Make a product shot with relighting and a clean cutout

The Nodespell product-shot recipe takes a written brief to a finished, isolated product image in four stages: generate the still with Image Generator, reshape the light with Relight, cut the product out with Remove Background, and enlarge and download the result. Every stage stays on the graph, so you can change one step without redoing the others.

What you need

• A short brief: the product, surface, camera angle, background, and mood.
• Optional: a photo of the real product, uploaded to Asset Manager, if the result must look like a specific object.
• Credits. Image Generator, Relight, Remove Background, and Image Upscaler each run a model and use credits.

Graph at a glance: Image Generator → Relight → Remove Background → Image Upscaler → download

Where credits are spent

Each of the four stages is a separate model run, and each run uses credits. On paid plans, the Create panel shows Estimated per run (or Estimated total when you ask for several generations), and the run button in Graph shows the estimate before you start. See Plans and credits.

Stage 1: Generate the base product image

Use Create for the first image, because it gives you the guided controls and several candidates at once.

1. Open your Project and switch the workspace mode to Create. Create needs a window at least 1080 pixels wide.
2. Choose Image Generator from the Create tools rail.
3. Pick a model in the model picker. If the product must match a real object, choose a model that shows a Reference images field, then select Choose assets, pick the product photo, and select Use selection.
4. Write the brief in Prompt. Name the product, the surface it sits on, the camera angle, and the background.
5. Set Aspect ratio or the size control the model shows, and set Generations to between 1 and 4 to get several candidates.
6. Select Generate.

Each finished image appears under Results on the Image Generator node. Step through them with Show older result and Show newer result, or open View fullscreen to check labels and edges. For the full Create walkthrough, see Make your first image and Image Generator.

Stage 2: Relight the chosen image

Relight changes the lighting of an existing image while keeping the product recognizable.

1. Switch to Graph mode. The Image Generator node you used in Create is on the canvas.
2. Press Tab, type Relight, and add the Relight Creative Tool. See Add nodes.
3. Connect the Image Generator output to the Relight source image input. See Connections.
4. Select the Relight node. In Parameters, set Relight method to Design lighting.
5. Set Lighting preset to Product softbox as a starting point for a clean studio look. Adjust the Key, Fill, and Rim lights with Direction, Elevation, Intensity, and Softness only if the product needs a different shape or more separation.
6. Add Lighting notes for anything the controls do not cover, such as “keep the label readable”.
7. With the Relight node selected, press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+R or select the run button for the selection.

Running the selected Relight node makes a new Relight take. Upstream nodes that already have a take, such as Image Generator, are reused rather than regenerated. Hover the run button to see which nodes will reuse a take and which will generate. See Run nodes and Relight.

Match reference needs unconnected inputs

Match reference uses a second image as lighting guidance. It needs two local image slots, so Nodespell asks you to disconnect the source input before generating. Use the asset fields for both images instead of a connection when you choose this method.

Stage 3: Remove the background

1. Press Tab and add Remove Background.
2. Connect the Relight output to the Remove Background source image input.
3. Select the Remove Background node and press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+R.

Remove Background isolates the subject from its surroundings. Skip this stage when the deliverable should keep the designed background and shadow from Relight. See Remove Background.

Stage 4: Upscale and download the finished image

1. Press Tab and add Image Upscaler. Connect the Remove Background output to it.
2. Run the Image Upscaler node.
3. Right-click the Image Upscaler node and choose Download, or choose View Full Screen to inspect the result first.

See Image Upscaler and Export.

Check the result

• Select the Relight node and the Remove Background node together. When exactly two image nodes are selected, the Design panel shows them as A and B in a comparison view, so you can check edges against the lit original. See Viewers.
• Zoom into thin parts, reflective surfaces, and text on the label.
• Open the node’s takes to make sure the take in use is the one you approved. Downstream nodes use the take each node is set to. See Takes.

Variations

• Keep the studio background. Stop after Relight and download that result.
• Match a real lighting setup. Set Relight method to Match reference and choose a Lighting reference image whose light you want to copy.
• Try several lighting looks. Add two or three Relight nodes to the same Image Generator output, give each a different Lighting preset, and compare them in the Design panel.
• Composite onto your own background. Feed the cutout into an Image Compositor and merge it over a background image. See Composite and finish existing assets.

Frequently asked questions

Does rerunning Relight regenerate the base image?

No. Running a downstream node reuses the takes its upstream nodes already have, so the Image Generator result is not regenerated or charged again. Choose Generate for a node only when you want a new take from it.

Why is a Relight model missing when I choose Match reference?

Only reference-capable models can match a lighting reference. If the current model cannot, Nodespell shows “Choose a reference-capable model to match a lighting reference.” Pick another model in the model picker.

Can I keep the product identical to my photo?

Generated images can drift from the real object. Use a model with Reference images, keep the product photo connected, and compare each take against the photo before continuing.

Where do the finished images go?

Generated results appear in Asset Manager under the Generated view, as well as on their nodes, so you can reuse them in other Projects.

Related

• Image Generator — models, references, and output controls
• Relight — every lighting control and preset
• Remove Background — cutout models and limits
• Takes — choose which result each stage uses
• Revise without starting over — change one stage and keep the rest