Amazon Image Requirements by Category: The Complete Guide

Rules That Depend on What You Sell

Amazon's general image requirements include a pure white background on the main image, 500 to 10,000 pixels on the longest side, the product filling most of the frame. Specified product types have exceptions. (Amazon Product image guide) The Amazon image requirements guide covers those.

Some categories add rules on top. Amazon publishes them as category style guides, and a few older copies are public on Amazon's own servers. This guide quotes four of them directly: clothing, shoes, jewelry and home (Amazon Product page style guides).

Read the dates. The guides quoted here are from 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2014. Amazon updates its style guides, and the current versions are in Seller Central (the last section below shows where). Treat this page as a map of what those rules look like, and check the current guide before you shoot.

This guide covers:

• Clothing and accessories
• Shoes
• Jewelry
• Home
• How to find the current guide for your category

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What the Guides Agree On

The guides repeat the core main image rules in their own words:

• Pure white background. The shoes guide: "RGB color values of 255, 255, 255; hex #FFFFFF" (Amazon shoes style guide (2019)).
• The actual product. The jewelry guide: the main image "must show the actual product (not a graphic or illustration)" (Amazon jewelry style guide (2014)).
• Only what the buyer receives. The shoes guide: "show ONLY the product that's for sale".
• No added text, logos or watermarks. The Home guide: "Images cannot include text, logos, or graphics". The shoes guide prohibits "images with text" and promotional text "such as 'sale' or 'free ship'"; the jewelry guide prohibits "borders, watermarks, inset images, logos, text, or other decorations" (Amazon Home image guide (2020)).

The differences are in how the product is presented: on a person or not, which angle, and how much of the frame it fills.

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Clothing & Accessories

Sources: Amazon, Seller Imaging Guidelines: Clothing & Accessories, Spring 2021, and Amazon's current Image guidelines for clothing help page. (Amazon clothing imaging guide (2021)).

The current help page adds a few main image rules the 2021 guide doesn't spell out: the image "Shows a frontal view of the product", has a "Minimum aspect ratio is close to 3:4 (width/height)", and must not show "Folded products" or "Distracting accessories (for example, large earrings, bags, or sunglasses)".

Who Wears It

The guide's main image requirements put it in two lines:

"All adult apparel should be imaged on-model." (Amazon clothing imaging guide (2021)).

"All kids, baby, accessories, multipacks & sets should be off-model."

"Off-model" in this guide means without a model: "flat or laydown". The guide shows kids' clothing, accessories and multipacks shot flat, "using pins, liner, or stuffing".

What the Main Image Must Not Contain

The guide's list of what a clothing main image must not contain includes:

• Visible mannequins and ghost mannequins. Its glossary adds: "mannequins are not allowed in product images." (Amazon clothing imaging guide (2021)).
• Child or baby models. "All kids & baby items must be off-model."
• Models kneeling, leaning, or lying down
• Gray backgrounds
• Food, drink, handbags, accessories, or props not included with the purchase
• Multiple product views in a single image
• Promotional text such as "sale" or "free shipping"
• Logos, text, graphics, or other badging not part of the product
• Packaging, brands, or swing tags

It also sets out images that are prohibited everywhere in the listing, not just the main image. That includes "shots of underwear, swimwear, or leotard products on child or baby models".

Other Main Image Rules in the Guide

• "MAIN images must be a single product, not stacks of images containing multiple products (except multipacks/sets)." (Amazon clothing imaging guide (2021)).
• "The product must fill at least 85% of the image area."
• "Visible hair should fall behind the shoulder and not cover any part of the product."
• "Amazon accepts JPEG (.jpg) and TIFF (.tif). JPEG is preferred."

What It Says About Non-Compliance

"FAILURE TO MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS MAY RESULT IN THE REMOVAL OF YOUR ASIN FROM SEARCH." (Amazon clothing imaging guide (2021)).

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Shoes

Sources: Amazon, Product image guide (current), and Category Style Guide: Shoes, 2019. (Amazon Product image guide; Amazon shoes style guide (2019)).

