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Create Photoshoots

Photoshoots creates product-led images from a selected Scene.

Written by Erika

Use Photoshoots when you want to create a product image inspired by a visual world, such as a lifestyle setting, studio setup, surface, lighting treatment, or campaign look. Riverflow uses the Scene as creative direction, then adapts the scene, composition, and details around your product, brand, selected style, characters, references, aspect ratio, and written guidance.

Photoshoots is not a prompt-only image generator. If you do not want to start from a Scene, use Images instead.

Photoshoots are different to other AI Product Photoshoot generators. Riverflow uses our state of the art Riverflow 2.5 models to handle scenes, styles, characters, products and references seamlessly across multiple different shots.

Before you start

  • Select the correct brand.

  • Add the product you want to feature.

  • Choose the Scene you want to use.

  • Prepare any optional style, character, or reference you want to use.

  • Decide which aspect ratio you need.

How Photoshoots uses Scenes

A Scene guides the environment, composition, surface, lighting, camera feel, and overall mood of the output.

Photoshoots does not copy a Scene exactly. Riverflow uses the Scene as inspiration, then adapts it to your product, brand, selected style, characters, references, aspect ratio, and written guidance. Each output is a new variation rather than a precise recreation of the original Scene.

This is important: Photoshoots is not a 3D studio where you position a product into a fixed scene with exact placement controls. It is a generative workflow for creating new product images that are guided by a Scene.

Use Images instead when you want to create an image from a written idea without choosing a Scene.

Use Review and Edit Images or Batch Edit when you already have an image and need to make a specific edit, such as swapping a product, changing a flavour colour, replacing packaging artwork, or changing the aspect ratio.

How The Control Panel Works

The Photoshoots control panel lets you combine the inputs that shape the generated image.

The main inputs are:

  • Scene: sets the composition, layout, environment, surface, camera feel, and mood.

  • Product: sets what is being photographed. Use a clear product image when you want predictable product accuracy.

  • Style: applies a saved visual treatment, such as lighting, colour, texture, lens feel, or campaign art direction.

  • Character: adds a saved person, model, mascot, or recurring figure to the image.

  • References: provide extra visual guidance for details such as pose, scale, material, texture, colour, framing, or a specific look.

  • Refine details: the written guidance field. Use this to steer how Riverflow mixes the selected inputs.

  • Aspect ratio: sets the output shape.

  • Model: lets you choose the available generation model.

  • Number of outputs: lets you generate multiple variations at once.

Use Refine details when you want to preserve, change, avoid, or emphasise something. It can steer the Scene rather than simply describe the whole image from scratch.

For example, you can use it to:

  • change the props from the selected Scene

  • change the clothing of a person in the Scene

  • change the age, ethnicity, or appearance of a person in the Scene

  • ask for a tighter crop or wider composition

  • specify which part of a Style should matter most

  • preserve a lighting direction, colour treatment, or texture from the selected Style

  • tell Riverflow which detail from a Reference should be followed

Example:

Use the selected Scene as the composition and lighting direction. Use my selected product as the product being photographed. Keep the warm sunlight, countertop surface, and pouring action. Change the person to a woman in her 30s wearing a pale blue shirt. Apply only the soft natural light and warm colour grade from the selected Style.

Creative placeholder: visual showing selected Scene, selected product, Style, Character, References, Refine details prompt, and output image.

Choose a product

  1. Open Photoshoots.

  2. Select the product you want to feature.

  3. Choose the product image Riverflow should use as the main product reference.

  4. Start with one clear primary product image when you want the most predictable result.

Use a product image where the product is easy to understand, not heavily cropped, and not mixed with unrelated props, scenery, hands, or people unless those details are part of the desired output.

Choose a Scene

Use a Scene when you want to guide the environment, composition, surface, lighting, or mood.

  1. Select a Scene from the Scene library.

  2. Add optional written guidance if you want to adjust the output.

  3. Add a Style if you want a saved visual treatment applied.

  4. Add Characters or References if needed.

  5. Choose the aspect ratio.

  6. Generate.

Scene-based Photoshoots are useful when you want consistency across multiple products or a repeatable visual world. Riverflow adapts the Scene to fit the selected product rather than simply placing the product into the Scene unchanged.

