Reviewed 30 September 2026 · quarterly cycle
How should I word a re-photograph request?
Name the angle, name the reason, and name the reference the angle will be compared against. A request that does all three is usually fulfilled in one exchange.
The evidence
Requests that fail are almost always vague about the angle. Asking for better photographs produces whatever the photographer considers better, which is frequently more of the same from a slightly different height. Naming the angle removes the interpretation: a side-on view at midsole height, or the garment laid flat and squared to the frame.
Naming the reason matters because it tells the photographer what to make visible. If the reason is a measurement concern, the photograph needs a reference in frame, such as a tape measure or a known object. If the reason is a construction concern, the photograph needs to be close enough that a stitch run is resolvable. The reason and the angle together determine whether the resulting image can answer the question.
Naming the reference is the step most people skip. A photograph is only evidence relative to something. For a variant question the reference is the label. For a fit question it is a tape measure. For a construction question it is the same location on the listing photograph. Saying which reference you will compare against tells the photographer what to include.
When this does not apply
Where the concern is a colour difference, no re-photograph request will settle it, because colour rendering varies with the fixture and the camera. The useful action for a colour question is to compare the item against the listing photograph rather than against your expectation of the colour name.