The Angle

Amazon's current Product image guide sets the angle for every shoe:

"Show a single shoe, facing left, at a 45-degree angle (applies to all footwear)." (Amazon Product image guide).

The 2019 shoes guide put it slightly differently: "MAIN image is to be photographed at a 3/4 view (approximately 40 degrees) from slightly above." An earlier version of this page followed the 2019 guide and called 45 degrees a mistake. The current help page says 45, and it is the newer source, so use 45 (Amazon shoes style guide (2019)).

One Shoe

"Only ONE shoe per product image, except for PAIR variant" (Amazon shoes style guide (2019)).

The pair belongs in a separate image with the PAIR variant code, not in the main image.

What Is Not Allowed

"NO mannequins, models, extra props, accessories or shoe boxes are allowed. No additional logos, watermarks or inset images." (Amazon shoes style guide (2019)).

Other Main Image Rules in the 2019 Guide

• "The product must fill at least 85% of the image area."
• "Images should be 1,000 pixels or larger in either height or width." (Amazon shoes style guide (2019)).
• "Product images should be in color, not black and white."
• "Product must have good depth of field, meaning the image is completely in focus."

What It Says About Non-Compliance

"Failure to meet those requirements will result in the suppression of your ASIN from search and could result in the suspension of your seller account." (Amazon shoes style guide (2019)).

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Jewelry

Source: Amazon, Category Style Guide: Jewelry, 2014. This is the oldest guide quoted here, so check the current version before relying on it. (Amazon jewelry style guide (2014)).

No Models

The guide lists as prohibited:

"Main images where products are shown on a mannequin or a model" (Amazon jewelry style guide (2014)).

Show jewelry being worn in your other images, not the main one.

Fill

"The product should occupy at least 80 percent of the image area." (Amazon jewelry style guide (2014)).

That is 80%, where the clothing and shoes guides say 85%.

Necklaces and Earrings

The guide gives specific framing for some pieces:

• Necklaces: the main image "is a shot of the necklace hanging, cropped to show only about the bottom 1/3 (like a smiley face)". This is one of the few places an Amazon guide asks for the product to be cropped (Amazon jewelry style guide (2014)).
• Earrings: "MAIN shots should show TWO earrings", and "Earrings should be positioned side by side for the MAIN image."
• Sets: "All pieces should be included in the MAIN image."

Other Images

"A white background is recommended, but not required. Additional images must not include logos or watermarks" (Amazon jewelry style guide (2014)).

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Home

Source: Amazon, Home Selection Image Guide, Q3 2020. (Amazon Home image guide (2020)).

General Image Requirements

The guide's list for every Home image:

• "Use a pure white background of 255 RGB" (Amazon Home image guide (2020)).
• "Product should fill at least 85% of the frame"
• "Do not crop the product"
• "Only show what is for sale in the product images; no props"
• "Do not include multiple views of the same product in a single image. Upload additional single images for these views"
• "Images cannot include text, logos, or graphics"
• "Images must be of the actual product. Cannot be designs or sketches of the item"
• "Color must accurately represent the product with a neutral white balance overall"

File Requirements

• "Images must be in JPEG, TIFF, PNG, or GIF file format" (Amazon Home image guide (2020)).
• "JPEG is preferred"
• "Color palette must be sRGB"
• "Image size must be a minimum of 2000 pixels and a maximum of 10,000 pixels per-side"

That minimum is the one to notice. Amazon's general floor is 500 pixels, with 1,000 for zoom. The Home guide asks for 2,000 pixels per side (Amazon Product image guide).

The Angle: 30 Degrees, Facing Right

The default main image:

"MAIN: All components included, set up in the configuration of primary use, positioned at a 30 degree angle facing right" (Amazon Home image guide (2020)).

That is the opposite direction from shoes, which face left. The guide then sets the main image by product type:

For chandeliers and pendants, the main image is shot "cropped in, not showing ceiling mount".

