How to Optimize your Amazon Product Photos
To become a successful private label seller on Amazon, not only do you need to offer good products, but you must also optimize your product page. While a listing should provide comprehensive product description, good photos, especially the main image play an important role in enticing customers to click in to your listing. Moreover, since consumers are unable to see, touch, smell, or trial products physically when shopping online as they do in brick and mortar stores, product photos become a crucial reference point for shoppers when making a purchase decision. Before diving into a photo shoot for your shiny new product, let’s dissect Amazon’s Product Image Requirements and also look at some technical tips for perfecting your photos!
Amazon Site Standards for Product Images
- The image must be the cover art or a professional photograph of the product being sold. Drawings or illustrations of the product are not allowed.
- The image must not contain gratuitous or confusing additional objects.
- The image must be in focus, professionally lit and photographed or scanned, with realistic color, and smooth edges.
- The full product must be in frame
- Backgrounds must be pure white (RGB 255,255,255).
- The image must not contain additional text, graphics, or inset images.
- Pornographic and offensive materials are not allowed.
In addition to the above basic requirements, Amazon also have stringent technical requirements. For more details, please check Product Image Requirements.
Technical Tips for Product Photography
Image Pixel Dimensions
According to Amazon US’s regulations, image pixel dimensions should be greater than 1000, but not exceeding 1500 [1]. Image with pixel higher than 1500 would be compressed to 1500 or below. However, if the photo is going to be used for packaging or will be printed out, it is highly recommended to have high pixel, even to 6000, to make sure the image will be clear enough.
On the other hand, Amazon UK requires images must have at least 1280 pixels on the longest side, 2560 or larger preferred [2]. For private label sellers who operate their business both on Amazon US and UK, it is important to note the difference of product photo requirements.
Product Image Size
While Amazon recommends that your product image fills at least 85% of the image, it is more practical to have the image as large as possible to fill the frame, as larger images allow customers to have better look at the products and higher likelihood of clicking on the listing.
Light and Shadows
Sufficient light is the key to great photography. Use natural light whenever possible, as artificial light is difficult to manage unless you are a seasoned photographer. If you are a beginner or have limited photography equipment, take advantage of natural light to produce great photos.
In addition, you also have to control the consistency of the light. Generally, photos shot under strong light would cause visible shadows and make them appear too sharp. On the contrary, photos shot under gentle light would be soft and comfortable to view. To have gentle light, you should avoid taking photos directly under the sun. Instead, shoot photos near a window or cover the window with white paper to diffuse the light.
For private label seller, sourcing a good product doesn’t mean that your job is completed. To make your photos more attractive, follow Amazon’s requirements as well as the aforementioned tips and make sure they are clear, in focus, display the real color, and on a white background!
Reference
[1] About Product Image Size
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200110380
[2] Product Image Size
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200121750
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