Packshot
A packshot is a plain studio photograph of a product, or its pack, on a clean background, usually white, with nothing else in the frame.
- Pack shot
What it means
In some trades a packshot is a photo of the product in its packaging. More often it means any clean photo of the product on its own: evenly lit, sharp, against white, with no props and no setting.
It suits a main image, and Google describes one without using the word. For the image link, its best practices suggest “a clear view of the main product being sold”, framed so that it takes up “no less than 75%, but not more than 90%, of the full image”.1 For product markup on a web page, “Pictures clearly showing the product (for example, against a white background) are preferred.”2
Packaged goods need one extra care. Google asks that a picture of a product in its original packaging shows “multi-dimensional product packaging and not just the front of the packaging”.1
Think of it like this
A packshot is the product’s passport photo: plain background, even light, nothing else in the frame and no attempt to be interesting. Its only job is to show exactly what the thing is.
For example
A supplier sends two photos of a Brackmore kettle: one alone on white, filling most of the frame, and one on a worktop in a sunlit kitchen. The first is a packshot and goes in as the main image. The second is a lifestyle image and joins the additional images.
Why it matters
A packshot works everywhere: on the product page, in a category grid, and on channels whose guidance prefers a plain background. A supplier who sends only styled photographs leaves you without a main image that meets that guidance.
Not to be confused with
A packshot is different from a lifestyle image. The packshot shows the product alone, so a shopper can see exactly what it is. The lifestyle image shows it in use or in a room, so they can picture owning it.
Sources
- Google Merchant Center Help. Image link [image_link].
- Google Search Central. Merchant listing (Product, Offer) structured data.