Product photo terms, with the rules behind them.
Short definitions of the terms marketplaces use in their image rules, each with what Amazon, Zalando, Google Shopping and others actually require, linked to the official page.
AI image labelling
Marking an image as AI-generated or AI-edited, either visibly on the image or invisibly in its metadata, such as IPTC or C2PA.
4 · Zalando, Amazon, Google Shopping, TikTok Shop→Aspect ratio
The ratio of an image's width to its height, such as 1:1 for square or 3:4 for upright. Marketplaces fix it so listings line up in a grid.
6 · Walmart, TikTok Shop, Zalando, ABOUT YOU, Amazon, Trendyol→Colour variant images
Separate images for each colour of a product. Marketplaces link them to the colour choices on the listing.
4 · Amazon, Shopee→Cut-out image
A product image with the background removed, delivered on transparency or placed on a new plain background. In German, freigestellt.
4 · Galaxus, OTTO, Google Shopping, ABOUT YOU→Flat lay
A product photographed lying flat on a surface, from above. Some marketplaces require it for specific categories.
4 · Amazon, TikTok Shop→Ghost mannequin
A garment photographed as if worn, with the mannequin removed, so the clothing keeps its three-dimensional shape without a body or a visible mannequin.
3 · Amazon, TikTok Shop→HEIC
The image format iPhones use by default. It stores photos in smaller files than JPEG at similar quality, but not every marketplace or editor accepts it.
4 · eBay, Shopify, Amazon, Zalando→Image zoom
The marketplace feature that magnifies part of a product image on hover or tap. It only works when the image is large enough.
5 · Amazon, Kaufland, bol, Walmart, Mercado Livre→Lifestyle image
A product shown in use or in a real setting, such as a room, a street or a table, rather than on a plain background.
4 · Amazon, Google Shopping, Wayfair, Mercado Livre→Main image
The first image of a listing, the one shoppers see in search results and category pages. Marketplaces set their strictest image rules for it.
4 · Amazon, TikTok Shop, Google Shopping, Kaufland→On-model image
A product image in which the garment or accessory is worn by a person. Amazon requires it for the main image of adult clothing.
4 · Amazon, Google Shopping, Zalando, ABOUT YOU→Packshot
A product-only photo on a plain background, without a model or props. Zalando uses the term for its white-background product images.
3 · Zalando, Kaufland, Google Shopping→Product fill
How much of the image the product takes up, measured along its longest side. Amazon asks for 85%, Google Shopping for 75–90%.
5 · Amazon, Google Shopping, Mercado Livre, Kaufland→Pure white background
A background whose pixels are exactly RGB 255, 255, 255 (#FFFFFF). Amazon, Walmart and TikTok Shop require it for the main image.
4 · Amazon, Walmart, TikTok Shop, Zalando→sRGB colour space
The standard colour space of screens and the web. Images in other spaces, such as CMYK or Adobe RGB, can show the wrong colours on a marketplace.
3 · Zalando, OTTO, Amazon→Virtual try-on
Software that shows a garment on a person who was not photographed wearing it. For sellers, it turns a product photo into on-model images.
2 · Amazon, Zalando→Watermark
A logo, text or pattern placed over an image to mark ownership. Major marketplaces do not allow it on product images.
5 · Amazon, eBay, TikTok Shop, Google Shopping, Walmart→Your next collection, shot this week.
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