Glossary · Photography
Contact shadow
A contact shadow is the small, dark shadow right where a product touches the surface beneath it, which keeps a cut-out product from looking as if it is floating.
The term comes from studio photography and 3D rendering, where the darkening at the point of contact is called ambient occlusion. In real photos it appears naturally: the base of a bottle or the sole of a shoe is slightly darker where it meets the table.
It matters most after background removal. Cutting a product out removes its original shadow, and a product on flat white with no shadow at all can look pasted on. Amazon's rule, as published in its product image requirements, is about the background colour: pure white, RGB 255, 255, 255. Our source does not set a separate rule on shadows, so the practical approach is a shadow kept tight beneath the product, with the rest of the frame left at exact white. Walmart asks for seamless white 255/255/255 RGB.
Sellers overdo it more often than they forget it. A large drop shadow offset to one side looks like a graphic effect and turns a wide area of background grey. A grey floor gradient under the product does the same. A shadow that falls the opposite way to the lighting on the product looks fake. Mirror reflections can read as a second product.
In lifestyle scenes the contact point is the most common give-away of a composite: a product with no shadow where it meets a table or a floor looks like it is hovering.
In PicBarn's lifestyle scenes the surroundings are generated around the unchanged product, so check the point where the product meets the surface before you export.
See also
- Pure white background (RGB 255, 255, 255)A pure white background is one where every background pixel has the RGB value 255, 255, 255, the colour Amazon and Walmart require behind the product in the main image.
- Lifestyle imageA lifestyle image shows the product in use or in a real-looking setting, such as a kitchen, desk or garden, to show scale, context and who the product is for.
- Background removalBackground removal is the process of separating a product from everything behind it, producing a cut-out that can be placed on pure white or into a new scene.
Related
- Amazon main image rules: pure white background, 2000 px, and how to pass themThe Amazon main-image requirements in plain language — white background, product fill, size — and the fastest way to produce a compliant image plus lifestyle gallery shots.
- Scene library24 lifestyle scenes with real renders; light, camera and shadow preset per scene.
- AI product photography — lifestyle scenes from one photoPlace your product in a kitchen, living room, desk or outdoor scene. The product stays pixel-exact; the scene, light and shadows are generated around it.