How do I get a pure white background for product photos?

Because the check reads pixel values, not appearance. Amazon's main-image rule is an exact value, RGB 255, 255, 255 (hex #FFFFFF), and a background that looks white on a laptop can measure slightly grey, cream or blue.

The usual causes are the room's light, the camera's white balance, uneven light on the backdrop, and JPEG compression, which adds faint noise near the product's edges. None of these shows in the viewfinder. Amazon also counts a shadow that runs to the edge of the image, or a line or border on any edge, as a non-white background.

Amazon requires pure white on the main image; the other big platforms recommend it or leave it to you.

The images after the main one are freer: Amazon allows a neutral or real-world background on them. The full Amazon rules are in Amazon's product image requirements.

1. Use diffused, even light from at least two sides, so no single light throws a hard shadow on the backdrop or the product.
2. Shoot on a continuous white paper or fabric backdrop, curved where it meets the table, so no line or fold shows.
3. Keep the product far enough in front of the backdrop that its shadow does not fall on the background behind it.
4. Expose the backdrop slightly brighter than the product, without losing detail on the product itself.

This gets close to pure white with the right lights and some practice, but it usually still needs a short edit to flatten the last shadow, gradient or colour cast.

Shoot the product on any plain surface, cut it out and put it on solid white. It works from one phone photo, needs no lights, and gives the same white on every product in the catalogue.

1. Remove the background: you get the product alone as a PNG with a transparent background. It is free on every paid plan and costs 3 credits on the free plan.
2. Place the cut-out on white with the free Image resizer, sized for your marketplace, and save it as JPEG.

Do not upload the transparent PNG itself where white is expected: Etsy shows transparent areas as black. Amazon also rejects edited images that leave grey or off-white patches, stray objects or an outline around the border.

Sample the corners and edges with an eyedropper, or run the file through the free Amazon image checker. Every sample should read 255, 255, 255.

The checker works in your browser. It reports how much of the image's edge is pure white and how much is near-white, whether the product or its shadow touches the edge, and how much of the image the product fills. Export at high JPEG quality, since heavy compression adds the faint noise that fails a strict check. When your screen and the numbers disagree, trust the numbers: an uncalibrated monitor can make off-white look pure.

• A grey shadow under the product that spreads to the edge of the image. Amazon allows minimal shadows around the product, not ones that reach the edge.
• An unevenly lit backdrop that reads as a gradient: brighter in the centre, darker at the edges.
• A colour cast from a warm bulb or a coloured wall, making the background faintly cream, yellow or blue.
• Leftovers from background removal: a grey halo, a soft semi-transparent edge, or a thin outline around the product.
• A border or line along any edge of the image.

Most of these come from trying to get everything right in one shot. It is usually easier to take a sharp, well-exposed photo and fix the background in a second, deliberate step.