# How to edit product photos with Ideogram 4.5 Ideogram publishes a public search API over its indexed pages; the guide is at https://ideogram.ai/agents/agent-access. Source: https://ideogram.ai/blog/ideogram-4-5-product-photo-editing/ Source observed: 2026-11-03T18:36:59.312Z Last checked: 2026-11-08T15:45:23.275+00:00 Indexed: 2026-11-03T18:44:10.658+00:00 --- # How to edit product photos with Ideogram 4.5 **Workflow guide · Zeyad Genena · Oct 14, 2026 · Last updated Oct 14, 2026 · 12 min read** We show how to use [Ideogram 4.5](https://ideogram.ai/models/4.5/) to edit existing product images through focused, sequential instructions. The guide covers source preparation, tool selection, saved keyboard, running-shoe, and toaster demonstrations, reference images and masks, and quality review before export. ## About the examples These are saved demonstrations from our Ideogram 4.5 gallery. Each **Saved edit** or **Saved starting prompt** is the instruction recorded with the displayed image. The shoes and toaster begin from generated scenes; the keyboard begins from a supplied image whose capture history is not recorded. The sequences do not record settings, retries, or a customer production workflow. Use them to study edits and compare visible results. ## Prepare the source and choose the tool Start with the clearest image of the exact item. For a real product for sale, use its actual photograph. A generated concept can explore a design, but it cannot establish hardware shape or packaging text that was not visible in the source. Keep an untouched master. Before uploading, write a brief specifying: - the change required; - details that must remain unchanged; and - where the image will be used. Choose the workflow that matches the task: - **Precise Edit:** change an existing image with a focused instruction, optional masks, and guiding references. - **Image with Ideogram 4.5 selected:** combine visual references with an edit instruction. Selecting 4.5 explicitly keeps the model choice clear; Auto chooses a model. - **Studio:** assemble image and text layers, work through canvas versions, and prepare a layout. Its AI editing tools are separate from Precise Edit. To start Precise Edit, open an image and select **Edit**, or find **Precise Edit** in Apps. Put the main photo in **Image** and the instruction in **What should change?**. Choose **Quality** and **Number of images**, check the displayed cost, and select **Apply edit**. Precise Edit requires a paid plan or purchased credits. See our [editing guide](https://docs.ideogram.ai/edit/edit) for entry points. Start with one output while testing wording. Save a successful version before making another change. For a sequence, use the accepted result as the next input; for independent alternatives, return to one shared approved source. The saved gallery sequences do not include generation settings, so they are not recipes for reproducing identical pixels. ## Example 1: turn a keyboard image into a packshot and desk scene A keyboard tests product editing because its identity depends on small details: key count, sizes, legends, and accent colors. A desk scene is not useful if a modifier key disappears. ### First edit: replace the background while naming fragile details **Saved edit 1 prompt** > Turn this into a clean e-commerce packshot: rebuild the ENTIRE background edge to edge as one seamless pure white studio sweep with a soft natural contact shadow — no frame, border or tone step anywhere. Keep the product exactly as it is — shape, materials, lighting and every logo, label and letter on it unchanged — and fully in frame. Keep every keycap legend and colour exactly as they are. The displayed result has a pale cool backdrop rather than an exact pure white. If an exact white background is required, inspect the exported pixels and finish the background accordingly. Compare the case corners, space bar, and right-hand key cluster with the original at full size. For a transparent cutout, use [Background Remover](https://ideogram.ai/tools/background-remover/); background replacement and a transparent cutout are different deliverables. ### Second edit: change only the accent keys **Saved edit 2 prompt** > Change the orange keycaps to a deep teal, keeping every cream keycap, every legend and the white case. Keep everything else in the image exactly the same, including every logo and all text on the product. Naming “the orange keycaps” limits the recolor to that existing set and separates it from the cream keys and case. Read the legends, letters, numbers, and symbols at full size; preserving text in an instruction does not guarantee that every character remains correct. ### Third and fourth edits: build the lifestyle setting in stages **Saved edit 3 prompt** > Place the keyboard on a light oak desk with a white mouse and a small plant, seen from slightly above, real contact shadow. Same keyboard, same legends, large in frame. This changes the environment and viewpoint together. Inspect the case perspective and key rows because a new viewpoint requires reconstruction. **Saved edit 4 prompt** > Add a