img2img vs text-to-image
Text-to-image starts from noise and a prompt, so every result is a fresh invention. Image-to-image starts from your photo and only changes what the prompt and strength allow. Use text-to-image to explore ideas; use img2img when you must keep a real product, person, layout, or sketch recognizable.
Common use cases
Popular uses include: turning a white-background product shot into a lifestyle scene, restyling a photo (e.g. realistic to illustration), cleaning up or upscaling a rough render, generating color or material variants of the same item, and refining an AI draft without losing its composition.
Strength (denoise): the most important dial
Strength controls how far the result can drift from the source. Low strength keeps the original almost intact (good for subtle background or color edits); high strength gives the model freedom to reinvent (good for restyling). If your product keeps changing shape, lower the strength; if nothing changes, raise it.
Prompts that keep the subject consistent
Describe what should stay ('keep the product shape, color and logo unchanged') and what should change ('replace the background with a sunlit wooden desk'). Add negative cues for common failures (deformed, cropped, distorted logo). Pairing a strong reference with a focused prompt gives the most faithful results.
Pick the right mode
| Goal | Use |
|---|---|
| Brand-new scene from words | Text-to-image |
| Keep a real product/person | Image-to-image (img2img) |
| Swap background only | img2img, low strength |
| Restyle a photo | img2img, high strength |
Frequently asked questions
Does img2img keep my product exact?
With a strong reference and lower strength, yes — shape, color, and logo stay faithful while the scene changes.
Why does the result ignore my prompt?
Strength may be too low, or the input dominates the frame. Raise strength slightly and make the prompt's scene description more specific.
Can I do img2img for e-commerce photos?
Yes — it is the core technique behind turning a plain product photo into a polished, on-brand hero image.
What input image works best?
A sharp, well-lit image at least 800px wide with the subject clearly separated from the background.
Is img2img the same as inpainting?
No. Inpainting edits only a masked region; img2img can transform the whole image while preserving structure.
Will text in my image survive img2img?
Often it gets garbled. Add important text as a crisp overlay afterward instead of relying on the model to render it.
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