How to Take Part Photos Properly
How to take part photos properly.
Photos are the input to everything ListParts does — OCR, part ID, pricing, and fitment. Five minutes of careful shooting saves hours of edits, questions, and returns.
Six rules that do 90% of the work.
Follow these on every part and the pipeline does the rest — cleanup, OCR, and draft listings.
Shoot the OEM label first
Get the part number sticker or stamp sharp and straight-on. OCR reads it and fills the listing fields for you.
Use even daylight
Shoot near a door or in open shade. Harsh sun and dark corners hide labels, casting numbers, and defects.
Fill the frame
Get close — the part should take up about 80% of the photo, with a little room at the edges for cropping.
Show every angle
Front, back, top, sides, mounting points, and connectors. 4–6 photos per part is the sweet spot for buyers and AI.
Be honest about damage
Take close-ups of cracks, scratches, and wear. Visible condition cuts returns, disputes, and negative feedback.
Keep the background simple
A concrete floor or plain board is fine — the pipeline removes it anyway. Just avoid clutter overlapping the part.
Do this. Not that.
- Wipe off heavy dirt so labels are readable
- Tap to focus on the part number before shooting
- Group photos by donor vehicle before upload
- Shoot connectors and mounting tabs up close
- Don't use direct flash on shiny or oily parts
- Don't crop out broken corners — show them
- Don't mix parts from different vehicles in one batch
- Don't shoot through plastic wrap or bags
Six frames. Every part. Every time.
Make it muscle memory — the same sequence for every part keeps batches consistent.
OEM label
Front
Back
Sides
Connectors
Damage close-up
Good photos in. Ready listings out.
Shoot a few real parts and run them through the pipeline — background cleanup, OCR, and a review-ready eBay draft.
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