1. The question each type answers
Each image type answers one question a shopper has. A packshot answers “what exactly is this?”: the product alone, evenly lit, with its colour and shape and nothing else. A flat lay answers “what does the whole piece look like?”: outline, length, print placement and front details, seen from directly above. A ghost mannequin answers “how does it hold its shape?”: neckline, shoulders and volume, as if worn, without a body in the frame.
An on-model image answers “how does it fit?”: length on the body, drape and proportion. A lifestyle or location image answers “where would I wear it?”: styling, mood and setting. For garments, flat lay and ghost mannequin are the two usual ways to make the packshot; for shoes, bags and accessories, the packshot is simply the product on its own.
2. Flat lay or ghost mannequin
Zalando accepts both as a primary packshot for apparel: the background is white, the article is not cropped, the front is recognisable, and an invisible mannequin is used or it is a laid-down shot. A packshot with a visible mannequin or a visible hanger, or one without the inner back view, is not accepted, and a folded apparel article counts only as an additional view.
The garment decides between them. A flat lay suits pieces whose interest sits on the surface — prints, graphics, pocket layout — and soft items with little structure of their own, such as T-shirts or scarves. A ghost mannequin suits pieces defined by their shape: tailored jackets, coats, collared knitwear, dresses with a fitted waist. Whichever you choose, keep it for the whole collection, so the category grid reads as one set.
3. The first slot: on a model or on its own
The first image carries the strictest rules, and the marketplaces do not agree on which type belongs there. Amazon’s clothing guidelines say adult clothing main images must be photographed on a model, on pure white, with no visible mannequin, hanger or holder and no folded product. Children’s and baby undergarments, leotards, swimwear and similar form-fitting items are the reverse: they must be displayed without models, and accessories are not photographed on models.
Google Merchant Center asks for clothing to be shown worn by people, and for shoes, handbags and accessories to appear alone in the main image and on a model in additional images. On Zalando, the first image of an apparel article, the catalogue view, is either a primary packshot or a front crop that shows the article on a model from the front. A model view on a white background can only be an additional view there — grey #F1F1F1 is the recommended background — and Zalando’s guidelines state that a compliant model view must have been photographed with a real person.
4. The next slots: back, detail and fit
After the first image the rules relax, and the types start to complement each other. Amazon describes alternate images as views that clarify use, detail, fabric or cut, and accepts up to eight of them for each parent or child SKU. Zalando requires three compliant images for most apparel — the catalogue view and two further images — and permits cropping, styling and ambient views among the additional ones.
A practical order: the first image as the marketplace requires, then the other main view — the worn view if the first shows the product alone, the product-only view if the first shows a model — then the back, then a close-up of fabric, a label or a fastening. On Amazon this places a ghost mannequin or flat lay after the model; on Zalando with a packshot first, the model follows the packshot.
5. Lifestyle and location images: context, after the catalogue
Lifestyle and location images show the garment in a setting and set a mood, which makes them weak as a first image and useful further along. On Zalando, a model view that is an ambient or lifestyle image, features furniture or stage props, or has a patterned background is classed as non-compliant and can only be used as an additional view.
Google Merchant Center accepts staged or lifestyle images that clearly show the product, and has a separate attribute for them: lifestyle_image_link, used to show the product in a real-world context, such as clothing worn by a model. Up to five lifestyle images can be submitted per product, and they can be shown in free listings.
Checklist
- Check each marketplace’s first-image rule before the shoot: a model for adult clothing on Amazon, a packshot or a front crop on Zalando.
- One product-only style per collection: flat lay or ghost mannequin, not a mix.
- Product-only views on white, with no visible hanger or mannequin and nothing folded.
- The back and a close-up of fabric or a label as separate images.
- Lifestyle and location images after the catalogue view, never in its place.
Sources
- Zalando Partner University — Image guidelines
- Amazon Seller Central — Image guidelines for clothing
- Google Merchant Center Help — Image link [image_link]
- Google Merchant Center Help — Lifestyle image link [lifestyle_image_link]
Checked 26 September 2026. Rules change; the official pages are the final reference.