How to photograph 3D prints with your phone

Buyers can't hold your keychain before they order it. The photo has to do that job. Good product photos are often the difference between a listing that sells and one that doesn't, and you don't need a camera, a studio or editing skills to take them. A recent phone and a window will do.

Light: use a window, not a lamp

Daylight from a window is the best light you have, and it's free.

Shoot near a window, with the light coming from the side.
Avoid direct sun. It makes hard shadows and blows out light colours. A cloudy day or a north-facing window is ideal.
Turn off room lights. Mixing daylight and warm bulbs gives odd colours.
Use a white card (or a sheet of paper) on the side away from the window, to bounce light into the shadows.

3D prints have layer lines and shiny surfaces. Soft, side-on light shows the shape without making every line stand out.

Backgrounds that don't compete

The product should be the only interesting thing in the photo.

Plain white or light grey card for your main listing photo. It's clean and matches marketplace thumbnails.
A simple surface like wood, linen or concrete for lifestyle shots.
A contrasting colour for prints in white or very light filament, which disappear on white.

A sheet of card curved up a wall (a "sweep") gives a background with no visible edge.

The shots every listing needs

The hero. The product, front-on or at a slight angle, filling most of the frame. A real, believable name on it.
Scale. The product in a hand, on keys, on a bag or next to a familiar object. Buyers misjudge size from photos more than anything else.
Colours. All your colour options side by side.
Variety. Several prints with different names, to show it's made to order.
In use. A tag on a school bag, a plaque on a door, a place card on a table.
Detail. A close-up of the lettering, to show quality.

Show the personalisation

Personalised products sell on the idea of "with my name on it". Help the buyer imagine it:

Use real-looking names in your photos, not "NAME" or "SAMPLE".
Match names to the buyer: children's names for bag tags, couples' names for wedding items, job titles for office plates.
Show a range: short and long names, so buyers see how both look.

When you don't have a print of a design yet, a rendered picture shows it with any name. In the STLmint studio, Save picture gives you an image of the design with your text, from the same file you'd print. These work well as extra images and in messages to buyers; your main photo should still be a real print.

Angles and framing

Shoot slightly from above, around 30 to 45 degrees, for flat items like keychains and tags. Straight down works for flat-lays.
Shoot at eye level for standing items like desk name plates and place cards.
Leave space around the product, so marketplaces can crop to square without cutting it off.
Tap to focus on the lettering, so the name is sharp.

Avoid your phone's widest lens close up; it distorts shapes. Step back and use the 2x lens if your phone has one.

Editing: less is more

Straighten and crop.
Adjust brightness so the background is clean white or light grey.
Don't change colours. Buyers expect the print to match the photo, and filament colour is part of the order.
Remove dust with the healing tool. 3D prints attract it.

Keep edits consistent across all your photos, so your shop looks like one brand.

Photos and video for Instagram

On Instagram, short videos often do better than still photos:

A print coming off the bed, especially two-colour text appearing.
The name reveal, peeling a print off the plate.
Packing an order, ready for posting.
A before-and-after, from the approval picture to the finished print.

Film vertically, in good light, and keep clips short. See custom orders on Instagram and WhatsApp for turning views into orders.

Build a photo library once

Spend one afternoon photographing your samples properly. Save the photos by product and colour. Then you can build listings and posts from your library instead of shooting for each one.

For Etsy-specific tips, see how to sell personalised 3D prints on Etsy.

Common questions

Do I need a lightbox? No. A window, a sheet of white card and a white bounce card do the same job for small items.

Should I use rendered pictures instead of photos? Use both. Real photos for your main images, because they prove the quality. Rendered pictures to show the design with different names, and to send buyers for approval.

How do I photograph shiny silk filament? Use soft, indirect light and move around until reflections fall where you want them. A white card held above the print gives a soft highlight.