How to add customer photos to your Shopify product pages
· By the Socialphotos team
Photos from real customers show shoppers how a product looks outside the studio: the fit on a different body, the size in a real room, the color in daylight. Shopify has no built-in section for customer photos on product pages, so there are three ways to add them, and they suit different stores.
In short: add a few photos yourself as product media, collect them with photo reviews if you also want star ratings, or use a product-page gallery that shows every customer photo tagged to the product, below your own product photos.
We build Socialphotos, a customer photo gallery (UGC gallery) app for Shopify. This guide covers all three ways and uses Socialphotos for the gallery steps.
Three ways to add customer photos
| Way | Where the photos show | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product media in Shopify | In the product's own image gallery, next to your product photos | A handful of photos on a few products | Customer photos mix with your studio shots, and you upload and order each one by hand |
| Photo reviews app | In the reviews section, attached to star ratings | Stores that want reviews and ratings anyway | Only customers who write a review can add a photo |
| Product-page gallery app | In a customer photos section, usually below the description | Stores with photos from uploads, Instagram, TikTok and more | You choose and tag the photos; nothing is published by itself |
1. Add them as product media
If you have only a few customer photos, you can add them to the product like any other image:
- In your Shopify admin, open Products and select the product.
- In the Media section, add the photo or drag it in.
- Drag it to where you want it among the product's images, then select Save.
This needs no app, but it doesn't scale. The photos sit among your product shots with nothing to say they came from a customer, and if one ends up first it becomes the product's main image in collections and search. Each photo has to be uploaded to each product it shows.
2. Collect photo reviews
Reviews apps such as Loox and Judge.me ask customers for a review after delivery, and let them attach photos. The photos then appear with the review on the product page. That works well if you want star ratings too. Customers who would share a photo but not write a review, and the photos customers post on Instagram or TikTok, stay out. Compare product reviews and customer photo galleries.
3. Add a customer photo gallery to your product pages
A product-page gallery is one section added to your product page template. Each product page then shows the customer photos tagged to that product, so you set it up once rather than product by product. With Socialphotos:
- Collect photos. Customers can use the upload button on your gallery, or an upload link you add to a post-purchase email, a message or a QR code, without an account. You can also add files you already have with Bulk Uploads, Instagram posts, tags, mentions and stories, and public TikTok posts by link.
- Tag the product. Under a photo, select Tag Product and choose the product shown. You can tag several products in one photo, such as a top and the leggings worn with it. A photo a customer uploads from a product page records which product they were on.
- Add the gallery to your product page. In the Shopify theme editor, open a product page, select Add block → Apps → UGC Product Gallery, place it (for example below the description), and save. There's nothing to fill in: each product page shows the photos tagged to that product.
- Match your store's look. Choose the layout, photos per row on desktop and mobile, colors and text in Socialphotos.
Shoppers can open a photo and go straight to the products tagged in it. Product galleries and product tags are on the Advanced and Premium plans; videos show on Premium. See the full setup steps.
Ask before you feature a photo
- Customers who upload a photo are sending it to you to share. Say how you'll use their photos in the upload terms shown on your upload form. For a photo found on Instagram or TikTok, ask the customer first, in a comment or a direct message, and keep their reply.
- Credit the customer where it fits, such as their Instagram handle.
- Pick photos that answer shoppers' questions: fit, size, color, and the product in use.
Frequently asked questions
Can I add customer photos to product pages without an app?
Yes, as product media, as in the first way above. It's manual, and the photos show in the product's own image gallery rather than in a separate customer photos section.
Do I need a reviews app to show customer photos?
No. A reviews app shows photos that come with a review. A customer photo gallery shows photos from any source you choose, and you can use both.
Do customers need an account to upload a photo?
Not with Socialphotos. Customers upload from your gallery or an upload link, and you review every photo before it appears.
Can I show customer videos on product pages?
Yes, on the Premium plan. Basic and Advanced show photos.
Start with your best-selling product
Tag a few strong customer photos to one product, add the UGC Product Gallery to your product page, and check it on your phone. Then tag more products as photos come in.
Add customer photos to your product pages
See a live gallery · Collect photos after purchase · Compare plans
