What is a product isolation API?

A product isolation API is a web service that extracts a specific product from any scene, on-model photography, lifestyle imagery, or busy backgrounds, using AI. Unlike background removal, you tell the API which product to isolate via a short text prompt, so it can target the right object even when the scene contains models, props, and other items. Used by ecommerce brands, marketplaces, and catalog teams to generate clean product cutouts from lifestyle shoots at scale.

How is product isolation different from background removal?

Background Removal returns the foreground subject, whatever the model determines that is. In an on-model fashion shot, that's typically the model wearing the garment, not the garment on its own. Product Isolation takes a text prompt naming the target product ('the handbag', 'the sneaker', 'the sunglasses') and extracts just that product, without the model, without props, without the background. Use Product Isolation when you need catalog cutouts from lifestyle or on-model shoots.

When should I use Product Isolation vs Background Removal vs Model Removal?

Use Background Removal when the entire foreground is what you want, e.g. a product shot on a white backdrop, or a headshot. Use Model Removal when you want a ghost mannequin image (garment shape preserved with the model removed). Use Product Isolation when you want a specific product extracted from a scene that includes models, props, or multiple items, e.g. isolating a handbag from an on-model shot, a running shoe from a lifestyle photo, or one product from a flatlay with several items.

How does AI product isolation work?

The API combines vision-language understanding with segmentation and edge refinement. Your text prompt is parsed to identify the target product in the scene; the pipeline then produces a pixel-accurate mask around that product and extracts it with fine edge detail, preserving fabric texture, transparent elements, and subtle shadows. The output is a transparent PNG ready for compositing.

What kind of prompts work best?

Short, specific prompts that name the product clearly. 'The handbag', 'the red sneaker', 'the blue ceramic mug', 'the watch on the wrist' all work well. If the scene has multiple similar products, include a distinguishing detail (color, position, or feature). Very vague prompts ('the thing') or prompts for objects that aren't present will return a clear error.

Does it work with on-model fashion photography?

Yes. This is one of the core use cases. Isolate a garment, bag, shoe, or accessory from an on-model shot and get a clean product cutout, no model, no background, just the product. Works across garments (tops, dresses, outerwear), accessories (bags, shoes, jewelry), and full outfits. Preserves fabric texture and drape.

Does it work with lifestyle and flatlay photography?

Yes. Extract one product from a lifestyle scene (a mug on a kitchen counter, a candle on a shelf, a sneaker in context) or from a flatlay with several items. The prompt tells the API which product to pull out; everything else in the scene is discarded.

What outputs do I receive?

A transparent PNG containing the isolated product with a full alpha channel, ready for catalogs, marketplace listings, ad creative, or compositing. Edges are refined for fabric, hair, transparent materials, and fine details.

Does the product stay pixel-identical in the output?

Yes. The API extracts your product's original pixels and adds an alpha channel to isolate it, no retouching, no re-rendering, no color shift. Only the mask edges are refined for clean compositing. Critical for catalogs and marketplace listings where product fidelity matters.

Does it handle complex edges like hair, fur, and transparent materials?

Yes. Fine details, hair strands on fur accessories, translucent glass, mesh fabric, lace, jewelry chain, are handled with edge refinement and alpha matting. No halos, no color fringing, no obvious cutout artifacts.

What happens if the product isn't in the image or can't be detected?

The API returns a structured response for every call. If the named product isn't present, is fully occluded, or can't be confidently localized, you'll receive an error code with a descriptive message, so your integration can handle the case (retry with a refined prompt, fall back, or surface to the user). For transient infrastructure issues, internal retries are included in the price.

Do I need rights to the image I'm isolating a product from?

Yes. You need rights to the source image, your own photography, licensed stock, or imagery you have permission to modify. The isolated product output is a direct extraction from your source, so its rights follow the source. For commercial use, prefer your own product photography or properly licensed stock.

How much does the product isolation API cost?

$0.27 per image with simple fixed pricing. Sign up and get $10 in free GPU credits to try it out. Contact us for volume pricing on bulk workloads.

Can I process images in bulk?

Yes. Batch endpoints with async webhook delivery. Process thousands of images per job with different prompts per image, ideal for catalog conversion from lifestyle shoots, marketplace onboarding, and product library generation.

How fast is the product isolation API?

Typical response times are under 5 seconds for standard resolution images. Built for production workloads with consistent latency at scale.

What image formats are supported?

JPEG, PNG, and WebP. Output format depends on the solution.

Typical response times are under 5 seconds for standard resolution images.

How does pricing work?

Simple fixed per-call pricing. No GPU costs, no infrastructure to maintain.

Live

On-Model / FashionProduct Imagery

Catalog-ready cutouts from on-model and lifestyle photography

Product Isolation API

Extract any product from any scene with one API call. Prompt-guided isolation pulls the product you name out of on-model shots, lifestyle imagery, and busy backgrounds, without the model, props, or clutter.

