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Short answer: For Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop, your main listing photo should be a real, sharp, square photo of the actual product on a plain white background, which you can shoot yourself with a phone and window light for almost nothing. Hire a photographer (about ₱450 to ₱700 per product or image at Philippine studios we checked) when you need many SKUs or tricky items, and use AI only for extra gallery images, banners and ads built from your real photos, never to fake the product itself.
Your photo is the first thing a buyer sees in the search results, before your price, your reviews or your “HM po?” replies. With 11.11 and 12.12 coming, many sellers are listing new stock this week. Here is what each platform asks for, what each option costs, and a simple routine you can follow tonight.
What do Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop require for product photos?
All three want square images with the product clearly visible. The details differ a little:
| Platform | Size and count | Main (cover) image rules |
|---|---|---|
| Shopee PH | At least 500 x 500 px, 72 dpi; JPG or PNG up to 2 MB; up to 9 images per SKU; a 1:1 image is required (3:4 is optional) | Product clearly shown and unwrapped, well lit, preferably on white, covering at least 70% of the frame; avoid text or graphics on the cover |
| Lazada PH | Square (1:1); 330 x 330 px minimum, with 1,000 x 1,000 px commonly recommended; JPG or PNG up to 3 MB; up to 8 images | Clean white background, product filling about 80% of the frame, no watermarks or promo text |
| TikTok Shop PH | At least 600 x 600 px; up to 9 square images; 1 video up to 5 MB | Solid-color background (white recommended), front view, whole product visible, product taking up at least 60% of the frame |
Shopee and TikTok Shop figures come from their Philippine seller education pages; Lazada figures come from seller guides that cite Lazada’s own documentation, all checked October 28, 2026. Rules can change by category, so check your Seller Centre before a big upload. TikTok Shop also says images must be an authentic reflection of what the customer will receive, which matters a lot once AI enters the picture.
How much does it cost to hire a product photographer in the Philippines?
Here is what three Philippine studios published when we checked on October 28, 2026:
- Looseleaf Studio: white-background product photos from ₱500, priced per finalized image (one image per angle).
- MarkfrancisG Photography: ₱550 per image on white, ghost mannequin (clothing) from ₱750, with savings on larger orders.
- Foto Machina: about ₱5,600 as a minimum shoot, with standard items at ₱450 to ₱700 per SKU, including up to 3 angles.
Watch the pricing model. If you have 10 products and want 4 photos each, a per-image studio at ₱500 to ₱550 comes to roughly ₱20,000 to ₱22,000, while a per-SKU studio could land near its minimum. Ask for a written quote that says what is included before you send your items.
Can you shoot good product photos yourself with a phone?
Yes, and for most small shops this is the cheapest start. A simple setup:
- Use daylight. Put a table beside a window and shoot in the morning or late afternoon, with the flash off.
- Make a white background. Curve a sheet of white board or cartolina from the table up against the wall so there is no visible edge behind the product.
- Clean the product and remove the plastic wrap. Shopee asks for products to be shown unwrapped.
- Shoot square at your phone’s highest resolution, with the product filling most of the frame: front view first, then sides, back, labels and a size reference.
- Edit lightly. Crop to 1:1, fix brightness, and keep the colors true. Do not change the product’s color, size or label.
Where does AI actually help, and where should you avoid it?
AI is useful for the images around your main photo: a lifestyle scene for the gallery, a sale-day banner, a carousel post for Facebook or a short video ad. It saves time when you have many products and no designer.
Avoid using AI to invent or “improve” the product itself. A main photo that makes the item look bigger, shinier or a different color is how “not as pictured” returns start. It also goes against TikTok Shop’s listing rules and the spirit of the Internet Transactions Act of 2023 (Republic Act No. 11967), which protects online buyers from misleading listings. Our rule: real photo first, AI for everything around it.
Is Holo AI a good fit for product images and ads?
Holo AI (tryholo.ai) is an all-in-one AI marketing tool, not a photo studio. You paste your website or shop link, it builds a “Brand DNA” profile, and it creates ad creatives (static and video), social posts, emails and SEO blogs. An independent hands-on review by BloggerPilot found that Holo’s onboarding pulls your colors, logo, product names, descriptions and images from your site, and that its output got about 80% of the way, with the rest still needing manual fine-tuning. Holo’s FAQ also says it works even without a website, since you can use any valid URL and update your brand details later.
