Amazon product photos. A guide to Amazon product photography.

14 Jan 2019

How You Are Seen Is How You Convert
When meeting someone for the first time, just one glance is enough to say a lot about that person, and perhaps even to give them a preliminary assessment. Does this sound familiar? The same is true for product photos. You need to think about them as your image. You are presenting your product to millions of potential customers, and you must do everything possible to make it 'spark' on the client–product line in a fraction of a second.

Amazon Main Product Image
This is the most important image of your listing. It is the only one displayed in search results on Amazon. Its task: to show professionalism, attract attention, and invite the customer further. All according to Amazon's guidelines.

Basic technical guidelines:

  • Dimensions: min. 1000 × 500 px, max. 10000 px

  • The background must be white (RGB 255,255,255)

  • The product should occupy at least 85% of the image area

  • Format: .JPEG (preferred), .TIFF, .GIF (no animations)

  • It is best to take photos on a shadowless table

  • Do not take photos with a phone on a white sheet

If you do not have professional equipment – hire an agency for the photos. It will pay off.

What should be included in the main image?

  • The entire product, photographed from the best angle.

  • No additional elements (packaging, lifestyle – that’s for additional photos).

  • Acceptable pictograms highlighting a feature, e.g., Alexa Compatible or crossed-out RFID, but not dominating.

  • You can add indicators of colour variants (e.g., T-shirts in different colours).

What should not be included in the main image?

  • Texts, watermarks, frames, duplicated shots

  • Amazon, Alexa, Prime logos, etc.

  • Markers like Amazon’s Choice, Best Seller

Fashion industry guidelines:

  • Models must stand (not sit, lie down, or kneel)

  • Underwear and swimwear for children – no models

  • Mannequins allowed only for socks and stockings

  • No nudity or sexual suggestions

Additional Amazon Photos
This is the place to showcase the product’s distinguishing features and relate them to bullet points.

Examples:

  • Logo stitched on the inside – show in the photo.

  • Designer packaging – show in the photo.

  • Hanger – show installed in the bathroom.

  • Wheel holder – show an organised garage.

The following are prohibited:

  • Photos unrelated to the product

  • Poor-quality photos

  • nudity, sexual connotations

  • Underwear/swimwear on child models

Amazon Swatch Photos
These are used to show colour or texture variations of the product in a listing with variations.

How many photos can be added?

  • 1 main photo

  • 8 additional photos

  • 1 swatch photo

How to upload photos to Amazon?

Manually:

  1. Seller Central → Inventory → Manage Inventory → Edit → Images

  2. Click the photo icons and upload files from your disk

File upload:

  1. Download the category file (Advanced) in Seller Central

  2. Paste the links into the columns: main_image_url, swatch_image_url, other_image_url1…

  3. Links must lead directly to the images (without passwords)

  4. Recommended hosting: Image Shack

  5. Upload the file via Upload Your Inventory File

  6. Wait from a few minutes to several hours for full visibility

Do you have any experiences regarding Amazon photos?
Share them in the Go2Market Community, by adding a comment below the article.

Happy Picture Making,
Go2Market Crew