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PRODIGY LAB
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Brand guide · August 2026

The photo and video content standard: from the shoot to Shopify, social media and ads

One master file → every platform. How to build a product page that sells, and how to deliver assets so you never have to reshoot them for each new channel.

14shots in a page that sells
1 → 12master file and exports
≤15 MBvideo weight for the site
3kits at delivery
Section 01

A product page that sells

Shopify is not Amazon. Here the job of your photos isn't just to show the product — it's to overcome objections and lift conversion. Shoppers don't scroll for pretty pictures: every next screen has to answer a new question and move them closer to buying.

The typical mistake: 20 photos, 14 of which show the same thing. Bag on the grass, bag on the seat, bag in hand. The shopper gets no new information — and leaves.

The perfect 14-shot sequence

The order matters just as much as the content. It mirrors the logic of making a decision.

1

Hero — the main shot

  • Both products at once if it's a Bundle
  • Clean white background
  • "2-Pack Bundle" label
  • Both colors visible
→ Sells the offer, not the object
2

What's in the kit

  • A clean flat lay
  • 2 carriers + 2 bottles + accessories
  • A caption for every item
→ The buyer sees exactly what they're paying for
3

Lifestyle — a story

  • A family with two cats
  • Not "bags," but a scenario
  • The idea: "We travel together"
→ Sells emotion and belonging
4

In the car

  • Both carriers secured with belts
  • The green and the orange are visible
→ Explains why you need two
5

Size and scale

  • A cat sitting inside
  • A person beside it for scale
  • Captions: up to 25 lbs · +43% Expandable
→ Answers the "will it fit?" objection
6

Expandable: before / after

  • Closed → open
  • A cat lying inside, expanded
→ Shows how it works at a glance
7

Every benefit in one shot

  • Icon-based infographic
  • Metal Buckles · Locking Zippers · Charcoal Filter
  • 360° Mesh · Bottle Included · Safety Belt · Expandable
→ Dense information in a single swipe
8

Use cases

  • Collage: car, park, vet, airport, hotel
→ Shows versatility = more reasons to buy
9

Colors and configurations

  • Green
  • Orange
  • Green + Orange
→ This is the shot that's missing most often
10

Premium-quality details

  • Macro: zipper, stitching, handles
  • Mesh, carabiners, buckles
→ Quality has to come through the screen
11

Comparison with an ordinary carrier

  • Table: Ordinary | Set4Pets 2.0
  • Safety · Space · Comfort · Seat Belt · Bottle · Expandable
→ One of the strongest shots specifically on Shopify
12

Social proof

  • Photos of happy customers (UGC)
  • ★★★★★ and a review count
  • "Thousands of happy pet parents"
→ Answers the question of trust in the brand
13

Who this kit is for

  • ✔ Two Cats ✔ Couple ✔ Backup Carrier
  • ✔ Gift ✔ Foster Parents
→ Helps buyers recognize themselves in the scenario
14

The final emotional shot

  • A couple, two cats, sunset, car, the open road
  • No text or labels
→ The shopper pictures themselves as the owner

What to cut from the page

  • Several near-identical shots where the product just sits on the grass
  • Duplicates on the car seat
  • A photo of a person from behind — it adds no value
  • Similar shots of a person holding the product

They don't answer a single new question the buyer has.

What to add instead

  • A scale shot with a person and captions
  • A benefits infographic
  • A comparison table against a competitor
  • Every color option in the kit
  • Macros of details and hardware

The logic of the page: the buyer's 11 questions

Each shot answers exactly one question. If a shot doesn't answer one, it's dead weight.

  1. What am I buying?
  2. What's in the kit?
  3. Why this product?
  4. How big is it?
  5. How does it work?
  6. Why is it better than the competition?
  7. What does it look like in real life?
  8. What colors are there?
  9. How good is the quality of the details?
  10. Why can I trust the brand?
  11. Can I picture myself as the owner?
Section 02

Master file and exports

If you're building a brand for the long run, don't run separate shoots "for the site," "for Instagram," "for the brochure." You need one master file that every other version is derived from.

