Product Listing Image Ratios Are A Mess And Need To Be Standardised!

[UrbanCaveCreations]

Why is Etsy using different image ratios across the website and app?? there are 3 different aspect ratios being used and product photos will always get cropped off at some point and look terrible!

Etsy need to decide on ONE aspect ratio and use that for ALL photos on both the website AND the app.

Looking through the forum I have read many posts of people complaining of exactly this issue, it is a very simple fix and I just hope that it is implemented soon!

[Amaradorn]

Yes, it is annoying. What I find works is to make the photos square with a bit of space around the focus/product to allow for cropping. Then upload. Don't use the crop tool because that was making it crop the cropped image (if that makes sense?) Maybe that's been fixed now? IDK.

[UrbanCaveCreations]

I did do the same, changed some of the photos to square and left extra space around the product but it just looks wrong.. The product looks small and lost within the photo.

[FruteJuce]

I am now making all of my photos square in the hope that they will display correctly. 

[UrbanCaveCreations]

I did start changing some of mine to square as that is my preferred aspect ratio but still they don't look great when displayed in the search on the app.

[GlassyFields]

I started making my photos square when Etsy announced they were moving to square images ... all my old images looked horribly cropped in the square format.

And although I can prevent square images being cropped by having margin on the sides ... it looks like a lot of weird dead space ... like I don't take advantage of the image space.

Totally agree. Pick a format and stick with it for all images.

[UrbanCaveCreations]

Exactly this! I have done the same with a few of my listings but the "dead space" around the product makes it look lost within the photo. Its just not a great solution.

I personally prefer the square product photos so hopefully they will choose this aspect ratio and use it across the whole of Etsy at some point in the future.

[PristinityJewelry]

Don't use a "portrait" format (taller than wide)  Use a landscape format.  When creating/cropping the photo, leave extra space at left and right, so when Etsy crops it for a square thumbnail, it won't be cut-off at left and right.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29640839@N07/53595332745/

[UrbanCaveCreations]

That is a work around (sort of) and as mentioned in replies above it's not ideal.

[PristinityJewelry]

@UrbanCaveCreations 

"...That is a work around..."

Perhaps.

But the reality is:  Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Google Shopping, all, also display square and landscape thumbs in various places across the their site(s).

[UrbanCaveCreations]

And I expect they get complaints and suggestions also from their users about any issues that causes with product photos.

[CuriosityCabinet]

When etsy first changed to square I started to crop my photos that way but they were still zoomed in too much so I gave up. I now just leave space around the item and it seems to work even though I shoot mine in portrait.

[PrairieCrocusStudio]

The landscape 2500 x 2000 ratio you describe seems to work best. When I uploaded square images, Etsy showed them cropped/zoomed/weird. 

[LorettasCottage]

I totally agree...it's very frustrating and annoying to be constantly changing our shops to accommodate Etsy's whims.

[UrbanCaveCreations]

I actually contacted Etsy live chat and asked what the best image ratio to use would be to show up correctly on the website and the app and this was their response...

"After checking here, it's actually up to your discretions. If your targeted demographic is app users, follow the image ratio for the app, and vice versa for web users."

A very odd answer indeed from Etsy support.

[LorettasCottage]

@UrbanCaveCreations

Yes, it is a very odd answer and I would add that it's a very unacceptable answer. How are we to know how potential buyers are accessing our shops?!? Our shops should look presentable under all conditions.

[IndustrialBlonde]

eBay has the best photo editing tool within the listing form. Sorry Etsy, but it’s true. 
As for Etsy’s photo - on my gosh!  The time it takes to edit my already edited photos so that they fit!  I make them square now per their suggestion. Then when published, the photo is either cropped and only a partial image or zoomed in so that it is larger than EVERY OTHER photo in my shop. Then I have to edit again. Add extra space to the edges, republish, and hope that it works. It’s time consuming and extraordinarily annoying. 

[Chrysalism]

Etsy could solve this by just adding on to their thumbnail crop tool- have us choose a 5:4 thumbnail and a 1:1 so it displays properly in both formats. In the meantime, I'm working around it by shooting my thumbnails in 5:4 in a composition that looks good center auto-cropped to 1:1. It is limiting in some ways though- I used to use rule of 3rds a lot more, but now I pretty much have to center the item in every image. I'm not holding my breath for a fix anytime soon.

[UrbanCaveCreations]

Yep.. Frustrating for sure.