A shirt with a customer photograph on it is the product most merchants build first, and the one that produces the most refunds. Almost none of those refunds are about printing. They are about what the customer uploaded, which is why the upload rules are the actual product here.
Build it
Place the frame
Draw the image layer at the size and shape you want printed. On a shirt, something smaller than you first think usually looks better.
Make it a field
In the layer’s Personalize tab, switch on Customers can change this, give it a Label like “Your photo”, and mark it Required to order so nobody buys a shirt with an empty frame.
Set the upload rules
A photo field follows your store’s upload rules. For rules of its own, open Upload rules and switch on Override store defaults. Then set Minimum DPI to warn on a soft photo, and Hard block under to refuse one outright. Set Max file size so a huge original does not fail silently. Under Customer photo, set Framing to a ratio matching your frame so the cropper cannot produce a shape that does not fit.
Choose the upload mode
Upload mode, under Upload and fit, decides how much control they get. Direct upload takes the file as it is. Crop & adjust lets them choose what matters in the photo. Reposition only keeps your framing and lets them nudge.
Write the help text
One line under the field, saying what a good photo looks like. This is the cheapest thing on the page and it does more than any other setting.
What each rule actually prevents
The distinction matters. Minimum DPI informs, and a determined shopper continues past it. Hard block under refuses. If you never want to print a photo below a certain quality, the second one is the setting you need.
Before you list it
Order one to yourself. A photo shirt is the product where a screen and a piece of fabric disagree most: colours sit differently, and detail that reads on a monitor does not survive a print at 40 centimetres.
Use Shopify’s test gateway for the print files, and one real order if you want to hold the thing.
Common questions
What DPI should I require?
It depends on your print size and your provider's own guidance. Start from what your provider asks for, and set the hard block a little below the warning.
Shoppers keep uploading screenshots.
Say so in the help text, and set a hard block. A screenshot of a photo is the single most common cause of a soft print.
Should I let them crop?
Usually yes. The shopper knows which part of the picture matters. Use Reposition only when your layout depends on exact framing.
Can they take a photo on their phone instead?
Yes. On a phone the upload button offers the camera next to the photo library. It is useful for a novelty product and rarely good enough for a large print.
The frame is empty on the proof.
The field was not required, so the shopper skipped it. A placeholder prints as a placeholder.
Next
Read a pet portrait, which is the same shape with harder photographs, or uploading a photo for the shopper’s side.