Ten shots per listing, one window
Etsy lets a listing carry 20 photos and 2 videos, and its help pages set sizes, a file limit and a shape for the first photo. I built a shot list and a planner so every listing gets ten photos and a video from one session at a window, each in the size and shape Etsy asks for.
The question
this build answers
What photos does an Etsy listing need, and how do I shoot them all without setting up again for every product?
From the first trigger
to the finished job.
The working version, step by step.
Plan the ten shots
Seven of the ten are the photo types in Etsy's Seller Handbook, such as scale, detail and packaging. I added three that settle a question before a buyer asks it: the back of the item, what comes in the box and its size.
Shoot in five setups
I grouped the shots by setup, so a session moves the light and the background five times however many listings you bring. The window sweep comes first, and the close-ups, the flat lay, the room and the bench follow it.
Mark each listing
The Products tab takes one row per listing. Mark each shot done, to do or skip, tick the video and the alt text, and my formulas work out a completeness score and name the shots still missing.
Test the first photo
Type in the first photo's width and height and your largest file, and the row tests them against Etsy's figures. I made it flag a first photo under 635 pixels, a tall one, a file over 1MB and more than 20 photos, then say whether the listing is ready to upload.
Keep the video under 15 seconds
Etsy removes the sound on upload and clips anything past 15 seconds, while two of its pages disagree on the shortest clip, 3 seconds or 5. I plan every video at 5 to 15 so it passes both, and the planner flags a clip outside that range.
Bring the right listings
Before a session, the Session plan tab counts the shots each setup still owes across all your listings and names the ones to bring. I added a shoot log for the light and the weather, so your next session matches the last.
The shot list, instant download
Etsy product photo shot list and planner: ten shots and a video per listing, five setups and Etsy's photo rules
You get the 7-page PDF guide and the planner workbook, which also imports into Google Sheets, plus a README and a sources file. It is an instant download with nothing to install. If a rule or a formula looks wrong, message me from the order and I will check it against the Etsy page.
Open the shot list on EtsyChecked by recalculating it
Before listing it, I filled a copy of the planner with four sample listings in different states and recalculated all 2,720 formulas with a formula engine outside Excel, and none returned an error.
The scores, the missing-shot lists, the photo checks and the session counts matched my hand-worked values in all 70 checks. I ran 19 more to confirm the PDF carries every Etsy figure and the drop-downs hold the right choices.
Etsy's rules, read at source
I read nine Etsy help and Seller Handbook pages on 18 September 2026, and the Sources tab gives each figure with its page. Etsy recommends photos of at least 2000 pixels on each side and warns that files over 1MB may not finish uploading.
Where two of its pages disagree, I plan for the stricter figure and say so. The shortest video is one case, and the first photo is the other, where one page allows square and also tells you to upload horizontal.
What it leaves out
I left out editing presets and mockups, which this shop does not sell. Titles, tags and alt text are scored in my Etsy listing SEO tracker.
The words on the listing belong to my description templates pack. This file covers what goes in front of the lens and whether the result meets Etsy's rules.
Before you spend anything
The fit matters.
Who should not buy this
If you sell digital downloads, every shot in my plan needs a physical item in front of the lens, so it will not suit your shop.
Anyone after studio lighting or editing presets should look elsewhere, because I planned it around a window, a sheet of paper and the phone or basic camera you already have.
Yours to keep
What lands
on your desk.
- A 7-page A4 PDF guide with Etsy's photo and video rules, the ten-shot plan, five setups and a printable shot list
- A five-tab Excel planner that opens in Numbers and LibreOffice and imports into Google Sheets
- A completeness score, missing shots and Etsy photo checks for every listing, plus a session plan and shoot log
- A README and a sources file naming the nine Etsy pages behind every figure
See the work
Open the proof.
Published case studies of running systems. Each links to the thing itself.
A few useful
answers.
Does it work in Google Sheets?
Import the planner through File, Import, Upload. Every formula in it uses a function Google Sheets supports, and I checked the scores on a filled sample copy before I listed it.
Do I need a camera or lights?
I wrote it for a phone or a basic camera and a window. The light checklist uses daylight from one side, a sheet of paper as the background and a white card to lift the shadow.
What if a shot does not suit my product?
Mark it skip in the planner and my score leaves it out, so a listing is judged only on the shots that apply to it.
What happens when Etsy changes a rule?
When a page disagrees with the guide, the page wins. Message me from your order with the rule and what you saw, and I will check it against the current page.
A little further down
the same path.
Related builds for the rest of your business.
Make this work for you
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