A beautiful scene featuring a product does not automatically make the image ready for selling. The product's shape, colour, logo, wording or included accessories may change in subtle ways. Accurate source materials and a clear brief make these errors easier to spot before publication.
Preparing for AI visualisation starts with a list of materials and rules: what must remain unchanged, which elements of the setting can be generated, and who will confirm that the result is accurate.
Specify where the image will be used: a product page, an advertisement, social media or a presentation of a future product.
For a live catalogue, the reference is the exact product the customer will receive. In an advertising scene, you can change the surroundings while preserving the product's essential properties. If the packaging or the product does not yet exist, identify the image as a concept and agree on its use separately.
List the required versions from the outset: SKUs, colours, capacities and package contents. Do not leave the supplier to identify these differences from similar-looking photographs.
Provide original files rather than only screenshots of product pages or images compressed by messaging apps. The photographs should clearly show the details that need to be preserved.
A useful set of source images includes:
Use consistent lighting, without filters or strong reflections over important details. An agreed physical sample or colour reference can help with colour assessment, but a single photograph cannot guarantee identical appearance on every screen.
If the brief requires an angle missing from the source images, first consider taking additional photographs. Generating a hidden side of a product calls for particularly careful checking: the model may add features that the product does not have.
Do not expect AI to reproduce small lettering accurately from a photograph of the packaging. Prepare approved label artwork, the logo, patterns and other design elements. Identify the version of each file and the product it belongs to.
If editable artwork is available, provide it alongside a version that can be viewed easily. Specify the label's dimensions, its position on the packaging and relevant surface properties such as curvature, transparency or texture.
Check label text against the approved original. Incorrect wording is best replaced using the original artwork during image editing. Repeated generation attempts are no substitute for checking the text.
If lettering is too small to read at the final display size, do not assume the image communicates that information. Where necessary, prepare a separate close-up or place verified information alongside the product on the page.
Separate the brief into product properties and scene properties.
Where the task allows, retain the product photograph as a separate layer and create the surroundings around it. This approach still needs checking: shadows, reflections and scale can make the scene look implausible.
Complete these points before work begins:
Hypothetical example: a company sells a 500 ml insulated bottle in two colours. The advertising scene may use a different background and surface beneath the bottle. The cap shape, colour of each variant, logo and markings must remain unchanged. A gift box is shown only in materials where it is actually included in the purchase.
Start with one approved image. It will help assess the approach to the product and its setting before the full series is prepared.
Compare the result with the source materials at an enlarged scale and then at the size of the intended placement.
Feedback such as "it looks wrong" is difficult to act on. "The cap is taller and the logo has shifted relative to the seam" gives the supplier a clear task.
A website, an advertising placement and a product feed may have different requirements. For example, a primary image in Google Merchant Center needs to show the product being sold and avoid added promotional text and other prohibited overlays. Check the file against Google's product image requirements, as well as the banner layout.
Google Merchant Center requires images created using generative AI to contain metadata identifying their origin. Its guidance explains IPTC DigitalSourceType and the associated values; embedded metadata must not be removed. Check that it survives editing, compression and export, following Google's rules for AI-generated content. A caption on the page does not replace file metadata.
Name files so that the product and version are clear. Separate originals, working materials and images approved for publication. Keep a record linking each SKU to its source materials and finished file.
If you would like our team to prepare product scenes, send these materials through our AI visual content and product mockups service page. The source files and intended use provide a basis for agreeing on the approach, deliverables and review process.
The main acceptance criterion is that the image accurately represents the agreed product and suits the chosen placement. Assess an impressive setting together with product accuracy.