How to create a customer lookbook on Shopify
Updated · By the Socialphotos team
A customer lookbook is a page or section of your store that shows your products in real customers' lives: outfits they put together, rooms they furnished, the way they actually use what they bought. Shoppers see how products look and fit on people like them, and can shop the items in each photo.
Customer lookbook or brand lookbook?
Most Shopify lookbook guides describe a brand lookbook: a few styled photos from your own shoot, each with product hotspots. Many themes, including Dawn, have a "Shop the look" section for that, and there are apps built around it.
A customer lookbook is built from photos your customers take. It grows over time, needs a way to collect and choose photos, and usually has many more images than a brand shoot. This guide covers the customer version. You can run both: a brand lookbook for a new collection, and a customer lookbook that keeps filling up.
Where to put it
- Homepage: a carousel of customer photos below your hero.
- A dedicated page: for example "How you wear it", "Customer photos", or "Your homes", linked from your main menu.
- Product pages: each product showing the customer photos it appears in.
Step 1: Gather customer photos
Use whichever sources fit your customers. You don't need all of them.
- Instagram, by link: paste the link to any public Instagram post, from a customer, a creator, or your own account. No Instagram connection is needed. You can also connect your account to bring in posts you're tagged in, mentions, and hashtags. Instagram guide.
- Ask customers directly: many customers will share a photo but won't post it or write a review. Create an upload page and put its link in your post-purchase email, a message, or a QR code on your packaging. Customers send photos and videos without an account. Collect photos after purchase.
- Photos you already have: upload photos customers emailed you, or content from another app, in bulk. Moving from Cevoid? We migrate your photos, product tags, and galleries.
Get permission before featuring someone's photo, and remove it if they ask.
Step 2: Choose the photos
A lookbook works because it's curated. New uploads aren't published automatically; you pick the photos that show your products clearly and in context, and put them in the order you want. Start with enough photos to fill a row or two on desktop and mobile, then keep adding.
Step 3: Make it shoppable
Tag the products in each photo. Shoppers who open a photo see the tagged products and can go straight to them, and each product page can show the customer photos it's tagged in. Product tags and product-page galleries are on the Advanced and Premium plans.
Step 4: Add it to your theme
In the Shopify theme editor, add the Socialphotos gallery block to your homepage or lookbook page and save. Then choose a layout:
- Portrait carousel: tall cards that suit full-length outfit photos and vertical video.
- Horizontal carousel: a compact row for your homepage.
- Scrolling grid: a full lookbook page shoppers can keep scrolling.
You can set different layouts for desktop and mobile. Setup guide · Customize your gallery.
Examples
Fashion: "How you wear it"
Customers send outfit photos through a link in the order confirmation email. You feature full-length shots in a portrait carousel on the homepage, tag each item in the outfit, and each product page shows the photos it appears in. See a live example.
Home decor: "Your homes"
A QR code on the packing slip asks customers to share a photo once the piece is in place. You collect room photos on a dedicated "Your homes" page in a scrolling grid, and tag the furniture, lighting, or fabric in each room so shoppers can shop it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Instagram to create a customer lookbook?
No. You can collect photos with an upload link or add photos you already have. Instagram links are optional, and don't need an Instagram connection.
Which Socialphotos plan do I need?
Page galleries (a lookbook page or homepage section) are on every paid plan, starting with Basic. Product tags and product-page galleries need Advanced or Premium, and video display needs Premium. Plans and pricing.
Can I use my theme's "Shop the look" section instead?
For a few photos from your own shoot, yes. For a lookbook built from many customer photos that keeps growing, you need a way to collect and choose photos, which is what a customer gallery app does.