Shopify Product Image Checklist Before AI Editing

Use an image you own or have written permission to edit. The source should show one product with complete edges, accurate color, and enough resolution for the largest placement you plan to use. Remove unrelated hands, props, price tags, and reflections that make the model or retoucher guess. If the source is a crop from a marketplace listing, confirm that the crop still defines the full silhouette rather than only the most attractive section. Record where the source came from so a reviewer can trace the original later.

Shopify themes crop and resize the same image for collection cards, product pages, search, and mobile. Start with a large square or near-square source, keep the product away from the outer edge, and avoid thin text that will disappear at card size. Check the current product-media limits for file type, dimensions, and file size rather than relying on an old screenshot. A technically valid file can still fail visually when the theme crops it, so preview the image in the collection grid and on a narrow phone viewport before publishing.

A generated derivative inherits the source composition. If the source has a distracting background, a second product, a hand, or a hard shadow, the result will usually preserve or amplify it. Clean the source first, or choose a workflow that explicitly replaces the background while keeping the product locked. Do not ask a model to remove a defect that hides part of the product; the model may invent a plausible replacement. The safest brief lists what must not change: product count, silhouette, logo position, label text, material, and visible accessories.

Identify the features a buyer uses to recognize the product: the front label, cap shape, handle, port layout, stitching, color-blocking, or included accessories. Inspect those areas at full resolution before and after editing. Small packaging text is a special risk because a polished image can still contain corrupted characters. If the copy must be exact, keep the original photograph for the factual product view and use the generated image as a secondary scene. Never let a derivative become the only evidence of what the customer will receive.

Open the source and the result side by side at the same zoom. Count the products, trace the silhouette, compare the logo and label, and check the color against an approved reference. Look for extra fingers, merged edges, repeated parts, invented text, and shadows that imply a different material. A result can complete technically and still fail product truth. Reject it when the buyer would receive something different from the image, even if the scene looks more expensive. Keep the rejection reason with the file so the next attempt starts from a known defect.

Export the approved image at the size the theme needs, keep a high-resolution master, and write alt text that describes the product rather than the prompt. Check the filename, file type, and file size against the current Shopify limits. Add the image to the correct product and position, then inspect the product page, collection card, search result, and mobile layout. If the image makes a claim about ingredients, performance, or included items, verify that claim against the product record. Publishing is a separate approval from generation.