Fill missing Shopify product photos with fal.ai lifestyle shots

When Shopify products land without photos, generate an on-brand lifestyle shot with fal.ai, attach it, and drop a Slack preview for approval.

Agentic Task
Shopifyfal.aiSlack BotMarketingOperationsContent GenerationNotifications & Alerts
PromptCreate

Trigger this workflow on the Shopify webhook for the products/create topic (and optionally products/update, for merchants that add the needs-photography tag after the product already exists). The webhook payload is the product record itself: read the id, title, body_html description, tags array, and the images array.

Only proceed if the product needs photography. Skip and end silently unless one of these is true: the images array is empty, OR the tags include a needs-photography tag (comma-split from product.tags). This guard is important, we must never overwrite curated shots on products that already have real photos.

If the webhook payload is thin or the images array is ambiguous, call Shopify Get Product with the product id to refresh title, body_html, tags, and the current images array before deciding.

Compose a fal.ai image prompt from the product title, a short cleaned-up excerpt of the description, and a brand style guide sentence that the operator sets at workflow setup time. The style guide keeps output consistent across products; treat it as a required input (default example: "Clean natural light, minimal Scandinavian styling, soft neutral background, no visible people, high-end product photography."). Weave the product into the scene rather than describing it in isolation, e.g. "a ceramic pour-over kettle on a light oak counter beside a linen napkin and a bud vase, morning window light".

Pick the fal.ai model based on whether the product already has a source photo to composite:

1. If the product has zero images (pure text-to-scene), call fal.ai Generate Image with FLUX1.1 [pro] with the composed prompt. Use a 4:5 or 1:1 aspect ratio suited to Shopify product galleries.

2. If the product has a plain cutout or packshot image but is tagged needs-photography, call fal.ai Generate or Edit Image with Nano Banana with the existing image URL as the reference and a prompt that re-composites the product into the brand lifestyle scene. This preserves product accuracy while adding a real setting.

fal.ai returns a v3.fal.media URL that is directly reachable, no re-hosting needed. Attach it to the product listing by calling Shopify Update Product with the product id and an images array that appends the new image URL to any existing images (never replace). If the product had no images at all, the new image becomes the primary.

Post a preview to the merchandising Slack channel with the Slack Bot Send a Message operation. The channel id is a workflow setting. The message should include: the product title as a linkable header (Shopify admin URL for the product), the generated image as an unfurled URL so Slack renders a large preview, the one-line prompt summary that fal.ai used, and a short caption reminding the team they can react with an emoji to approve, or re-tag the product with needs-photography to trigger a re-roll.

If any step fails (fal.ai returns a validation error, Shopify rejects the update, Slack errors out), post a short failure message to the same Slack channel naming the product and the step that failed so the team can fix it manually. Do not retry a failed fal.ai generation automatically, image spend should stay visible.

Additional information

What does this prompt do?
  • Watches for new Shopify products, and only kicks in when the product has no photos yet or when you've tagged it needs-photography, so your curated shots are never overwritten.
  • Generates an on-brand lifestyle product image with fal.ai, using either a from-scratch scene or a re-composited version of a plain product cutout you already have.
  • Attaches the new image to the Shopify product listing automatically, ready for the storefront.
  • Drops a preview into a Slack channel so your merchandising team can approve it or ask for a re-roll.
What do I need to use this?
  • A Shopify store (with webhook access to products/create)
  • A fal.ai account with credit for image generations
  • A Slack workspace and a channel your merchandising team watches
  • A short brand style guide sentence (a few lines about lighting, colors, mood, props) that keeps every generated image consistent
How can I customize it?
  • Change the trigger filter, run only on products with zero images, only on ones tagged needs-photography, or both.
  • Tune the brand style guide sentence to match your look, whether that's clean Scandinavian minimalism, warm rustic, high-contrast studio, or something else.
  • Pick which Slack channel gets the preview, and swap between text-to-scene and photo-to-scene generation depending on whether your product photos are pure cutouts or full studio shots.

Frequently asked questions

Will this overwrite my curated product photos?
No. The workflow only runs when the product has zero images, or when you've explicitly tagged it needs-photography. Products with existing photos are left completely alone.
Can I approve the image before it goes on the storefront?
The image is attached to the product and posted as a Slack preview in one pass. If your team doesn't like it, delete the image in Shopify and re-tag the product with needs-photography to trigger a fresh generation.
What if my product already has one plain packshot I want turned into a lifestyle scene?
The workflow detects that case and uses fal.ai's image-editing model to composite your existing product into a brand-consistent lifestyle setting, rather than generating one from scratch.
How do I keep all the generated images looking like they're from the same brand?
You paste a short brand style guide into the workflow settings (lighting, palette, props, mood). Every generation includes that guide, so shots stay visually consistent across your whole catalog.
How much does each image cost?
fal.ai charges per generation and the exact cost varies by model, but it's typically only a few cents per image. Check your fal.ai dashboard for the current rate.

Never ship a Shopify product with a blank photo slot again.

Set up automatic on-brand lifestyle photography for every new Shopify product, with your team approving each shot in Slack.