Photo change after upload to Etsy

[ModRebel_Mockups]

Why does the color on my photo look speckled and the shadows look painted on once I upload them to Etsy? How can I prevent this?

How can I prevent this from happening? is it something in my photography that I can fix? Something in the editing that makes this happen? I am taking super high quality photos, 240 dpi, 5000x3000, really nice camera. The images look amazing on my computer. I am selling mockup photos so this degradation cannot happen. Other ppl's stores have super clear images, im not understanding what im doing wrong. I have tried reducing the dpi and dimensions to what Etsy compresses the image to, which is 72 dpi and shortest side 2000px, 4:3 ratio. Anyone have any idea why this might be happening and how to prevent?

Degraded photo on Etsy. Zoomed in version:


Good version before I upload it to Etsy:

 

[IamSam]

Hello and welcome.

What is this artifact on your listing image?


I don't see this on your other images. Is this something you have added or has Etsy added this?

 

[thebestcpu]

Hu @ModRebel_Mockups
Attaching that original image to another post would help forum members analyze the exact image you uploaded to Etsy and not zoomed screenshots.
That said, it appears that the image version on Etsy is a much higher JPEG compressed image, lowering its quality.

That said, without seeing the original image until you post it, have you followed the recommendations in this Etsy link on how to upload to Etsy for the best possible outcome?:
Link to recommended ways for uploading images to Etsy

Sometimes, ensuring you have the exact pixel sizes they recommend in advance can help minimize the degradation on their end.
Those are just some of my quick thoughts.
John Wheeler

 

[kabak]

With a search on Etsy under ModRebelMockups

https://www.etsy.com/ca-fr/listing/1798394814/couleurs-confort-1717-maquette-vert-ile?click_key=cc79868b11c1f4a1c4ac5fc9e315fa3cc61f1b40%3A1798394814&click_sum=84f5ca54&ref=shop_home_active_1

 

[IamSam]

Just a quick professional note............all you and other "mockup" sellers are providing are PHOTOs for other sellers to use to display actual products like T-Shirts, with or without a design. The "Your design here" is really nothing more than a way of watermarking your images.

Note: Not that it's a problem and I know that there are many different kinds of mockups, but none of the many "mockup" sellers actually sell a true Photoshop PSD mockup like this store sells. When I see the word mockup, I think of PSD mockups.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in selling images/photos like this and I'm not criticizing!!!! What I am trying to point out is that you should never post images in your store that are not protected by watermarking! Anyone can download these non watermarked images and use them!! Defeats the purpose of your business.


Examples........






Think about it, you offer a 3000px x 3000px (plus) image on purchase. All images will have to be downsized to upload in most cases, so stealing these smaller images (1588px x 1192px) would be just as beneficial as paying for the full size.

 

[ModRebel_Mockups]

Hello and welcome.

What is this artifact on your listing image?
View attachment 147666

I don't see this on your other images. Is this something you have added or has Etsy added this?
View attachment 147667

Its a watermark its mine

 

[ModRebel_Mockups]

Just a quick professional note............all you and other "mockup" sellers are providing are PHOTOs for other sellers to use to display actual products like T-Shirts, with or without a design. The "Your design here" is really nothing more than a way of watermarking your images.

Note: Not that it's a problem and I know that there are many different kinds of mockups, but none of the many "mockup" sellers actually sell a true Photoshop PSD mockup like this store sells. When I see the word mockup, I think of PSD mockups.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in selling images/photos like this and I'm not criticizing!!!! What I am trying to point out is that you should never post images in your store that are not protected by watermarking! Anyone can download these non watermarked images and use them!! Defeats the purpose of your business.
View attachment 147673
View attachment 147679
Examples........
View attachment 147674
View attachment 147675

View attachment 147681
View attachment 147683

Think about it, you offer a 3000px x 3000px (plus) image on purchase. All images will have to be downsized to upload in most cases, so stealing these smaller images (1588px x 1192px) would be just as beneficial as paying for the full size.

Im aware of this. I dont care about the images ive posted in this listing. The listing is just for testing right now in trying to figure out how to fix the compression issue by making small changes and then looking at how they look on etsy. Those other photos arent anything im selling. They are just me trying diff shirt colors to see if its the color thats causing the issue. Appreciate your concern.

My real problem is the one I mentioned. Can anyone help me with that? The pixelation of the shirt making it look speckly.

Ive now discovered that its the color itself that is the problem. Wondering now if there are ways to edit it in photoshop that will reduce the compression artifacts that occur when I upload super saturated colors like the first pic.

I only need help w the first image. Ignore the others. Those are just for testing

 

[IamSam]

Im aware of this. I dont care about the images ive posted in this listing. The listing is just for testing right now in trying to figure out how to fix the compression issue by making small changes and then looking at how they look on etsy. Those other photos arent anything im selling. They are just me trying diff shirt colors to see if its the color thats causing the issue. Appreciate your concern.

