How to take photos that sell your stuff

Updated October 30, 2026

People decide in a second whether to open your post. Your photo makes that decision for them. You don’t need a good camera. Your phone and ten minutes are enough.

1. Use daylight

Stand near a window during the day and turn off the flash. Indoor lamps make everything look yellow, and the flash makes it look flat and shiny. Overcast days are great: soft light, no harsh shadows.

2. Clear the background

Move the laundry, the cords and the cereal box out of the frame. A plain wall or a clean floor lets people see the thing you’re selling and nothing else.

3. Clean the item

Wipe it down. Vacuum the cushions. Fold the clothes. It takes five minutes and makes the item look cared for, which makes buyers trust it.

4. Shoot every angle that matters

The front, straight on.
The side and the back.
Close-ups of what makes it worth buying: the brand label, the wood grain, the screen turned on.
Close-ups of every flaw.

5. Show the flaws on purpose

It feels wrong, but it works. A buyer who has already seen the scratch won’t be surprised at pickup, won’t try to renegotiate, and is more likely to show up.

6. Show the size

Photograph furniture in the room, or with something everyone knows next to it, like a chair or a door. Then put the measurements in your post. “About this big” starts questions. “72 by 34 inches” answers them.

7. Small phone habits

Wipe the lens with your shirt first. Phone lenses are almost always smudged.
Hold the phone at the height of the item’s middle, not above it.
Use the regular 1x lens. The wide lens bends straight lines when you’re close.
Tap the item on the screen so it’s in focus.

8. Choose your first photo carefully

The first photo is the one people see in your post and in the preview when you share a link. Pick the clearest, brightest shot of the whole item.

Then post it once and let offers come to you

When the photos are ready, write one line about the item, add up to 9 photos, and make a Soldu link. The first photo is the cover. Paste the link under your post. Buyers open it in a browser and make an offer, and you say yes to the one you like.