How do I blend my product into a stock photo or background image realistically?

Quick Answer

The fastest way to blend a product into a stock photo is with the Product Placement shortcut in Nightjar's Edit tab. Add the product image and the scene image to the board, click Product Placement, and Nightjar fills in a prompt that places the product into the scene with shadows, color, and lighting that match the background.

The Problem: Why "Cut and Paste" looks fake

If you just paste a product cutout onto a stock photo, it looks like it's floating. This happens because:

1. Wrong Shadows: The shadow doesn't match the light in the room.
2. Wrong Color Tone: The background might be warm (sunset), but your product is cool (studio light).
3. Wrong Reflection: The product doesn't reflect the world around it.

Nightjar addresses this by inferring how the light in your stock photo should fall on your product, then rendering shadows and color tone to match.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Prepare your two images

• The Product: A clean image of the product you want to place.
• The Scene: Your stock photo or an AI-generated background.

2. Add both images to the Edit board Open Nightjar's Edit tab and add the product and scene to the board. The board is the multi-image surface where you reference each image directly inside the prompt as @image1, @image2, and so on. The Product Placement shortcut needs at least two images on the board before it activates.

3. Click Product Placement Product Placement is one of Nightjar's Edit Shortcuts: a one-click prompt template for a common edit. Clicking it pre-fills the prompt with place the product from @image1 into the scene of @image2, so you can submit immediately without writing the instruction by hand.

4. Refine the placement (optional) Edit the pre-filled prompt to tell Nightjar exactly where the product should sit. For example:

• "Place the product on the table surface"
• "Position the item in the center"
• "Place near the window"

5. Set output shape and format (optional) Use the inline /ratio and /format controls when the aspect ratio or file type matters for the destination (Shopify tile, Instagram feed, ad slot).

6. Generate the blend Submit the prompt. Nightjar will:

• Read the lighting of your background.
• Place your product with matching shadows.
• Align color tone with the scene.
• Add reflections where appropriate.
• Produce a composite that reads as one image rather than a paste-up.