Here is what Holo’s pricing page showed on October 28, 2026, on its six-month option with a “Black Friday 60% off” banner:
| Plan | Shown price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | USD 8.13 a month (regular USD 20.33) | 125 creations a month, images and videos, 1 brand workspace, up to 2 parallel generations |
| Scale | USD 19.33 a month (regular USD 48.33) | 325 creations a month, all models, 3 brand workspaces, autopilot and analytics, up to 6 parallel generations |
At the ₱64.09 per US dollar rate Wise showed at about 10:10 AM Philippine time on October 28, 2026, USD 8.13 is roughly ₱521 a month. Holo says 2 credits equal 1 creation, there is no free trial, and you can cancel anytime. Its site says everything Holo makes is yours to use and that your brand data is not used to train AI models. Joining through a referral link adds 75 free creations. You will pay in US dollars, so your card may add a foreign transaction fee; our guide to paying in foreign currency compares those fees.
Compare that with a photographer: one month of Starter costs about the same as one studio product photo. It does not replace that first real photo, but it can turn it into many ads and posts. For the ad side, see our guide to making Facebook ads and posts with AI.
What is a simple weekly photo routine for your shop?
- Monday: shoot new stock with the phone setup above, 4 to 6 real photos per product.
- Tuesday: upload the best square photo as the main image on each platform.
- Wednesday: make 2 or 3 extra gallery images and one promo banner with AI from those real photos.
- Before posting: check that color, size, label and freebies match what you will actually ship.
- Weekly: compare clicks and orders, then reshoot listings that get views but no sales.
Getting ready for the sale season? Use our 11.11 to 12.12 seller checklist for stock, pricing and DTI promo permits, and cut payout costs with our tips on saving on bank fees as a Shopee seller. If you also take freelance design or photo jobs from abroad, read how to receive freelance pay from foreign clients.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use AI-generated images for my Shopee or TikTok Shop listing?
Use your real product photo as the main image. TikTok Shop says listing images must accurately represent what the buyer will receive, and Shopee asks for clear, realistic cover photos. AI is best for extra gallery images, banners and ads made from your real photos, as long as they do not change the product.
What size should product photos be for Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop?
Shoot square (1:1). Shopee asks for at least 500 x 500 pixels, TikTok Shop at least 600 x 600, and Lazada accepts square images from 330 x 330, though most guides recommend 1,000 x 1,000 or larger. A 1,000 x 1,000 or larger square image works on all three.
How much does a product photographer cost in the Philippines?
Studios we checked on October 28, 2026 list white-background product photos from about ₱450 to ₱700 per product or image, with one studio citing a ₱5,600 minimum shoot. Pricing models differ, so ask whether the quote is per image or per product.
Does Holo AI have a free trial?
No. Holo’s pricing FAQ, checked October 28, 2026, says there is no free trial, but you can cancel anytime. Signing up through a referral link adds 75 free creations.
Sources
- Shopee PH Seller Education Hub, Improve your product’s images and descriptions, Why upload product images in 3:4 ratio?, Media Space and Mall listing guidelines (checked October 28, 2026)
- TikTok Shop PH Seller University, TikTok Shop product listing guidelines (checked October 28, 2026)
- Lazada image specs as summarized by CatalogPrep and AI Product Cards, citing Lazada’s seller and open-platform documentation (checked October 28, 2026)
- Looseleaf Studio, MarkfrancisG Photography and Foto Machina product photography rates (checked October 28, 2026)
- Holo AI, Pricing and FAQ and homepage (checked October 28, 2026); BloggerPilot, Holo in the practical test (checked October 28, 2026)
- Wise live USD to PHP rate, about 10:10 AM Philippine time, October 28, 2026
- Official Gazette, Republic Act No. 11967, Internet Transactions Act of 2023 (checked October 28, 2026)
This guide is general information. Platform rules, studio rates and Holo prices change, so confirm them before you shoot, book or pay.
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