Fringe-pattern profilometry (FPP) has been widely used for phase reconstruction. It involves the use of phase shifting for phase retrieval. Phase-shift errors can affect the accuracy of phase reconstruction, and limited studies have been dedicated to studying phase-shift errors due to experimental, human, or environmental factors. We propose a simple and yet accurate phase-shift estimation method. Our study shows that the method is able to accurately estimate the actual phase shifts used in the FPP technique. The proposed method can find its applications in FPP and other phase shifting-based three-dimensional imaging techniques.