What Shoes Are These? How to Identify Shoes From a Picture

“What shoes are these?” has two answers, and most people stop at the first. The first is the model — an Air Force 1, a Samba, a 550. The second is the exact release: which colorway, which year, which collaboration. That second answer is the one you need to buy the same pair again, to price a pair you want to sell, or to know whether the pair in a listing is what it claims to be. A photo usually gets you the first. The label inside the shoe gets you the second.

1. Scan the pair

If you have the shoe in front of you, or a clear photo of it, the fastest route is a sneaker identifier app. Photograph the whole shoe from the side, in daylight, on a plain background — the side profile is where a sneaker’s identity lives: the shape of the sole, the panels, the logo placement, the collar height. Shoe Scanner reads that photo and returns the brand, model, colorway, category, materials and release year, with a condition grade and a resale estimate beside retail and market prices.

Treat the result as a strong lead, then confirm it with the label (step 3). Look-alike colorways, retro re-releases and collaborations can be close enough from the outside that only the code on the tag separates them.

2. Reverse image search

For a shoe you only have a picture of — a screenshot, a street photo, someone’s outfit — use a reverse image search such as Google Lens. On a computer, go to google.com, click the search-by-image icon and upload the picture. On Android, tap Google Lens in the Google app’s search bar, pick the photo or screenshot and drag the box around just the shoe. Then look through the visually similar results and the sites showing the same shoe. Crop tightly: the less of the person and the background in the frame, the better the matches.

Reverse image search is good at popular, widely photographed models and weak at old, rare or customized pairs. It will often give you the model and a few colorways that look alike; that’s your shortlist, not your answer.

3. Read the tag inside the tongue

This is the step that turns “some Jordans” into one exact pair. Most sneakers have a printed tag inside the tongue with the size in several systems, the country of manufacture and a style code — and the same code is printed on the label at the end of the box.

• Nike and Jordan: Nike’s format is xxxxxx-xxx, printed on the tag and the box — six characters, a dash, and three digits that change with the colorway. CW2288-111 is the Air Force 1 ’07 in white; CW2288-001 is the same shoe in black. Search the whole code, or type it into Nike’s own site search, and you get one release.
• adidas: an article number, on recent pairs two letters and four digits — FY2903 is the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 “Cinder” — usually on the label inside the tongue. Search it the same way.
• New Balance: the model code reads in parts. In M990GL6, M is men’s, 990 is the model, GL is the colorway and 6 the version (990v6); the kids’ version of the same pair starts GC instead.
• Other brands: look for the code that isn’t a size — usually near the size line on the tag, or on the box label beside the barcode — and search it with the brand name.

Nike also prints a date of manufacture on the tag, which helps tell an original release from a later re-release of the same colorway. If the tag has worn away, check the box label, the receipt or order email, or the listing the pair came from — the code is usually there too.

4. No tag? Read the shoe

Without a tag or a good photo match, describe the shoe in the words sellers use and search those. Work through it in order:

• Brand marks: the logo on the side, the tongue, the heel tab and the insole — and any text on the outsole.
• Silhouette: low, mid or high top; running, basketball, skate, court or lifestyle shape.
• Sole: flat cupsole or shaped running sole, visible air or foam units, the tread pattern underneath.
• Upper: leather, suede, canvas or mesh, and how the panels are laid out (a toe cap, overlays, perforations).
• Colors: the colors in the order the seller would list them — upper, accents, sole.

A search like “white leather low top sneaker green heel tab gum sole” narrows things fast, and image results let you check by eye. For rare, vintage or custom pairs, sneaker forums and communities that take ID requests are still the best tool: post a clear side photo, the sole and any text on the tag.

Once you know what they are

With the exact release named, three questions usually follow. What size? — read the tag; a photo can’t tell you. Are they real? — matching the code on the tag to the box and the listing is the first legit check, and our guide on how to tell if shoes are fake walks through the rest. What are they worth? — look up sold prices for that exact code in your size and condition, not the model in general; two colorways of the same model can be worlds apart.

Fastest

Scan a side-on photo of the pair

Only a picture

Reverse image search, cropped to the shoe

Exact release

Style code on the tongue tag or box label

No tag

Describe brand marks, silhouette, sole, upper, colors

Rare or custom

Sneaker communities that take ID requests

The takeaway

Identify in two steps: get the model from the picture, then get the exact release from the code. A scan or a reverse image search does the first in seconds; the tag inside the tongue does the second, and it’s the code — not the model name — that prices, verifies and finds a pair again.

At a glance

Ways to identify a shoe, fastest first

Method	Best for	What you get
Sneaker identifier app	A pair in hand or a clear side photo	Brand, model, colorway, year; condition and price estimate
Reverse image search	Screenshots and other people’s photos	Look-alike shoes and shopping matches
Style code on the tag	Pinning the exact release	Model and colorway in one code
Box label	Pairs that still have the box	Style code, size and colorway
Sneaker communities	Rare, vintage or custom pairs	Experienced human eyes

Frequently asked questions

How do I find the name of a shoe from a picture?

Scan a clear side-on photo with a sneaker identifier app, or use a reverse image search cropped to the shoe. Both usually name the model; to confirm the exact colorway, search the style code printed on the tag inside the tongue.

Where is the style code on Nike shoes?

Nike says it is on the shoe box or the tag — the label inside the tongue — in the format xxxxxx-xxx. CW2288-111 is the Air Force 1 ’07 in white; the last three digits change with the colorway.

Can Google Lens identify shoes?

Often, for popular models: it shows visually similar shoes and shopping results. It is weaker on old, rare or customized pairs and on look-alike colorways, where the style code on the tag is the reliable way to confirm.

What if the tag inside my shoe is worn off?

Check the box label, the order email or receipt, and the original listing — the style code is usually there too. Otherwise identify by eye: logo, silhouette, sole, upper materials and colors, then search those words.

Sources and further reading

1. Do Nike Shoes Have a Warranty? — Nike
2. Nike Air Force 1 '07 (style CW2288-111) — Nike
3. Search with an image on Google — Google Search Help
4. adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Cinder (style FY2903) — StockX

Links checked October 24, 2026.

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