MASTER 7000 × 7000 px sRGB · 300 DPI · archive Shopify 3000 × 3000 · JPEG 85–90% Amazon 2000 × 2000 · white background Social Media 1080×1350 · 1080×1080 · 1080×1920 Email / Banners 1200 px · 2400×1200 · 2560×1440 Print from the master only · 300 DPI
Master file (archive)not published
Resolution
7000 × 7000 px
Color space
sRGB
Format
PNG / JPEG 100
Density
300 DPI
Compression
minimal
The shoot (source files)from the photographer
Format
RAW
Sensor resolution
45–60 MP
Color depth
14-bit
Capture profile
Adobe RGB
After editing
convert to sRGB

Export table

PlatformSizeFormat / note
Shopify3000 × 3000JPEG, quality 85–90%. Anything larger is pointless — it only adds page weight.
Amazon2000 × 2000A clean white background is mandatory
Instagram / Facebook post1080 × 1350Primary 4:5 format
Stories / Reels1080 × 19209:16
Facebook feed1200 × 1500 / 1080 × 10804:5 and square
Email1200 px wideJPEG, optimized weight
Site banners2400 × 1200 / 2560 × 1440Horizontal crops from the master
PrintMaster onlyNever upscale photos

Aspect ratios

Four standards cover practically every platform.

1:1
SquareShopify · FB · Pinterest
4:5
VerticalIG / FB feed
9:16
Stories / ReelsIG · TikTok · Shorts
16:9
BannerSite · YouTube
The single most important rule. Never crop tight. Leave at least 15–20% of free space around the product — then from one master file you can produce, with no loss, a square for Shopify, a vertical for Instagram, a horizontal banner, an email image and a catalog cover. It saves you from reshoots for every new platform and keeps one consistent style across all channels.
product ✓ 15–20% of breathing room around it product ✕ cropped tight — can't be reframed
Section 03

Video for the site

Many contractors hand over a beautiful 2–5 GB ProRes MOV and consider the job done. For a website that file is useless: half of all browsers simply won't open it, and the rest will take minutes to load it.

Source video is never used on the site directly. Footage shot on an iPhone, Sony or Canon is meant for editing, not for publishing. Before upload, every clip goes through export and optimization.
Master filearchive, not published
Format
ProRes / MOV / RAW
Quality
maximum
Purpose
editing and re-export
Web versionthis is what loads
Container / codec
MP4 · H.264
Resolution
1920 × 1080
Frame rate
24–30 fps
Bitrate
6–10 Mbps
Audio
remove if not needed
File weight
8–15 MB (max 20–25)
Social Mediavertical
Format
MP4 · H.264
Resolution
1080 × 1920
Frame rate
30 fps
Bitrate
8–12 Mbps
Ads and YouTubeseparate exports
Ads
1080 × 1920 · up to 30–60 sec
YouTube
1080p / 4K · higher bitrate
Codec
H.264

The difference in weight — visualized

Source MOV / ProRes on the site≈ 2 000 MB
Unoptimized export≈ 300 MB
A proper web version≈ 12 MB

A ~160× difference. And on screen the user won't see any difference at all.

Not acceptable

  • Uploading the original MOV to the site
  • Video weighing 300 MB, 800 MB or more
  • ProRes or RAW on the site
  • Codecs not supported by every browser
  • Uncompressed video

Why this is critical

Even on fast internet, the browser has to download the file, decode it, start playback — and load the rest of the page at the same time.

Heavy video slows loading, hurts the user experience, and directly damages your Core Web Vitals and SEO rankings.

The workflow

  1. Shoot at maximum quality
  2. Edit from the source files
  3. Color grading
  4. Export the master file to the archive
  5. Create the optimized version for the site
  6. Separate versions for social media and ads
Section 04 · August 2026

Content requirements for social media

Content is created once but used across every channel at once: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Pinterest, LinkedIn, X and email marketing. So your assets have to meet each platform's current requirements.

