Amazon product image requirements: the main image rules, and how to check yours
Updated · Stillhouse
The short answer
Amazon's main image must show the product alone on a pure white background (RGB 255, 255, 255), filling about 85% of the frame, with no text, logos, watermarks, badges or props. Images of at least 1,000 pixels on the longest side enable zoom. Secondary images may show the product in use, in a scene or with infographics.
The main image checklist
The main image is the one shown in search results, and it is the one Amazon is strictest about. These are the rules every current summary of Amazon's product image guidelines agrees on:
| Rule | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Pure white background | RGB 255, 255, 255 - not cream, not light grey, not a soft gradient. An eyedropper on the corners should read exactly 255. |
| The product fills ~85% of the frame | Crop tight. A small product floating in white space reads as a smaller product in search. |
| Only the product being sold | No props, no accessories that are not included, no second colourway. If it ships as a set, show the set. |
| No text, logos, watermarks or badges | Nothing laid over the image: no "best seller", no price, no border. Branding printed on the product itself is fine. |
| The whole product, in focus | Not cropped at the edges, not a close-up of a detail, realistically coloured and sharply lit. |
| 1,000 px or more on the longest side | This is the commonly cited threshold for Amazon's zoom. 2,000 px gives a noticeably better zoom. |
Secondary images have more room
Images after the first can show the product in use, in a lifestyle scene, at scale, with infographics or with text callouts. This is where AI product photography does most of its work on Amazon: the main image stays a clean cutout on white, and the scenes, model shots and detail frames go in the secondary slots.
Where sources disagree
Amazon's own image guidelines sit inside Seller Central and are updated without notice, and third-party summaries disagree on two points: the minimum pixel size (figures from 500 px to 1,600 px are quoted) and the maximum file size. Treat 1,000 px on the longest side as the floor and 2,000 px as the target, keep files under 10 MB, and check the current guidance in Seller Central before a large upload. Some categories - books, music and video among them - expect the product to fill the whole frame.
How to check a main image before you upload
- 01Sample the four corners and the edges with an eyedropper. Every reading should be exactly 255, 255, 255.
- 02Measure the product's bounding box against the frame. It should cover roughly 85% of the longer side.
- 03Check the longest side is at least 1,000 px, ideally 2,000 px.
- 04Look for anything laid over the image: text, a logo that is not on the product, a border, a shadow that changes the background colour.
- 05If the image was made with AI, compare it with the real product: shape, colour, label, and the number of parts in the box.
How Stillhouse builds an Amazon main image
Stillhouse makes the Amazon main image from your product's own cutout on pure white rather than generating a white scene, then checks it against the main-image rules - background, fill, overlays and size - before you download it. The scene, model and detail frames from the same shoot are cut to Amazon's secondary-image slots, and Etsy gets its own pack. See AI product photography for footwear for an example of the same product on a set.
Questions
Can the Amazon main image be AI-generated?
The main image has to show the actual product accurately on pure white. An image built from a real cutout of the product meets that more reliably than a fully generated one; whichever you use, compare it with the product you ship.
Does the background have to be exactly 255, 255, 255?
Yes, for the main image. Off-white, cream and light grey backgrounds are a common reason main images get flagged.
What size should Amazon product images be?
At least 1,000 px on the longest side so zoom works, and around 2,000 px for a sharper zoom. Square images display most consistently.