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Trusted by teams shipping AI-powered products

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Input

image_url *

Your request will cost $0.27

Output

Example output

<5s

Average processing time

$0.27

Per image, fixed pricing

4096px

Max resolution supported

Prompt

Tell the API which product to pull

How it works

No pipeline to build, no models to configure.

Send image + product prompt

Pull your source image (on-model, lifestyle, or scene) and a short prompt naming the product to isolate. JPEG, PNG, or WebP up to 4096x4096 pixels.

AI extracts the named product

Runflow's pipeline locates the target product in the scene and extracts it with pixel-accurate edges: removing the model, props, background, and everything else.

Get your catalog-ready cutout

Receive the isolated product on a transparent background, ready for catalogs, listings, or compositing. Typically under 5 seconds: each call is $0.27/image.

Prompt-guided product extraction

Tell the API which product to isolate. A short text prompt, 'the handbag', 'the red sneaker', 'the watch on the wrist', is all it takes. The pipeline understands the scene, locates the target product, and extracts only what you named. No masks to draw, no bounding boxes to annotate.

Text prompt selects the target product, no mask input required

Handles scenes with models, props, and multiple items

Vision-language model grounds the prompt in the image

Turn lifestyle and on-model shoots into catalog cutouts

Skip the reshoot. Point the API at an existing on-model fashion shot, lifestyle scene, or campaign photograph and get a clean product cutout back, without the model, without the background, without the props. One asset, many outputs.

Extracts garments, bags, shoes, accessories, and hard goods

Works on on-model fashion, lifestyle photos, and flatlays

Transparent PNG output with full alpha channel

Pixel-accurate edges on hair, fabric, and fine detail

Product Isolation is built for ecommerce, not social filters. Fine fabric texture, stray garment threads, transparent glass, jewelry chain, and drape shadows come through clean, no halos, no color fringing, no obvious cutout artifacts. The product in the output looks like the product in the source.

Alpha matting and edge refinement for fine detail

Original product pixels preserved, no retouching or re-rendering

Clean compositing results on any new background

Batch isolation at catalog scale

Process entire photoshoots or marketplace migrations in a single job. Send different prompts per image, 'the sneaker' on one, 'the dress' on another, and the batch pipeline handles the rest with async webhook delivery.

Batch processing with async webhooks

Different prompts per image in a single job

JPEG, PNG, and WebP input up to 4096x4096px

Product isolation for every catalog workflow

Extract products from on-model, lifestyle, and busy scenes, ready for catalogs, marketplaces, and ad pipelines.

Fashion Ecommerce Catalogs

Turn on-model editorial and campaign shots into clean product cutouts for catalog, marketplace, and PDP imagery. Reuse existing lifestyle assets instead of reshooting on white.

Marketplace Onboarding

Convert seller-supplied lifestyle photos into marketplace-compliant cutouts at scale. Amazon, eBay, and Walmart listing imagery from the source assets sellers already have.

Ad Creative & Performance

Extract products from hero campaign shots to repurpose across paid social, display, and DCO templates. One shoot, many formats, no designer time.

Content Automation Pipelines

Feed isolated products into downstream pipelines: background replacement, lifestyle compositing, variant generation. Product Isolation is the clean input other APIs need.

DTC Brands & Studios

Generate catalog cutouts from campaign imagery without booking a separate studio day. Ship PDP assets at the same time as the campaign launches.

Virtual Try-On & AR

Extract clean product layers for AR try-on, virtual staging, and compositing workflows. Prompt-guided isolation gives you exactly the product you need, not whatever the foreground happens to contain.

“

Working with Runflow changed how we build. Our developers can integrate a new AI feature by calling an endpoint, they don’t need machine learning expertise, infrastructure knowledge, or DevOps skills. We just focus on making the best product, and Runflow handles everything underneath.

Thibaut Hennau

CEO, BetterPic

Simple, per-image pricing

One price per isolated product. No GPU fees, no infrastructure to manage.

$0.27/image

Fixed pricing for product isolation.

One API call per isolated product. Re-run with different prompts to pull multiple products from the same source — no setup fees, no surcharges.

$10 in free GPU credits on signup

Prompt-guided, no masks or bounding boxes

Works on on-model, lifestyle, and busy scenes

Transparent PNG output, alpha channel preserved

Up to 4096x4096px resolution

Batch processing with async webhooks

Under 5 seconds processing time

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Build vs. buy

Reshoot on white

Studio day + editing

Book studio, reshoot every SKU, retouch, deliver

Runflow API

$0.27/image

One API call, catalog-ready, under 5 seconds

Processing large volumes?Contact for volume pricing

Your data stays yours

Images are processed in isolated environments with automatic cleanup. Zero data retention by default.

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Frequently asked questions

Turn any shoot into catalog cutouts. In one API call.

$0.27/image. Prompt-guided product isolation from on-model, lifestyle, and busy scenes. Start with $10 in free GPU credits on signup.

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