All guides · Product photos and references · October 13, 2026

Reuse product references without losing history

Reusable product references let several ad ideas start from the same identity. Keep the whole-object hero, original identifying detail and prepared product sheet together. Reuse should mean consistent evidence, not applying one item's images to a similar product because it saves preparation.

Keep a small source record

For a hypothetical notebook shop, write a record alongside the project:

• Item: blue notebook, exact merchant variant.
• Original hero: front cover with elastic visible.
• Original detail: elastic attachment and cover mark.
• Supplied extra view: inside page layout.
• Confirmed facts: only the merchant's verified description.
• Unknowns: measurements and paper-performance claims not provided.
• Prepared reference: the product selected in the studio.

This is a manual production note, not a separate version-control feature in the studio. It lets a collaborator understand which photographs support a new action without inspecting every file again.

Reuse for different supported actions

The same prepared notebook reference might serve a cover introduction, elastic-closure demonstration and interior-page reveal. Each concept still needs its own brief and review. The interior action depends on the supplied interior photograph; preparation of a sheet does not create evidence for an unseen page.

In fairytale, an uploaded product's missing sheet is drawn with the first paid video that needs it and saved onto the reference. A later video using that prepared reference does not need that same missing sheet drawn again. The later video itself remains paid. The credit guide explains why the quotes can differ.

Know when reuse should stop

A changed cover color, revised label or different package calls for matching source images. Keep color variants separate as described in the color-reference guide. Do not rename a blue reference “green” while leaving the blue originals in place.

Review a reference after edits. A reference is its current state; regenerating its sheet replaces the previous one. Changing a shared reference saves your account's copy. Select the intended copy for the next ad and check that its photos and identifying detail still agree.

Preserve finished output history

Each finished video retains the inputs it was made from; later ad or reference edits do not change it. Keep downloaded files and a short note of the brief, words and settings when comparing angles. An older video should not be presented as the updated package merely because the current reference has changed.

Use the variant guide to choose a deliberate second angle. First check whether the new concept is supported by the existing sources. If it is, reuse them and inspect the result. If it is not, obtain the missing evidence before paying to generate a plausible guess.