How to improve second-hand item images using the Image Editing API

On this page you will find real-world examples of how the Image Editing API can be used to improve the quality of listing images on a second-hand market place.

Introduction

Let's take the example of this listing page:

As you can see, the images have been taken by the sellers when they listed their item for sale.

These images are doing a good job of showing what the items look like, however:

1. the images come in varying aspect ratios

   ⇒ it leads to some items being cropped after the images have been fit into a in square ratio

2. the backgrounds have very different textures and colors

   ⇒ it makes the page visually heavy

3. the items don't always immediately stand-out from their background

   ⇒ it requires more effort from the user

So let's go over two different approaches to improve these images and solve these 3 problems.

White Background + Realistic Shadows

Using the Image Editing API, you can automatically edit the images to:

• remove the original background and replace it with a white background

• center the subject and add some margins

• add an ai-generated realistic shadow

This is how the listing page looks like after that the images have been edited:

Notice how the page now looks much clearer, with the items now easily identifiable at a glance.

Here are the API parameters that have been used to edit the images:

{
    "outputSize": "2000x2000",
    "removeBackground": "true",
    "background.color": "FFFFFF",
    "margin": "10%",
    "shadow.mode": "ai.soft"
}

Blurred Background

Depending on the context, you might decide that fully removing the original background isn't the right fit, because doing so makes the images look a bit too professional.

In this case you can use a different approach to improve the images: instead of removing their backgrounds you can simply blur them.

This is how the listing page looks like after that the images have been edited:

As you can see, the backgrounds are now less distracting and the items stand out more, while the images still retain a very authentic appearance.

Here are the API parameters that have been used to edit the images:

{
    "referenceBox": "originalImage",
    "removeBackground": "false",
    "background.blur.mode": "gaussian"
}

Conclusion

The Image Editing API allows you to significantly improve the quality of second-hand item images.

And it's not a one-size-fits-all approach: you have the choice between different editing options, allowing you to pick the one that best matches your guidelines.

If you want to learn more, here's the details of the API features used in this tutorial:

• Positionning

• Solid Color Background

• AI Shadow

• Blurred Background