Creative placeholder: annotated Photoshoots controls showing product, Scene, Style, Characters, References, aspect ratio, and Refine details here.

Optional inputs

  • Styles: guide the visual treatment, such as colour grade, lighting style, lens feel, or campaign art direction.

  • Characters: add a reusable person, model, mascot, or recurring figure.

  • References: guide specific details such as size, colour, pose, style, texture, layout, or other visual cues.

  • Refine details: steer what to preserve, change, avoid, or emphasise within the selected Scene.

What to expect during generation

Generation can take a little time. You can navigate elsewhere while Riverflow works, then return to the results grid.

You can generate multiple candidates so you can compare variations in lighting, placement, composition, and product fit.

Review results

After generation, review:

  • product identity

  • product shape and size

  • label or text accuracy

  • lighting and shadows

  • scene fit

  • brand fit

  • aspect ratio

  • whether the output matches the intended use

Use Review and Edit Images for the next steps.

Remix a Photoshoot Result

Use Remix when a Photoshoot output is close and you want to create more variations from the same setup.

Remix loads the Photoshoots control panel with the ingredients that were used to generate that asset. This can include the product, Scene, Style, Character, References, aspect ratio, model, output count, and Refine details guidance where available.

  1. Open the Photoshoot result you want to build from.

  2. Select Remix.

  3. Check the loaded control panel inputs.

  4. Change anything you want to adjust, such as the Scene, Style, references, aspect ratio, or written guidance.

  5. Generate again.

Remix creates a new generation from the original setup. It does not directly edit the existing image. Use Review and Edit Images when you need a precise edit to the current asset, such as changing aspect ratio, swapping a product, or fixing product details.

Creative placeholder: Photoshoot result with Remix selected, then the Photoshoots control panel reloaded with the original ingredients.

If the Generate button is greyed out

Check that you have selected the required inputs. In Photoshoots, you need to select a product and a Scene before generating.

If you do not want to use a Scene

Use Images when you want to generate from a written idea without choosing a Scene.

Use Photoshoots when you want to start from a Scene and adapt that Scene around your product.

If the result only shows the product and not the Scene

This usually happens when Riverflow finds it hard to understand the product image clearly.

The most common cause is that the product image already contains other objects, props, scenery, hands, people, or a busy background. Riverflow may treat the original image as a complete scene, rather than treating it as the product to adapt into a new Scene.

The best fix is to create a cleaner product reference image, then use that cleaned product image for future Photoshoots.

Use the following text in Quick Edit or Images to create a cleaner product reference:

Edit this image into a clean product reference image for future AI generation.

Remove the existing background and isolate the product on a pure white background. Keep the product centered, upright, and front-facing.

This is a cleanup task, not a redesign task.

Preserve the product exactly as shown:
- same silhouette and proportions
- same packaging structure
- same cap/body shape
- same colours and materials
- same label placement
- same visible text, logo details, and typography

Do not redesign, restyle, upscale into a different product, beautify the packaging, or invent missing details. Do not make the product taller, shorter, wider, slimmer, or more premium-looking. Do not add props, scenery, hands, shadows, reflections, badges, or extra objects.

Only clean what is necessary:
- remove background clutter
- refine the product edges
- reduce distracting glare or reflections only if they obscure the product
- keep the product realistic and true to the original

Final output: one isolated front-facing product on a solid white background, suitable as a clean reference image for later image generation.

Creative placeholder: before/after clean product reference example here.

If your product is clothing shown on a person

If your product image shows clothing being worn, but the Scene you choose does not include a person, Riverflow can sometimes return something too close to the original product image.

Be explicit in Refine details.

Example:

You MUST show my cycling shorts within the selected Scene. You MUST NOT just return the same original product image.  Keep the cycling shorts accurate and make the Scene feel natural around them.

For best results:

  • name the product clearly in Refine details

  • say that the product must appear inside the selected Scene

  • use a clean product image where possible

  • avoid product images with extra props, scenery, or unrelated objects

  • start with one primary product image when possible

What to do next

Use Review and Edit Images to refine the output, or save approved assets into Folders.

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