steaming cup of coffee on a coaster beside the keyboard. Keep everything else in the image exactly the same, including every logo and all text on the product. Compare edit 4 with edit 3. The keyboard should remain large enough for its intended placement, and the coffee should not hide its edges. If the prop crowds the layout, return to the desk version without losing the earlier edits. ## Example 2: separate a shoe’s colorway from its lighting This generated sequence starts with coral knit running shoes on a warm stone sweep. It separately changes the upper color, sole, backdrop, and lighting so you can distinguish product changes from scene and light changes. **Saved starting prompt** > Premium e-commerce campaign photograph, 16:9, shot on a medium-format camera, true-to-life materials and colour, soft natural shadows, crisp focus on the product, no text, no logos. A pair of knit running shoes with a chunky sole in neon coral knit, on a seamless paper sweep in a soft warm stone colour, gentle window light from the left. ### Change the knit color before changing the sole **Saved edit 1 prompt** > Change the product's colour and finish to slate-blue knit. The product keeps its exact shape, size, proportions, details and position; the camera, framing and everything not mentioned stay exactly the same. Review the knit openings, lace loops, and boundary between upper and sole. **Saved edit 2 prompt** > Change the white midsole to a translucent gum-brown sole. The product keeps its exact shape, size, proportions, details and position; the camera, framing and everything not mentioned stay exactly the same. The saved result reads as brown. Inspect closely whether it has the required translucency and construction; a material word in a prompt does not establish a manufacturable product. For a real range, branch every colorway from an approved source and keep its colorway name with the file. ### Change the sweep, then judge warmer light **Saved edit 3 prompt** > Change the backdrop sweep to a soft pale lilac. The product keeps its exact shape, size, proportions, details and position; the camera, framing and everything not mentioned stay exactly the same. Check the shoe edges for lilac spill and compare the upper with edit 2. If the background shifts the product color, return to the previous version and narrow the change or use a mask. **Saved edit 4 prompt** > Make it warm golden late-afternoon light from the left, with long soft shadows across the sweep — natural light only. The product keeps its exact shape, size, proportions, details and position; the camera, framing and everything not mentioned stay exactly the same. The final image warms both the shoes and scene. Neutral lighting is easier for comparing colorways; choose the version for its intended use. For recoloring a garment in an existing photo, use [Colorways](https://ideogram.ai/tools/colorways/). For fabric, pattern, or surface-reference changes, use [Material Swap](https://ideogram.ai/tools/material-swap/). ## Example 3: change styling around a toaster This generated breakfast scene begins with a mint toaster, blueberries, a cream towel, and rosemary. The edits build a red-and-strawberry direction one item at a time. **Saved starting prompt** > Premium e-commerce campaign photograph, 16:9, shot on a medium-format camera, true-to-life materials and colour, soft natural shadows, crisp focus on the product, no text, no logos. A retro two-slice toaster in pastel mint, in a bright, calm Scandinavian home setting with pale oak and linen, morning light. **Saved edit 1 prompt** > Change the product's colour and finish to cherry red. The product keeps its exact shape, size, proportions, details and position; the camera, framing and everything not mentioned stay exactly the same. Later prompts repeat “cherry-red finish” and “chrome details” while changing other scene elements. **Saved edit 2 prompt** > Change the blueberries in the bowl to fresh ripe strawberries, some halved, filling the same bowl. The toaster keeps its exact shape, cherry-red finish, chrome details and position; the camera, framing and everything not mentioned stay exactly the same. Check the bowl’s position and rim, fruit scale, and the toaster’s lever and slots. **Saved edit 3 prompt** > Replace the rosemary sprig with a small glass jar of strawberry jam and a butter knife resting beside it. The toaster keeps its exact shape, cherry-red finish, chrome details and position; the camera, framing and everything not mentioned stay exactly the same. Check contact with the counter, the knife’s shape, and whether either object is cut off. **Saved edit 4 prompt** > Change the cream linen towel to a red-and-white gingham tea towel, folded the same way. The toaster keeps its exact shape, cherry-red finish, chrome details and position; the camera, framing and everything not mentioned stay exactly the same. Inspect how the pattern follows the folds. The saved sequence continues with warmer light and a new camera angle in the [4.5 examples](https://ideogram.ai/models/4.5/#examples); edit 4 is already a useful stopping point for this