White background product photos: a true white that passes Amazon's check

A pure white background for a main image means every background pixel reads RGB 255, 255, 255, which Amazon and Walmart both ask for, and a photo shot on white paper almost never gets there because of grey corners, shadows and colour tints. The reliable way to a true white is to cut the product out cleanly and place it on pure white, keep any shadow soft and close, fill about 85% of the frame, and check the corners with a colour picker before upload.

"Pure white" sounds simple until a main image is rejected for not being white enough. A photo taken on a white sheet looks white to the eye, but a camera records the light falling off towards the corners, the faint grey of a shadow, and a warm or cool tint from the room. Amazon and Walmart ask for the background to be white in the strict sense: every background pixel at full brightness in red, green and blue, written as RGB 255, 255, 255.

This guide covers why near-white fails, how to cut a product out without losing its edges, shadows, how much of the frame the product should fill, and how to check the white before you upload.

Why does a near-white background fail Amazon's check?

A near-white background fails because to a checker 250, 250, 250 is a very light grey, although on screen it looks the same as 255, 255, 255. A photo shot on white paper often has:

• Grey corners, where the light falls off.
• A grey gradient behind the product, from its shadow.
• A colour tint: warm from room lights, blue from shade, green from fluorescent tubes.
• Uneven patches, from creases or a join in the paper.

Each of those is "near-white", and near-white is not what the rule asks for. Amazon's staff list "Pure white background (RGB 255,255,255)" as a requirement of the main image, and Walmart's guidelines ask for the same 255, 255, 255.

The reliable way to a true white is not a better sheet of paper. It is to cut the product out of its background and place it on white. That also means every main image in your catalogue gets exactly the same white, which makes a shop or a search page of your products look consistent.

How do you shoot a product for a clean cut-out?

A good cut-out starts with a photo that makes the edges easy to find:

• A background that contrasts with the product. Light grey behind a white product, white behind a dark one. The background is replaced, so it only has to separate cleanly.
• Soft, even light from the side, with a white card filling the shadows. Hard shadows merge with dark edges and confuse a cut-out.
• The product sharp edge to edge. A soft edge cuts out soft.
• The whole product in the frame, with room round it. A handle cut off by the frame cannot be restored.

Our guide on how to take product photos at home covers the set-up in detail.

How do you cut out a product without losing its edges?

Cut a product out by hand for exact edges or automatically for speed, and check the difficult edges at full size either way. There are two ways to cut a product out:

• By hand, tracing the outline with a pen or path tool in a photo editor. Slow, but exact, and the right choice for products with straight edges and precise shapes.
• Automatically, with a background removal tool. Fast, and very good on most products, but worth checking at full size every time.

Whichever you use, check the difficult edges:

The most common cut-out fault is a halo: a thin line of the old background round the product. It is invisible at small size and obvious when a shopper zooms in. Check the edges at 100% before you save.

Can a white background product photo have a shadow?

Yes, a soft one. Amazon's and Walmart's main image rules govern the background, the product and anything added; they do not ban a shadow. Many main images carry a soft shadow under the product, which keeps it from looking like a sticker.

If you add or keep a shadow:

• Keep it soft and close to the product, directly under it, where a real shadow would fall.
• Keep the rest of the background pure white, all the way to the edges.
• Avoid a reflection or a floor line. They read as a surface rather than a white background.

If you are unsure, a clean cut-out with no shadow is the safest main image.

How much of the frame should the product fill on white?

Amazon asks for the product to fill 85% or more of the frame. eBay's photo tips suggest 80 to 90%, and eBay asks for "a plain, uncluttered backdrop to make your item stand out". In practice:

• Square images suit every marketplace and every slot.
• The product's longest side reaches about 85% to 90% of the image, centred.
• The margin is even on the long side, so the product sits in the middle.
• Tall or wide products fill the frame in their long direction, with more white on the short sides. That is expected.

A product that is small in the frame looks small in search results and loses detail on zoom. A product touching the edge looks cramped and can be cut off by thumbnail crops.

What size should a white background main image be?