Photos

Primary format
Aspect ratio
4:5
Size
1080 × 1350
Where
IG / FB feed
Square
Aspect ratio
1:1
Size
1080 × 1080
Where
Shopify · FB · LinkedIn · Pinterest · Email
Vertical
Aspect ratio
9:16
Size
1080 × 1920
Where
Stories · Reels · TikTok · Shorts

4:5 takes up more room in the feed and usually drives better engagement — it's the default format.

Mandatory photo requirements

  • sRGB color space
  • JPEG no lower than 90%
  • No watermarks or frames
  • No excess text on the image
  • One consistent editing style across the whole series

Consistency across the series

Every photo on a single product page should share the same grading, contrast and temperature. Mismatched tone reads as "assembled from different sources" and erodes trust in the brand more than a shortage of shots does.

Video for social media

Publishing version
Format / codec
MP4 · H.264
Resolution
1080 × 1920
FPS
30
Bitrate
8–15 Mbps
Duration
15–45 sec optimal
Ads
up to 60 sec
Video cover
Separate image
yes, mandatory
Vertical
1080 × 1920
For the feed
1080 × 1350
Auto-frame
don't use

Safe zones for vertical video

The platform's interface covers the edges of the frame: the status bar and menu at the top, the caption, avatar and buttons at the bottom, reactions on the right.

250–300 px 350–450 px SAFE ZONE product · text · logo 60–80 px on the sides

Subtitles

  • Burned in (open captions), mandatory
  • Large readable font, high contrast
  • No closer than 350 px to the bottom edge

Logo

  • Small, in one consistent style
  • Doesn't cover the product
  • The same zone in every clip

The first 1–2 seconds

  • Long intros
  • A full-screen logo
  • A static first frame
  • A slow opening

The clip has to open on action or a strong visual element.

Export table by platform

PlatformFormatSize
Instagram Feed4:51080 × 1350
Instagram Stories9:161080 × 1920
Instagram Reels9:161080 × 1920
Facebook Feed4:51080 × 1350
Facebook Stories9:161080 × 1920
TikTok9:161080 × 1920
YouTube Shorts9:161080 × 1920
Pinterest2:3 or 4:51000 × 1500 / 1080 × 1350
LinkedIn4:5 or 1:11080 × 1350 / 1080 × 1080
X (Twitter)16:9 or 1:11600 × 900 / 1080 × 1080
Section 05

The universal rule: three kits at delivery

Every shoot ends with the handover of three sets of assets. This rules out re-editing, guarantees one consistent visual style, and lets you use a single content set across all channels.

Kit 01

Master

Maximum-quality source files for archive and print.

  • RAW · 45–60 MP · 14-bit
  • Photos 7000 × 7000 px, 300 DPI
  • Video ProRes / MOV
  • Never published
Kit 02

Web

Optimized for the site and Shopify: fast loading with no noticeable loss of quality.

  • Photos 3000 × 3000, JPEG 85–90%
  • Video MP4 H.264, 1920×1080
  • Clip weight 8–15 MB
  • Banners 2400 × 1200
Kit 03

Social Media

Publish-ready versions for every major platform.

  • Formats 4:5 · 1:1 · 9:16
  • Safe zones respected
  • Burned-in subtitles
  • Separate video covers

Asset acceptance checklist

ItemStandard
Master photos7000 × 7000 · sRGB · 300 DPI
Margin around the frame edges15–20%
Photos for Shopify3000 × 3000 · JPEG 85–90%
Consistent grading across the seriesyes
Video for the siteMP4 H.264 · 1080p · 6–10 Mbps · ≤15 MB
Video for social mediaMP4 H.264 · 1080×1920 · 30 fps · 8–15 Mbps
Video coversas separate files
Subtitlesburned in, ≥350 px from the bottom
Shots on the product page14, each answering its own question
Duplicates and "empty" shotsremoved
PRODIGY LAB

Want the same standard for your brand?

Prodigy Lab builds your content from the shoot to finished exports: a product page that sells, master files, site optimization and a full social media package — done once, for every channel.

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