Marketplaces love white backgrounds for a reason. On a search page full of thumbnails, a product on clean white looks like the same catalog as everything around it, shows its real shape and color, and doesn't distract from the price. Amazon requires it for the main image, and on Etsy, eBay and most other marketplaces it's a common choice for the first photo.
What marketplaces usually ask for
Rules change, and each marketplace and category has its own details, so check the current requirements in your seller account before uploading. These are the long-standing basics:
| Amazon (main image) | Etsy | |
|---|---|---|
| Background | Pure white, RGB 255, 255, 255 | Any; white is a popular choice for the first photo |
| Product size in frame | At least 85% of the image | No fixed rule; the first photo becomes the thumbnail |
| Resolution | At least 1,000 px on the longest side, so shoppers can zoom | Large, high-resolution photos; see the Seller Handbook |
| Extras | No text, logos, watermarks or props that aren't included | Lifestyle shots and props are fine |
| Format | JPEG is preferred | See the Seller Handbook |
Amazon's other images (not the main one) can show the product in use, with a background, scale or infographics. The pure white rule applies to the main image that appears in search results.
How to make a white background product photo
- Take the photo. Shoot in soft daylight near a window, with the product on a plain surface. Leave some empty space around it: you can crop later, but you can't add room that wasn't in the frame.
- Remove the background. Open the background remover and upload the photo (up to 20 MB). The AI finds the product and cuts out everything around it in a few seconds.
- Touch up the edges. Zoom in on the outline. Use the Erase brush to remove leftover pieces of background and the Restore brush to bring back parts the AI trimmed, such as a thin handle, a strap or a label edge.
- Set a white background. Switch the background from Transparent to a solid color. White (#FFFFFF, which is RGB 255, 255, 255) is the default. Make sure you didn't pick an off-white shade by accident.
- Download the PNG. The result is saved without a watermark.
- Crop to the marketplace format. Open the PNG in the crop tool and choose 1:1 for a square listing image, or 3:4, 4:3 or 4:5 if your marketplace uses another shape. Position the frame so the product takes up most of the image, at least 85% for an Amazon main image.
- Compress and convert. Run the image through the image compressor with the Light or Medium preset. A PNG with no transparency is re-encoded as JPG, which makes the file much smaller. Compression runs in your browser, and the photo isn't uploaded anywhere.
That's it. Before uploading, open the final file and check its pixel size: for Amazon zoom you need at least 1,000 px on the longest side.
Shooting tips that make the cutout cleaner
Contrast with the background. The AI separates a dark product from a light wall, or a light product from a dark table, much more easily than white sneakers on a white sheet. The background gets removed anyway, so choose it for contrast, not for looks.
Even, soft light. Harsh shadows that fall onto the product become part of its outline, and glare on glossy surfaces hides the edge. Daylight from a window, with a white sheet of paper on the opposite side as a reflector, works better than direct sun or a ceiling lamp.
Fill the frame, but not to the edge. If the product touches the edge of the photo, it will look cut off after cropping. Leave some room on every side.
Sharp source photo. Hold the phone steady or put it on a stack of books, and tap to focus on the product. A blurry original gives blurry edges, and no tool can fully fix that.
One product at a time. For the main image, shoot exactly what the buyer gets. Accessories that aren't included can confuse buyers and break marketplace rules.
Common mistakes
- Off-white instead of white. Shooting on white paper doesn't give pure white: the camera sees it as light gray or slightly warm. That's why it's better to remove the background and set #FFFFFF than to brighten the photo.
- Product too small. A small object in the middle of a big white square disappears in search thumbnails. Crop closer.
- Halo around the edges. A thin strip of the old background around the product looks dirty on white. Zoom in and clean it up with the Erase brush.
- Transparent and fine parts. Glass, mesh, fur and thin wires are the hardest areas for any AI cutout. Check them closely, and restore what was lost with the Restore brush.
- Text and badges on the main image. "Sale", "-30%" or a logo in the corner is fine on secondary images on many marketplaces, but not on Amazon's main image.
Free version, HD and limits
- Standard background removal is free with usage limits, and there's no watermark on the result. The current quota is shown in the editor.
- HD removal uses a premium engine that handles hair, fur and soft edges better. Signed-in users get 3 free HD removals; Premium includes 50 HD removals per day.
- Processing: background removal runs on Zebra's server. Cropping and compression run in your browser.
- Batches: the compressor takes one image at a time without an account, up to 5 at once when signed in and up to 15 with Premium. Several files download as one ZIP.
FAQ
How do I make a white background for a product photo for free?
What background color does Amazon require for the main image?
Does Etsy require a white background?
Should I save product photos as PNG or JPG?
Why does my white background look gray?
Make your first listing photo
Take a photo of the product by the window, then remove the background and set it to white in about a minute. Remove the background →
Want to keep the cutout for a design or a sticker? See how to make a transparent PNG, and for more on cutouts, how to remove the background from a photo.