A square of 2,000 to 2,500 pixels, saved as a high-quality JPEG, meets both Amazon's and Walmart's size figures. Amazon accepts main images from 500 to 10,000 pixels on the longest side and prefers images over 1,000 pixels so shoppers can zoom; it prefers JPEG. Walmart recommends 2,200 pixels square, with 1,500 as the minimum for zoom, and files of 5MB or less.

Can you add anything to a white background main image?

No. The white background is half of Amazon's main image rule; the other half is that nothing is added: no text, graphics or watermarks, no illustration in place of the product, and no props that are not included in the purchase. A seller on Amazon's forums describes a main image rejected again and again for containing text, and accepted once the text was removed.

Google Shopping applies a similar rule to the main image in product feeds: promotional overlays and text covering the product are not allowed. If your Shopify store feeds Google Shopping, the same clean white image works there too.

Should the main image show the product or its box?

Show the product if the shopper uses it out of the box, and the real packaging if the packaging is part of the product. Some products are bought for what is inside the box; others are bought as the box:

• If the shopper receives and uses the product out of the box, the product goes in the main image.
• If the packaging is part of the product, such as a gift set, a boxed game or a cosmetic sold in its carton, the packaging can lead, as long as it is the real packaging the shopper receives.

Either way, the main image shows only what is sold, on white.

How do you show sets, multipacks and variations on white?

Sets, multipacks and variations each need a main image that shows exactly what is sold:

• A set shows every piece, arranged so nothing hides another, still filling the frame.
• A multipack shows the number of items in the pack. A main image showing one bottle for a pack of three leaves the shopper guessing.
• Each colour or size gets a main image of that variation, taken with the same angle and light, so switching between them shows only the change.

How do you check a white background before upload?

Check a white background with any photo editor's colour picker before you upload:

1. Open it in any photo editor with a colour picker or eyedropper.
2. Sample the four corners and the middle of each edge. Each should read 255, 255, 255.
3. Sample the background close to the product, where shadows and halos sit.
4. Zoom to 100% round the edges and look for a fringe of the old background.
5. Check the fill: the product's longest side at about 85% or more of the image.
6. Check for anything added: text, badges, logos, borders.

A quick extra test: place the image on a pure white web page or document. If you can see the edge of the image against the page, the background is not pure white.

How do you keep the product's colour true on white?

A pure white background can make a product look darker by contrast. After the cut-out, check the product itself:

• Colours true to the product in daylight.
• No colour cast left from the room light.
• Detail kept in white and pale products, which can wash out against the background.

Correct the light on the product, not the background, so the product looks as it does in the hand.

What are the most common white background mistakes?

Grey corners, a halo and a product too small in the frame are the most common white background mistakes:

Which marketplaces do not need a white main image?

Etsy and Wayfair do not ask for a white main image. Etsy sets no background rule, and asks only for original photos of the real item; Wayfair recommends a mix of silhouette shots and room shots. On those, a styled first photo can work well. Even there, a clean white version is worth having: it is the image you need for Amazon and Walmart, for Google Shopping feeds, and for any marketplace you add later.

How Commicorn helps

• A pure white main image from your photo. The Hero shot cuts out your product and places it on pure white, filling the frame, as a square of 2,000 pixels or more.
• Your product's pixels, never redrawn. Only the light is corrected, read from your photo, so the product looks as it does in the hand. You can switch between the corrected light and your original light.
• Nothing added. The main image carries no words, badges or frames.

Commicorn makes a pure white main image from your photo. Start free.

Questions sellers ask

What RGB value is pure white for Amazon?

RGB 255, 255, 255, in every background pixel. Amazon's staff list "Pure white background (RGB 255,255,255)" as a requirement of the main image.

Does Walmart need a white background?

Yes, for the main image. Walmart's guidelines ask for pure white, 255, 255, 255, on a square image.

Can I shoot on white paper and skip the cut-out?

Rarely. White paper gives grey corners, shadows and colour tints that read below 255, so cutting the product out and placing it on pure white is the reliable way.

How do I check that my background is pure white?

Sample the four corners and the middle of each edge with a colour picker; each should read 255, 255, 255. Or place the image on a pure white page: if you can see its edge, the background is not pure white.

Does Etsy need a white background?

No. Etsy sets no background rule, and asks for original photos of the real item.