A method for determining a state of a tailgate (9) of a pickup vehicle (1) by a camera system (2), includes capturing a cargo bed (5) of the pickup vehicle (1) in an image (8) captured by a camera (3), determining a first region of interest (ROI1) in the captured image (8) by an electronic computing device (4) of the camera system (2), wherein the first region of interest (ROI1) includes the potential tailgate (9) at least partially, determining a parameter optically characterizing the tailgate (9) depending on the captured image (8), analyzing the first region of interest (ROI1) with regard to the characterizing parameter, and determining a closed state of the tailgate (9) as state or determining an opened state of the tailgate (9) as state depending on the analysis of the first region of interest (ROI1). A computer program product, an electronic computing device (4) as well as a camera system (2) are also disclosed.