Studio is Instant's workspace for AI product imagery. Use it when catalog photos need consistent backgrounds, lifestyle context, or fresh variants without a full photo shoot. Studio shares your account's AI credits with Instant AI and the Agent — see AI credits for balances and plan allowances.
What Studio creates
Studio has two image types:
Product shots — studio-style product images on clean or branded backgrounds
Lifestyle images — your product shown in a real-world scene or with a person
Studio output feeds back into the builder: swap images on product templates, collection banners, and content sections.
Open Studio
In the left sidebar, open Project → Studio. Studio has Home, Create, and Favorites tabs. You can also open Studio from a product image field in the builder when it's offered.
On the Studio home, choose Create a product shot or Create a lifestyle image, or pick one of the presets.
Optionally add reference images (up to two) to guide the result.
Write a prompt describing what you want.
Adjust the model, aspect ratio, and quality, then generate.
Each generation consumes AI credits. Your remaining balance is shown on the Studio composer and in Project → Plan.
Writing effective prompts
Treat prompts like a brief to a photographer:
Subject — "matte black water bottle, 750ml"
Environment — "marble countertop, soft morning light"
Mood — "minimal, premium, no clutter"
Constraints — "no text overlay, label facing camera"
If results drift, regenerate with tighter constraints rather than accepting and fixing in external tools.
Studio vs the Agent
Tool | Use for |
Studio | Images — product shots and lifestyle photography |
Agent (Instant AI) | Layout and copy — pages, sections, templates |
They complement each other: Studio produces the images, and the Agent places them in a layout. Neither replaces Shopify product data — titles, variants, and inventory still live in Shopify admin.
Quality and brand safety
Review every Studio image before you publish:
Label accuracy — AI may distort small text or logos; re-shoot critical detail if needed
Color fidelity — compare against physical samples for fashion and beauty
Policy — follow your industry's rules for before/after, health claims, or regulated goods
Plan and credit notes
Free — Studio generation requires a paid plan with AI credits
Starter — roughly 100 Studio images per month at typical settings
Pro and Business — larger credit pools for catalog-wide refreshes
Running out of credits pauses generation until your balance refreshes or you buy more. Manual uploads and non-AI editing in the builder still work. See Compare plans.
A simple workflow
Open Project → Studio and choose a product shot or lifestyle image.
Add a reference image and prompt, then generate a few variations.
Save the ones you like to Favorites.
Apply the winners to your product template in the builder.
Optionally ask the Agent to rebuild the product page around the new imagery, then publish.
For page-level AI help after your imagery is ready, see Build pages with AI and Edit with AI.