7 min read · 18 April 2026
How to photograph Pokemon cards for grading (or pre-grading)
The single biggest determinant of a good pre-grade is photo quality. Get the photos right and the algorithm has clean inputs to work with. Get them wrong and even a perfect card looks borderline.
The four-shot setup we recommend
- Front, straight on. Camera dead-flat above the card. Frame the entire card with a small margin around it. Even, indirect light.
- Back, straight on. Same setup, flipped.
- Front, angled (~10°). Tilt the card slightly to catch raking light across the surface. This reveals surface scratches you can't see flat-on.
- Four corners, close-up. Get closer - fill the frame with the card. We zoom in to each corner during the defect review.
Lighting
- Indirect daylight by a window is best.
- Two soft lamps at 45° angles work indoors.
- Avoid the flash. Phone flash creates a hot spot that obscures the holo and breaks centring detection.
Background
A plain, contrasting background helps the algorithm find the card border:
- White A4 paper for dark cards.
- Dark mat for light-coloured cards.
- Avoid wooden desks, carpet, busy prints, glossy surfaces.
Phone settings
- Use the highest-quality JPEG / HEIC setting.
- Disable HDR if your phone exaggerates contrast.
- Hold the phone above the card, not at an angle. The straight-on shots must be straight.
- Tap to focus on the card, not the background.
Common mistakes
- Glare. Move the light or angle the card to reduce hot spots.
- Blur. Brace your elbows or use a small tripod.
- Cropped corners. Always leave a margin around the card.
- Shadow on one edge. Light from both sides, not one.
If you're using CPG
We validate every photo before accepting it: resolution, blur (Laplacian variance), brightness, glare, and card-in-frame detection. If a photo fails, we ask you to retake - and no credit is deducted until you have four good shots.