a basic backdrop

The less going on in the photo the better, you don’t want to distract from the item in any way.  I always shoot my FB items in front of our garage door for as simple surroundings as possible.  This lets the item take center stage.  If you don’t have a garage to do this with, try hanging a plain sheet as a backdrop!

A vintage laquered scroll desk/table I recently listed

• Get a good shot showing the size of the piece along with any interesting features.

Here I took a long angled shot to show the texture of the table along with the scrolls and curving of the piece.  It sold in less than 24 hours!

The webbed texture and curves were important to focus on here

• Best lighting conditions and straight on are key for the main photo (the one that shows up when you are scrolling)

I always photograph everything outside in full sun if possible.  This provides best color representation and clearly allows everything to be seen (good and bad).

This is a vintage cabinet I recently listed.  I shot it in full sun, straight on.  Notice how you can see the molding, wood grain and edge detailing very clearly?!

It’s 2 separate pieces so I shot it the way I used it and most probably would, stacked.

• Show the sides and/or back of item.

You can see I did an angled shot here (similar to the table above) to show the sides as well as the front.  This provides a good depiction of the dimensional elements like molding, key handles, etc.

Definitely looking to show the the key handles and the rustic wood here.

• Make sure you show off all of the great aspects of the piece.

In this case all of these drawers work perfectly and provide great storage.  While the bottom piece contains wine racks for storage.  These are things I want to highlight.

If I didn’t take this photo and include it, no one would know how it’s set up for wine storage.

• Be sure to snap a photo of any markings or labels.

This cabinet has a “made in Mexico” stamp on the back.  That’s a cool bit of info that goes to the history of the piece.  I want to share that as it speaks to the unique factor.

Anything that speaks to the story of the item is always a great tidbit.

• If there are blemishes or damage to the item make sure to include a photo of this.

Also a mention in the caption with a reference back to “see pics”.  This helps reduce the number of folks that might come and not buy.

• One more hot tip!

Instead of taking the photos for the Facebook listing in the Facebook app, take them with your camera and add them in to the listing.  This allows for photos (like sideways shots) to show up correctly, gives you better quality photos and allows for more flexibility as to angles used.

That’s it!  Bright clear lighting, close up and clear shots.  Include any unique features, elements or labels as well an image of damage or blemishes.   Try these when photographing for your listings and I bet you will see success!

Do you have any other tips for photographing for Facebook Marketplace sales?  I always love to hear from you and your experiences.  Hit me up in the comments!

And don’t forget the subscribe box in the sidebar for more.  The laundry room reno is moving along so lots of updates will be comin at ya soon!

XOXOXOXO

Do you have any extra tips for selling on Facebook Marketplace?  Let me know in a comment below!