Rules and ethics
Part of Amazon product photography requirements UK sellers must follow
Amazon product photography requirements UK sellers must follow
Amazon.co.uk image rules for main and gallery images: white background, 1,600 pixel zoom, square ratio, and the copyright points UK sellers should settle first.
What to take away
- Amazon's main image must use a pure white background, RGB 255, 255, 255, with the product filling at least 85% of the frame.
- Amazon asks for a longest side of 1,600 pixels or more so shoppers can zoom in, and recommends a square aspect ratio.
- The same core specification applies on Amazon.co.uk as on other marketplaces, but each category style guide adds its own rules.
- Photographers own copyright in commissioned images unless the contract assigns it in writing.
The main image: pure white, product only
The white background rule catches out more UK sellers than any other. Amazon requires pure white, which means RGB 255, 255, 255. Off-white, cream and pale grey fail, even when they look white on your monitor.
Shoot on a white sweep, or shoot on grey and mask the background later. Amazon checks the delivered pixels, not your method. Uneven lighting, colour spill and heavy drop shadows are the usual causes of rejection.
The product should fill at least 85% of the frame, stay fully in shot and carry no props that are not part of the order. Text, borders, watermarks and badges belong in the gallery, not on the main image.
White-on-white is the hardest lighting problem here. Our guide to a product photography lighting setup explains how to separate a pale product from a pale background without clipping highlights.
If the same files run in paid social campaigns, the CAP code applies on top of Amazon's rules. Retouching that alters the product, rather than tidying the background, risks a misleading-claims complaint under the non-broadcast advertising code.
Size, pixels and the square ratio
Amazon's published guidance asks for at least 1,000 pixels on the longest side to switch on zoom, and recommends 1,600 pixels or more. Below 500 pixels, images look soft on large screens.
Keep files under 10MB and the longest side under 10,000 pixels. JPEG is the preferred format, though PNG, TIFF and GIF are accepted too. Save in sRGB unless your retouching workflow is built around CMYK.
Here are the numbers worth memorising:
| Specification | What Amazon asks for |
|---|---|
| Main image background | Pure white, RGB 255, 255, 255 |
| Product fill | At least 85% of the frame |
| Longest side | 1,000 px minimum for zoom, 1,600 px recommended |
| Aspect ratio | Square, 1:1 |
| File size and format | Under 10MB, JPEG preferred |
| Overlays | No text, logos, watermarks or borders on the main image |
Gallery images, video and people in shot
Gallery images carry the detail the main image cannot: scale shots, close-ups and packaging. Most categories allow several images plus a video, with the exact cap shown in Seller Central.
Keep lighting and colour consistent across the set so the listing does not look like a patchwork of three different shoots.
For apparel, the category style guide decides whether the garment must be on a model or can sit on a mannequin. A ghost mannequin product photography setup keeps the shape of knitwear and outerwear without hiding the fit.
Copyright is the other thread. Under section 11 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the photographer or studio owns the images unless your contract assigns copyright to you in writing, so settle ownership before the shoot.
Where people appear, the shots are personal data. You need a lawful basis and a record of consent that covers future marketing use, and the ICO's UK GDPR guidance and resources explains what a small business must document.
A checklist before you upload
- Export the main image with an RGB 255, 255, 255 background and check the value in your editing software, not by eye.
- Confirm the product fills at least 85% of the frame and nothing is cropped.
- Resize the longest side to 1,600 pixels or more, and keep the file under 10MB.
- Check the square 1:1 ratio matches your category style guide.
- Remove text, watermarks, borders and props that are not part of the product.
- Confirm in writing who owns the files, and keep model releases with the shoot paperwork.
Common questions
Does Amazon.co.uk have different image rules from amazon.com?
The core specification is shared, so a compliant file usually works on both. Category style guides, which sit in Seller Central for your marketplace, are where differences appear.
Can I use AI-generated or AI-edited images on a listing?
Listing images have to represent the product accurately. Whether a tool or a camera produced the pixels matters less than that test, so keep edits to background cleanup and lighting rather than reshaping the item.
How many images should a listing have?
Most categories allow a set number of gallery images plus a video, and the limit sits in Seller Central. Use the space for scale, detail and packaging shots that answer common pre-purchase questions.