Product photo rules for Amazon, Etsy, eBay and Shopify
Every marketplace wants a sharp, well-lit photo of the product, but the rules for the main image differ. Amazon is strict about a white background; Etsy welcomes lifestyle photos but crops thumbnails; eBay and Shopify sit in between. The main image matters most, because it is the one shoppers see in search results.
Main image rules at a glance
| Marketplace | Background | Size to aim for | Main image must not have |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Pure white (RGB 255, 255, 255) | At least 1000 px on the longest side for zoom; 2000 × 2000 works well | Text, logos, watermarks, borders, or props that aren’t included. The product should fill about 85% of the frame |
| Etsy | Any; lifestyle photos welcome | 2000 px or more on the shortest side | Anything important near the edges: search thumbnails are cropped |
| eBay | Plain, preferably white or light grey | At least 500 px on the longest side; 1600 px recommended | Borders, added text or artwork, or stock photos for used items |
| Shopify | Your choice; keep it the same across the store | 2048 × 2048 square | Mixed aspect ratios, which make collection pages look uneven |
These are the main points of each marketplace’s image policy at the time of writing. Policies change and some categories have extra rules (clothing, jewellery and books on Amazon, for example), so check the seller help page for your category before you shoot a whole catalogue.
Shooting at home
- Light: a large window with indirect daylight beats most cheap lights. Put the product side-on to the window and a sheet of white card on the other side to fill in the shadow.
- Background: a sheet of white paper or card curved from the table up the wall (a “sweep”) hides the line where the table meets the wall.
- Lens: use the phone’s main lens, not the ultra-wide. Step back and zoom 2× so the front of the product isn’t stretched. Tap to focus on the product, and lower the exposure slightly if white areas lose detail.
- Keep it steady: a small tripod or a stack of books stops blur in lower light.
- Clean the product. Dust and fingerprints show up far more at 2000 px than on your phone screen.
Getting a true white background
A photo of white paper is rarely pure white: it is light grey, often with a colour cast. Amazon checks main images for a white background. Two ways to get there:
- Replace the background. The Product Photo Studio cuts the product out and places it on pure white with an optional soft shadow, at marketplace sizes. Check the edges at full size; our guide to clean cut-out edges covers the common problems.
- Correct the exposure. If the shot is already on an evenly lit white sweep, Levels or White Balance can push the background to white without cutting anything out. This keeps the natural shadow, but only works when the background is evenly lit.
The rest of the listing
- After the main image, use the other slots for scale (the product in a hand or next to a familiar object), close-ups of details and texture, what comes in the box, and the product in use.
- Keep the same aspect ratio for every image in a listing, and similar framing across similar products.
- Save as a high-quality JPEG. Marketplaces recompress uploads, so starting from a clean file helps. See how to reduce file size if you hit an upload limit.
- Photograph the actual item for used or handmade goods. Buyers and marketplaces treat stock photos of a used item as misleading.