styling brief. ## Use references and masks for a specific reason Use a reference when words leave an important detail ambiguous. A well-lit swatch can show the intended weave, finish, or repeat. Crop unrelated objects and specify which component uses the reference. In Precise Edit, put the main product in **Image** and additional guides in **References**. We support up to four guides without a mask, or three with a mask. A guide supplies visual information; it is not the image being edited. Use a mask when a part is difficult to identify in words or a previous instruction changed too much. Example instruction: > Apply the knit texture in the reference to the upper panels only. Keep the sole, laces, silhouette, position, and background. This is an adaptable starting instruction, not a quoted demonstration prompt. Check that reference lighting or background has not been copied into the product scene. The general Image app works differently: select 4.5 and attach up to five images in total. Use `@` mentions to explain each image’s role. With references attached, the prompt becomes an edit instruction and Magic Prompt is hidden. See our [reference-image guide](https://docs.ideogram.ai/create/reference-images). Keep this count separate from Precise Edit’s main-image-plus-guides fields. Save a separate branch before changing viewpoint or reconstructing a material. A new view can reveal areas the camera never recorded; compare it with additional product photographs before treating it as an accurate view of a real item. ## Review the result before the next edit or export Open the original and result at the same display size. Check the changed area first, then scan the rest of the product. - **Construction:** compare seams, fasteners, sole grooves, switches, handles, outlines, and repeated elements such as keyboard keys. - **Text:** read labels, legends, model numbers, and small symbols at full size. - **Color and finish:** compare under similar lighting; check metal and knit structure. - **Scene:** inspect contact shadows, reflections, edges, overlaps, perspective, and light direction. - **Delivery:** check dimensions, crop, file type, and background requirements in the downloaded file, not only the preview. | What you notice | What to try next | | --- | --- | | The whole product changes color | Name the component and its current color. Return to the approved source and mask that part if needed. | | Letters or small hardware change | Revert to the last acceptable version. Reduce the affected region and keep a close-up of the original beside the result. | | The product seems to float | Specify the supporting surface and contact shadow. Check that the scene’s light direction agrees with the product. | | The new background tints the product | Compare with the prior version. Restrict the background change or use a cutout workflow. | | A later edit loses a useful detail | Branch from the saved version that still has it. Avoid repairing several accumulated changes in one prompt. | ### Check resolution separately from visual quality A sharp preview does not show export dimensions. Whole-image edits can reduce a large source to fit the model’s rendering budget. Check the downloaded file before preparing a close crop or large-format layout. If your account offers an Edit Window, use it for a regional correction and inspect the assembled result. See the [4.5 regional-edit demonstration](https://ideogram.ai/models/4.5/#zoom-editing). Keep a neutral product version as well as the campaign treatment. Name exports with the product, variant, purpose, and approved version. ### Continue with the right next step Use [Studio](https://docs.ideogram.ai/edit/studio) for layouts or editable text. For a new concept from scratch, use the [Ideogram 4.0 JSON prompting guide](https://ideogram.ai/blog/ideogram-4-json-prompting/). For a customer story about design exploration and refinement, read the [Skechers case study](https://ideogram.ai/blog/skechers-case-study/). Start with one source image and one specific change. Save a result only when both the requested change and the product details hold up under inspection, then move to the next decision. **Workflow references:** [Ideogram 4.5 gallery](https://ideogram.ai/models/4.5/), [Edit Images](https://docs.ideogram.ai/edit/edit), [Reference Images](https://docs.ideogram.ai/create/reference-images), and [Precise Edit API reference](https://developer.ideogram.ai/v2/api-reference/images/precise-edit/ideogram-4-5). Controls and availability can vary by account. ### Author [Zeyad Genena](https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeyadgenena/) is a technical writer for Ideogram who develops product documentation and user guides for AI image generation software. Editorial review: Jacob Lu. --- [Read this page’s summary](https://ideogram.ai/agents/api/public/v1/page-tldr?url=https%3A%2F%2Fideogram.ai%2Fblog%2Fideogram-4-5-product-photo-editing%2F&trace=t_380edc68d53d) ## Ask a follow-up about this page Need a more specific answer? Ask the exact question you have. 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