Thanks for responding..............I was actually and genuinely concerned! Glad to hear it just testing!

 

[ModRebel_Mockups]

Hu @ModRebel_Mockups
Attaching that original image to another post would help forum members analyze the exact image you uploaded to Etsy and not zoomed screenshots.
That said, it appears that the image version on Etsy is a much higher JPEG compressed image, lowering its quality.

That said, without seeing the original image until you post it, have you followed the recommendations in this Etsy link on how to upload to Etsy for the best possible outcome?:
Link to recommended ways for uploading images to Etsy

Sometimes, ensuring you have the exact pixel sizes they recommend in advance can help minimize the degradation on their end.
Those are just some of my quick thoughts.
John Wheeler

Yes ive tried uploading in a bzillipn dimensions, dpis, ratios, all the same compression. Im thinking ots because the color is extremely saturated. I noticed if I change the color to less saturated colora it doesnt happen. Im wondering if there is a way to reduce these compression issues tho so i can still use tthis color.

 

[IamSam]

Ive now discovered that its the color itself that is the problem. Wondering now if there are ways to edit it in photoshop that will reduce the compression artifacts that occur when I upload super saturated colors like the first pic.

I only need help w the first image. Ignore the others. Those are just for testing

Im wondering if there is a way to reduce these compression issues tho so i can still use tthis color.

Have you talked to Etsy about this? Maybe some other Etsy shop owners? I don't know if there's a solution on your side. As long as the uploaded images are within the standards and requirements set by Etsy (I think you have done this) then there is not much else you can do. The saturation should not matter. This seems to be an issue with their compression.

It's hard for us to offer help unless we had a shop of our own to test.

 

[IamSam]

I have to ask to rule it out.........Are you using sRGB in your Ps color settings?

 

[ModRebel_Mockups]

here is the actual image file:

islandgreencomplete.png

drive.google.com

its srgb. etsy is compressing the image because of the color, because its so saturated, is what ive discovered. does anyone know anything about preemptively editing an image to reduce compression artifacts that present because of a saturated color?

 

[IamSam]

This is what I have found to be the purported best size for an item listing.

The Ultimate Guide to Etsy Specs in 2024: Image and Video Requirements

Discover the ultimate Etsy photo size guide to optimize your product listings. Our comprehensive spec guide covers dimensions, aspect ratios, file formats, and

soona.co

Converted full size sample image onto a smart object
Used free transform to resize to 800px x 1000px
I also exported in the save for web legacy to see if this would make a difference.



Test image 1


Test image 2 3000px x 2249px



If this is not what you are wanting, please let us know what the exact dimensions you want in WIDTH(px) and then HEIGHT(px)

 

[thebestcpu]

here is the actual image file:

islandgreencomplete.png

drive.google.com

its srgb. etsy is compressing the image because of the color, because its so saturated, is what ive discovered. does anyone know anything about preemptively editing an image to reduce compression artifacts that present because of a saturated color?

@IamSam beat me to the next post so my post has some similarities


Hi @ModRebel_Mockups
You do not have much control over how Etsy compresses your images, yet here are some steps that might be worth trying.
1) Downsize your image to the recommended size from within Photoshop, which for this step does not introduce compression, e.g., down to 2000 pixels to the largest edge size if for a listing image (or smaller for other Etsy images as they recommend)
2) Then use the Save for Web command to save as a JPEG targeting 1MB file size (see image below) and adding 0.3 blur). This extra step of adding a small amount of blur reduces the amount of detail in the image to a very small amount yet allows the compression algorithm to use a higher-quality setting, less compression and fewer artifacts.

If Etsy is true to its word, it should take your image as is and not compress it further. Yet I would not bet money on that, as Etsy is in the business of making money, and smaller, more compressed images do not require as many computer resources on its end.

3) You also need to make sure you check the box "Embed Color Profile" and also do not check the box for "Optimize" nor the "Progressive" check box.

Here are the images for the Save for Web settings:


Set everything as shown below (you have already downside the image in Photoshop) and how you set the drop-down of quality level won't matter due to the next steps





In the upper right corner, there is a drop-down to select Optimize to File size and click on that.


Then you put in 1000K (same as 1MB) and then click OK. This will adjust the quality level automatically for that given file size


Here is your image after Save for Web. You could take this file and upload it to Etsy and see how it looks to determine if this approach makes a difference
John Wheeler

 

[ModRebel_Mockups]

@IamSam beat me to the next post so my post has some similarities


Hi @ModRebel_Mockups
You do not have much control over how Etsy compresses your images, yet here are some steps that might be worth trying.
1) Downsize your image to the recommended size from within Photoshop, which for this step does not introduce compression, e.g., down to 2000 pixels to the largest edge size if for a listing image (or smaller for other Etsy images as they recommend)
2) Then use the Save for Web command to save as a JPEG targeting 1MB file size (see image below) and adding 0.3 blur). This extra step of adding a small amount of blur reduces the amount of detail in the image to a very small amount yet allows the compression algorithm to use a higher-quality setting, less compression and fewer artifacts.

