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Amazon main image requirements: a practical checklist

9 November 2026 · 5 min read · By the Amavolo team

Your main image is the one shoppers see in search results, and it is the one Amazon checks most strictly. Get it wrong and the listing can be suppressed until you fix it. Here is what it has to pass, and how to check it yourself before you upload.

The core rules

These apply to the main image in most categories:

• Pure white background. That means RGB 255, 255, 255. Light grey or off-white (for example 250, 250, 250) is a common reason for a flag.
• The product fills most of the frame. Amazon asks for the product to take up about 85% of the image. A small product floating in a lot of white space looks weak in search and may not pass.
• Large enough to zoom. Zoom works when the longest side is at least 1,000 pixels. We work at 2,000 pixels or more, so the image stays sharp on large screens.
• A real photo of the actual product. No drawings, renders that change how the product looks, or placeholder images.
• Only what the customer gets. Props and accessories that are not in the box should not be in the main image.
• No added text or graphics. No logos added on top, badges such as "Best seller", watermarks, borders or colour blocks. A logo printed on the product itself is fine.
• The whole product, in focus. Not cropped at the edges, not blurry, not pixelated.
• Accepted file types. JPEG, TIFF, PNG or a non-animated GIF. JPEG is the usual choice.

Rules that change by category

Some categories add their own requirements. Clothing, shoes, jewellery and some others have specific rules on models, mannequins and angles. Media products such as books have their own cover rules. If you sell in one of these categories, read the style guide for it in Seller Central before you shoot.

The mistakes we see most

• A background that looks white but is not. Phone photos on white paper usually come out light grey once you measure them.
• Too much empty space around the product, often because the photo was framed for a website or social media.
• Text added to the main image, such as a discount, "new" or a feature list. That belongs in the secondary images and infographics.
• Bundled extras that are not included, added to make the product look bigger or more premium.
• Heavy editing that changes the product, such as a colour that no longer matches what arrives.

A two-minute check before you upload

1. Open the image in any editor with a colour picker and sample the four corners and the space next to the product. Every reading should be 255, 255, 255.
2. Draw a box around the product. It should cover roughly 85% of the longer side of the image.
3. Check the size: at least 1,000 pixels on the longest side, ideally 2,000 or more.
4. Look for anything that is not the product: text, badges, props, borders.
5. Zoom to 100% and check the edges of the product for halos or leftover background from cutting it out.

What about AI?

Amazon does not ban AI in listings, but the main image must be a real photo on a white background, and you are responsible for the product looking the way it really is. AI is far more useful in the secondary images: lifestyle scenes, backgrounds for infographics and A+ content, built around your real product photo.

Amazon updates these rules from time to time. Before you upload, check the current product image requirements in Seller Central. This article is a practical summary, not official guidance.