Product photo sizes for Etsy, eBay, Amazon and Shopify
Small product photos cannot be zoomed and can lower a listing's quality. The sizes the big marketplaces recommend, why square works best, and how to prepare a set.
Published
Tools for this job: Crop Image · Resize Image · Compress Image
Shoppers cannot pick a product up, so they zoom. A listing photo that is too small cannot be zoomed, looks soft on a phone and makes a good product look cheap. Each marketplace publishes guidance; the numbers differ, but they point the same way: large, square or close to it, on a clean background.
What the platforms ask for
| Platform | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Amazon | Main image on pure white; at least 1000 px on the longest side for zoom; product filling about 85% of the frame |
| eBay | At least 500 px on the longest side; 1600 px recommended |
| Etsy | Large images, around 2000 px wide; thumbnails are cropped from the centre |
| Shopify | 2048 × 2048 px suggested for square product photos |
Platforms update these rules, so check the current seller help page before a big shoot. A safe default for all four is a square image of 2000 × 2000 pixels.
Why square works
Search results and category grids show products in square or near-square tiles. A tall photo gets letterboxed or cropped in the grid, and a wide one shrinks. Shooting with space around the product and cropping to a square keeps every listing consistent, which makes a shop look professional.
Prepare a set of photos
- Crop each photo to a square in Crop Image using the 1:1 preset. Leave a small, even margin around the product.
- Resize to 2000 pixels in Resize Image. Do not enlarge small photos; reshoot them instead, because enlarging adds blur, not detail.
- Compress in Compress Image at a high quality, around 85, as JPG. Each file should end up a few hundred kilobytes.
- Name the files descriptively, such as
oak-chopping-board-front.jpg.
A shot list that sells
- Main image: the whole product, straight on, clean background.
- Detail shots: texture, stitching, ports, labels.
- Scale shot: the product in a hand or next to a familiar object.
- In use: worn, held or in a room.
- Packaging or what is in the box, if that helps buyers decide.
Background and colour
Marketplaces that ask for a white main image mean pure white, not light grey. A window-lit table with a sheet of white card behind the product gets close; the rest is lighting. Keep colours true: if buyers receive a product that looks different from the photo, returns follow. Avoid filters on main images.
Keep the whole shop consistent
Buyers judge a shop by its grid as much as by any single photo. Shoot every product in the same spot, at the same time of day or under the same lamps, at the same distance, and crop them all with the same margin. Mixed backgrounds and lighting make a shop look like a jumble sale, even when each photo is fine on its own.
Before uploading
- Remove location data from photos taken at home; see removing location data from photos.
- Check each photo on a phone, where most shopping happens.
- Keep the original full-size files for future marketplaces with different rules.