Choosing the right product image
The productImage is the single most important input for AI generation quality. This is the image the AI model uses to understand what your product looks like and render it into the customer’s photo. Choosing the right one makes a significant difference in output quality.
What makes a good product image
The ideal product image has:
- A clean, isolated background: white, transparent, or minimal. Most ecommerce platforms already have product photos shot on a plain background. These work best.
- The product clearly visible: no obstructions, overlapping items, or heavy styling
- Good lighting and resolution: the AI needs to clearly see the product’s shape, color, and texture
Most ecommerce stores already have product photos with isolated backgrounds as their primary image. If your store follows standard product photography practices, the featured image is usually the right choice.
What to avoid
| Avoid | Why |
|---|
| Product on a model | The AI may pick up the model as part of the product, leading to artifacts in the output |
| Busy room settings | A couch shown in a styled living room adds visual noise. The AI can’t cleanly separate the product from the background |
| Lifestyle shots | Photos with lots of props, decorations, or environmental context confuse the AI about what the actual product is |
| Collages or multi-angle shots | The AI expects a single, clear product view |
| Low resolution or cropped images | The AI needs enough detail to render the product convincingly |
A common mistake is using a lifestyle or in-context photo as the generation image. For example, using a photo of a sofa in a decorated room instead of a clean product shot. The AI works best when it can clearly isolate the product.
Examples
Good: isolated background
The product is clearly visible on a clean background. The AI can easily identify the product shape and render it into the customer’s space.
✅ Sofa on white background
✅ Lamp on transparent background
✅ Dress on a plain backdrop
✅ Chair with simple drop shadow on white
Bad: noisy context
The product blends into a scene, making it hard for the AI to separate it from the surroundings.
❌ Sofa in a fully decorated living room
❌ Lamp on a busy desk with books and plants
❌ Dress on a model walking down the street
❌ Chair at a dining table with place settings
WooCommerce: override generation image
If you’re using the Selektable WordPress plugin, you can override which image is used for AI generation on a per-product basis, without changing your product’s featured image or gallery.
- Open a product in the WordPress admin
- In the sidebar, find the Selektable Widget meta box
- Under Override Generation Image, click Select Image
- Choose the best product photo from your featured image and gallery images
- Save the product
The selected image will be used as productImage when the widget opens on that product page. If no override is set, the plugin uses the product’s featured image by default.
This is useful when your featured image is a lifestyle shot for marketing purposes but you have a clean product photo in your gallery that works better for AI generation.
Custom stores: passing the right image
For custom integrations, you control which image is passed as productImage in your Selektable.open() call:
Selektable.open('widget_abc123', {
productId: 'sofa-001',
productTitle: 'Modern Blue Sofa',
// Use the clean product photo for AI generation
productImage: 'https://myshop.com/images/sofa-isolated.jpg',
// The full gallery (including lifestyle shots) displayed in the widget
productImages: [
{ id: 1, src: 'https://myshop.com/images/sofa-isolated.jpg', alt: 'Product photo' },
{ id: 2, src: 'https://myshop.com/images/sofa-lifestyle.jpg', alt: 'In living room' },
{ id: 3, src: 'https://myshop.com/images/sofa-detail.jpg', alt: 'Fabric detail' }
]
});
productImage and productImages serve different purposes:
productImage: the single image sent to the AI for generation. Pick your cleanest product shot.productImages: the full gallery displayed in the widget UI for browsing.
Quick checklist
