Do I need a photo for every colour?

If the colours look different, yes. Google asks for a unique image for each variant and, for colour variants, an image that shows only one colour; Shopify and Etsy show the linked photo when a buyer selects a colour. Sizes that look the same can share one image.

Is a recoloured photo accurate enough to sell with?

Only once it has been checked. Compare each result with the fabric in that colour, in daylight, and replace any image whose colour, print or trims differ from the item that ships.

Product photos for every colour: one image per variant

1. One image per colour, not one image for all

Google Merchant Center asks for a unique image that represents the distinguishing details of each variant. Its own example is a couch sold in green and in blue: the green variant is submitted with an image of the green couch, the blue one with an image of the blue couch.

For variants based on colour, Google asks for only one variant per image, not a group shot of every colour. Variants that differ only by size and look the same may share one image.

2. How Shopify, Etsy and Google link a photo to a colour

Shopify lets you assign one image to each variant; when a customer selects that variant, the assigned image appears as the variant preview, and the rest of the product's media gallery stays available. Variants take still images only, not videos or 3D models.

Etsy lets you link photos to a variation when the listing varies on a visible attribute, such as colour. Buyers see the linked photo when they select that option. On a variation with more than 20 options, photos can be added for 20 of them.

Google Merchant Center treats each colour as a separate product, grouped by item_group_id: a T-shirt in 3 sizes and 3 colours is submitted as 9 products. The color attribute is expected on every product that varies by colour, and since May 2026 Google recommends giving it in the new variant_option attribute as well. The image link of each variant should match what its landing page shows.

3. Colour accuracy is part of the product description

Google asks sellers to match the image to the product being sold and to make sure it shows the correct colour, pattern and material. For an online buyer, the photo is the only colour reference: if the navy on screen arrives as a brighter blue, the difference shows at delivery, and a colour that differs from the photo gives the buyer a reason to send the item back.

Shoot in even daylight or under a neutral light source, set the white balance on a grey or white card rather than leaving it on auto, and export in sRGB so that browsers show the colour as intended.

4. Shoot one colour, generate the others

A full colour range means preparing, lighting and photographing the same garment again for each shade. A recoloured image keeps the pose, crop and light of the original, so the colours on a product page line up exactly.

Choose the source colour with care. A mid-tone usually shows seams, texture and folds best; black can hide stitching, and bright white can lose detail in the highlights. Decide also what must not change: a print, a contrast zip or a logo often stays the same across colourways, and the result has to reflect that.

5. Check every result against a fabric swatch

Before a generated colour goes live, hold the fabric in that colour — a swatch, a sample or the finished garment — next to the screen in daylight. Compare hue first, then depth and sheen: a satin and a jersey in the same dye look different, and the image has to show the one that ships.

Check the trims as well: buttons, zips, stitching and labels. Look at the image on a phone as well as on a monitor. A colour that does not match is regenerated or photographed, not published as a close guess.

6. Name files by colour, the same way everywhere

Use one colour name per variant and repeat it everywhere: in the variant, in the product data, on the page and in the file name. Google asks for the same colour in the product data as on the landing page; consistent file names make the right image easy to assign.

A pattern such as product-colour-view.jpg — for example linen-shirt-sage-front.jpg — sorts every colour of a product together. Use lowercase letters and hyphens, no spaces, and the colour name the customer sees rather than a supplier code.

Checklist

One image per colour, showing only that colour
Each colour image assigned to its variant in the shop
The same colour name in the variant, the product data and the file name
Every generated colour compared with the fabric in daylight
Print, trims and logos checked in each colourway

Sources

Checked 26 September 2026. Rules change; the official pages are the final reference.

One photo per colour, true to the fabric.