Choose a source image for editing
The enhancer and the background remover work from an image you supply. What you give them determines most of the result, and no prompt compensates for a poor source.
Finding images
Both tools show a searchable list of your media library, with a search field, paging and a selection counter. The metadata tool additionally displays each image's existing title, alt text and caption so you can see what is missing before you select.
Search matches the attachment's stored fields, so images with no title and no alt text are hard to find by search — they are exactly the images that most need the metadata tool. Browse the pages rather than searching when hunting for unlabelled attachments.
What makes a good source
Resolution. The single most important factor. A small image cannot be enhanced into a large one with real detail. Use the largest original you have.
Sharp focus on the subject. Enhancement can adjust light and colour convincingly; it cannot recover detail that was never captured. Motion blur and missed focus stay.
Correct exposure. A very dark or blown-out area contains no information to work with.
Contrast with the background, for background removal. A dark product on a dark surface is the hardest case there is.
One clear subject. Multiple overlapping subjects make cut-outs unpredictable.
Simple, uncluttered background, again for removal. A busy background produces a busy edge.
What causes trouble
| Source characteristic | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Low resolution | Soft, artefact-heavy output |
| Heavy JPEG compression | Artefacts are amplified, not removed |
| Hair, fur, mesh, lace | Chopped or smudged edges on removal |
| Glass, chrome, water | Transparency handled wrongly |
| Subject same colour as background | Parts of the subject removed |
| Text or logos in frame | Often distorted by enhancement |
| Faces | Enhancement can alter features; be cautious with real people |
| Screenshots and diagrams | Not what these tools are for |
If your material sits in this table, test one image before batching.
Reference images in the enhancer
The enhancer accepts up to three optional reference images in addition to the image being processed. They inform the result without being processed themselves, and each must be a valid image attachment of 2 MB or less.
The numbering is fixed: the image being processed is Image #1, the optional references are Image #2 to Image #4 in slot order. That is what makes prompts like use the lighting of Image #2 work.
The most useful application is consistency: supply one reference that defines the look you want, and the whole batch is pushed towards it.
Selecting a batch sensibly
Group by treatment. All the images in one run share the base prompt, the style and the settings. Product shots and location photography do not belong in the same batch.
Group by expected difficulty. Keep the hard subjects — hair, glass, low contrast — in their own small run so you can review them properly.
Keep batches reviewable. A batch of fifty is fifty charges and fifty images to inspect. If you will not inspect fifty, do not run fifty.
Check the selection before confirming. The counter reports how many are selected. A selection made before a search or a page change may include more than you remember.
Test before you commit
The pattern that saves the most money and time:
- Pick one image that is typical, and one that is your hardest case.
- Run both with No, create a new media library entry.
- Inspect both at full size.
- Adjust the prompt, style or settings.
- Only then run the batch.
Two test charges against a batch of forty is a good trade.
Before selecting Yes, update references and keep the original
Choose this option when you want the new image used in supported references on the current site. The original is retained, including for external or unsupported uses.
Prefer reviewing a separate copy first for:
- photography you cannot re-shoot;
- licensed images with usage records;
- anything used outside this website;
- anything you have not already seen a good result for.