The Rest of the Image Set

The guide names what each image slot is for, including:

• PT01: the product "positioned straight at camera" (Amazon Home image guide (2020)).
• PT12: a scale image, "illustrating product dimensions through added rulers and measurements"
• PT88: a detail of the fabric or material, "with a minimum resolution of 500x500 pixels"
• EV01 and on: "A stylized image of the product in-use or occupying its intended environment"

What It Says About Non-Compliance

"Compliance is enforced through regular image auditing. Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in your product listing being removed from search" (Amazon Home image guide (2020)).

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Categories Not Covered Here

We could not find a public Amazon style guide for books, electronics, toys, beauty or pet supplies, so this guide says nothing about their category rules. Do not assume there are none: check the current list in Seller Central.

The general main image rules, subject to specified category and product-type exceptions, are: a pure white background, the actual product, and no added text, logos or graphics. See the text and logo rules and white background requirements (Amazon Product image guide; Amazon Image suppression).

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How to Find Your Category's Current Guide

1. Open Amazon's Product page style guides help page. It is public, and it points to the style guide table on the inventory file templates page
2. Find your category and download its guide
3. Check the date on the guide, and look for these sections: main image requirements, prohibited images, and any variant or alternate image codes (such as PAIR for shoes)
4. Compare it with Amazon's current Product image guide. Where a dated style guide and the current help page disagree, as they do on the shoe angle, the help page is the newer source

If a rule is unclear, open a case with Seller Support and ask for the current style guide for your category.

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Common Cross-Category Mistakes

Mistake #1: Shooting Clothing on a Mannequin

It is cheaper and faster than hiring a model, and it is on the "must not contain" list for clothing main images, ghost mannequins included. Adult apparel goes on a model; kids', baby, accessories and multipacks go flat (Amazon clothing imaging guide (2021)).

Mistake #2: Carrying One Category's Rule Into Another

A seller who shoots adult clothing on models puts a necklace on a model too. The jewelry guide prohibits exactly that. Each category's guide stands on its own (Amazon jewelry style guide (2014)).

Mistake #3: Facing the Wrong Way

Shoes face left; the Home guide's default main image faces right, at about 30 degrees. A studio that shoots both kinds of product with one setup will get one of them backwards (Amazon Product image guide; Amazon Home image guide (2020)).

Mistake #4: Showing the Pair

A pair of shoes, angled nicely, looks better than one. The shoes guide still asks for "Only ONE shoe" in the main image, the left one, toe pointing left. The pair has its own image slot (Amazon shoes style guide (2019)).

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How ComplianceKit Fits In

ComplianceKit checks background, product span, dimensions and format, and offers framing recommendations. It does not establish complete Amazon compliance. It does not know your category, so it cannot check category rules such as models, angles or mannequins. Check those against your category's current style guide.

For Home products, check the size too. ComplianceKit's size check uses Amazon's general 500 to 10,000 pixel range, and its fix outputs a square of 1,600 to 3,000 pixels. A fixed image can therefore come out below the Home guide's 2,000 pixel minimum, so check the output dimensions for Home listings (Amazon Product image guide; Amazon Home image guide (2020)).

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Summary: Key Takeaways

✅ Adult clothing: on a model, with no mannequins, visible or ghost (Spring 2021 guide) (Amazon clothing imaging guide (2021)).
✅ Kids, baby, accessories, multipacks and sets: off-model, shot flat
✅ Shoes: one shoe facing left at 45 degrees (current Product image guide), with no models or props (Amazon Product image guide; Amazon shoes style guide (2019)).
✅ Jewelry: no models or mannequins, at least 80% of the image area, and necklaces cropped to the bottom third (2014 guide) (Amazon jewelry style guide (2014)).
✅ Home: at least 2,000 px per side, sRGB, and a main image at about 30 degrees facing right for most furniture and kitchenware (Q3 2020 guide) (Amazon Home image guide (2020)).
✅ Other categories: no public guide found. Check Seller Central
✅ Dates matter: get the current guide from Seller Central under "Product page style guides" (Amazon Product page style guides).

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ComplianceKit checks background, product span, dimensions and format, and offers framing recommendations, free and with no account. It does not establish complete Amazon compliance.

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