PHOTO 101
To Sell Your Clothes, Shoot Your Clothes
Maybe you’re trying to clean out your closet and pare down your wardrobe. Or maybe you want to make some moola to go buy...more clothes. We don’t judge.
Either way, striking photography is critical if you’re looking to maximize profits selling clothes. You’ll sell your items more quickly and get higher prices than your competition.
To help you with this endeavor, we went straight to the sartorial source: experts on photography, styling, and editing at three of our favorite clothing resale apps: Poshmark, Grailed, and Depop.
Check out these five tips that’ll turn your iPhone camera into a power selling machine.
1: Have a visual signature
Scott Santiago, a marketing associate at Grailed, believes there’s a benefit to establishing a consistent background with consistent framing. “The overall hope,” he says, “is that if someone is scrolling through the feed and they come across an item that I photographed, they can notice me just from my photos.”
A few background ideas: a brick wall, a clear expanse of an interior wall painted an unusual color, or the floor near a window.
2. There’s no such thing as too much detail
Though your cover photo is often the one that leads the potential buyer to your item, taking multiple photos from different angles and distances will help you close the deal.
“Photographing the back, front, and sides and making sure you have a photo that shows the garment in its entirety—as well as closeups of any flaws or imperfections—is very important,” says Kate Franco, senior director of brand marketing at Poshmark.
Santiago and Franco both suggest placing a quarter next to any imperfections, which makes it easier for the buyer to get a sense of how big the blemish is. This helps reduces your chances of returns or bad reviews.
“I want to be as transparent as possible and build trust with my buyers,” Santiago says, “and they’ll also know that they’re paying for an item from a professional.”
3. Showcase the lifestyle
Buyers are more likely to purchase an item if they see how it’s worn and what else it’s styled with. Franco and Brigita Žižytė, photographer and photo editor at Depop, suggest modeling the clothes you’re selling—you can do it yourself or just ask a friend to wear your stuff.
“Styling your item with complementary clothing, jewelry, accessories, can help the buyer really picture how that piece fits into their life,” Franco says, “and it actually serves as inspiration for them,”
Žižytė suggests sharing in the description how your item fits relative to your normal size—an easy reference point for buyers who don’t know their exact measurements.
4. Skip the filters
Once you’ve got that perfect shot, it's tempting to edit the photo as you would for social media—add some saturation, contrast, and moody shadows. Don’t, says Franco.
“Filters are really popular these days, but one common pitfall is that people overfilter their images, which can distort the accuracy of the image.”
Rule of thumb: It’s better for your picture to look realistic than artful.
5. Remember, something’s better than nothing
If you’re not a great photographer, that’s OK. Your clothes will almost certainly sell better if you take your own photos than if you use stock images. (Some apps don’t allow them anyway.) Plus, DIY images prove you actually own the clothes you’re selling, and that people can trust you to send exactly what they think they’re getting.
“Taking the photo is a very common roadblock for people who are just starting out, but it really takes less than 60 seconds to create a listing on Poshmark,” Franco says. “You just have to jump into it.”