A startup may need a product image, an atmospheric website cover and a founder portrait in the same week. Those images do different jobs. Treating them all as interchangeable generation tasks can make the product less trustworthy.
Classify the images by purpose
Identify which pictures document something real and which illustrate an idea. A founder portrait or a product detail needs to represent the actual subject. A conceptual background can have more freedom, provided it does not imply a false product feature or location.
Establish the product reference
Capture the angles, materials, colours and packaging that must remain exact. If generated surroundings are being explored, keep the product as a verified element and review contact shadows, scale and reflections after compositing.
Price a finished example
Compare the full cost of a selected, retouched and approved image with the capture alternative. Include rights review and any adaptation work. Avoid estimating the whole library from the time it took to generate a first concept.
Make the library coherent
Approve a small visual system before producing more assets. Keep real people and places clearly represented and label illustrative scenes where they could be mistaken for documentary material. Read our visual system guide or discuss an image brief with Visual Matters.