If Etsy is true to its word, it should take your image as is and not compress it further. Yet I would not bet money on that, as Etsy is in the business of making money, and smaller, more compressed images do not require as many computer resources on its end.

3) You also need to make sure you check the box "Embed Color Profile" and also do not check the box for "Optimize" nor the "Progressive" check box.

Here are the images for the Save for Web settings:


Set everything as shown below (you have already downside the image in Photoshop) and how you set the drop-down of quality level won't matter due to the next steps


View attachment 147693


In the upper right corner, there is a drop-down to select Optimize to File size and click on that.
View attachment 147694

Then you put in 1000K (same as 1MB) and then click OK. This will adjust the quality level automatically for that given file size
View attachment 147695

Here is your image after Save for Web. You could take this file and upload it to Etsy and see how it looks to determine if this approach makes a difference
John Wheeler

View attachment 147698

I have pretty much done all that you did and suggested. I also uploaded your exact image and here is what it compressed to look like:

https://i.etsystatic.com/46154171/r/il/15fa95/6386535548/il_1588xN.6386535548_183x.jpg

same compression issues unfortunately.

here is a photo of another mockup that is super crisp and clear. so somehow people are uploading amazing quality images. i dont know what the secret is.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1731622072/comfort-colors-c1717-blue-jean-shirt?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=goldiemocks+blue+jean+1717&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&pro=1&bes=1&sts=1&dd=1&content_source=41121957d5d1b3f7d759cfe98d7ca78da6593543%253A1731622072&search_preloaded_img=1&organic_search_click=1

i actually bought this image just to see what her image dimensions and size were to try and copy them. this is the exact image she sent me:

GOLDIE MOCKS - Comfort Colors 1717 - GM013 Blue Jean - XLarge FR 1.jpg

drive.google.com

almost zero quality loss. i dont understand what im doing wrong im using the exact same camera as her even. almost the exact same camera settings ( i coped them from the tiff info). this image is about 3mb, jpg, 4:3 ratio, 240 dpi, and about 5000px is longest side. I even tried uploading it to my listing and it looks amazing. why does my image that is almost exactly the same get hyper compressed and hers does not?

 

[ModRebel_Mockups]

This is what I have found to be the purported best size for an item listing.

The Ultimate Guide to Etsy Specs in 2024: Image and Video Requirements

Discover the ultimate Etsy photo size guide to optimize your product listings. Our comprehensive spec guide covers dimensions, aspect ratios, file formats, and

soona.co

Converted full size sample image onto a smart object
Used free transform to resize to 800px x 1000px
I also exported in the save for web legacy to see if this would make a difference.

View attachment 147691

Test image 1
View attachment 147692

Test image 2 3000px x 2249px
View attachment 147696


If this is not what you are wanting, please let us know what the exact dimensions you want in WIDTH(px) and then HEIGHT(px)

ive already done this. same problem. i even uploaded your images and still sadly same problem with the speckling and painted on ness of the shadows. im wondering if maybe i took the photo with more light, then maybe more detail would show, and less would be compressed? thats my next attempt ill try tomorrow.

 

[ModRebel_Mockups]

thanks all for your attempts. i am super grateful anyone is helping me with this at all. ive been stuck for over a week now. feeling very sad about it

 

[thebestcpu]

Hi @ModRebel_Mockups
I can understand the frustration when a problem will not yield after a lot of work.
Part of the issue is that this is likely not a Photoshop issue yet but something specific to the Etsy image system.
Since you have followed all of the recommended steps by Etsy, it may be time to call their support folks for help
This website has many recommendations, yet not sure it's different than the info on the Etsy website:
https://www.gelato.com/blog/etsy-pr... these key points to,your file size under 1MB.

There is one thing I confirmed that you had already mentioned: your image was quite saturated. Offhand, it did not look very saturated, yet I plotted all of your image pixels into an App that plots the colors in 3D space along with the wiregrid limits of the sRGB color profile. As you can see, your image has many pixels smashed up against the edge of the color space. If nothing else, this does cause an issue with detail for those pixels at the edge:



Here is a plot of the image you say looks good. Note that in this case all of the pixels are well within the sRGB color space and not smashed up against the edge



Since you noted that when you backed off on saturation, much of the image problem disappeared, this may not be all of the problem, yet it very well could be part of it.

That is one limitation of the sRGB color space. I do not know if Etsy supports anything other than sRGB, yet the documentation suggests leaving it as sRGB.

For testing, you could shift the shirt's color to blue or a richer green and see if that makes a difference. I would do more, yet I do not have an Etsy account and have no expertise in that selling platform.

I hope this helps some. In addition to what you have posted on this Photoshop Gururs, I would encourage you to ask your questions on any forum that is more Etsy-focused.
John Wheeler