---
title: "Transparent background: meaning in product photography | Herofab"
description: "An image in which the area around the product is empty instead of white, so that whatever lies behind the image shows through."
url: https://herofab.app/glossary/transparent-background
language: en
updated: 2026-10-06
---

# Transparent background

An image in which the area around the product is empty instead of white, so that whatever lies behind the image shows through.

Also called **transparent PNG** · **no background**

![The terracotta bomber jacket as a ghost mannequin, cut out on pure white](https://herofab.app/img/ex/ghost-white-1100.webp)

Made with Herofab · Remove background

Transparency is stored in an extra channel of the file, the alpha channel, which records for every pixel how much of it is visible. PNG and WebP can carry that channel; JPEG cannot, and saving a transparent image as a JPEG fills the empty area with a solid colour, usually white or black.

A transparent product image can be placed on any colour, in a banner, a collage or a page with a tinted background, without a white box around it. For a marketplace main image the requirement is normally a white background and not a transparent one, so the same cut-out is exported twice: once transparent for design work and once on white for the listing.

Updated 5 October 2026

[Remove background](https://herofab.app/tools/background-remover) · [Cut-out image](https://herofab.app/glossary/cut-out) · [Pure white background](https://herofab.app/glossary/pure-white-background) · [All terms](https://herofab.app/glossary/)