Overview
The Crop.photo Shopify app helps you generate, transform, and manage product images for your Shopify listings.
Instead of editing images one by one, you can:
select images directly from your Shopify products
generate multiple outputs such as crops, lifestyle images, banners, and videos
apply consistent transformations across multiple products
publish results back to your Shopify listings
The app supports both:
AI Match (recommended): automatically detects image types with product categories and applies the right transformations
Manual recipes: allows you to choose and apply specific transformations
You can process:
a single product
multiple products
or your entire catalog
All within a single workflow.
Use this guide to learn how to select images, generate outputs, and apply them back to your Shopify store.
Get Started
Install the Shopify App
Go to the Shopify App Store and install the Crop.photo app.
Click Install and follow the standard Shopify app installation flow.
Sign In
Once installed:
You are automatically signed in using your Shopify account email
No separate login is required
You can also access Crop.photo Web App from the web using the same email: https://app.crop.photo.
Select Products and Images
Choose Products
You can select products directly from your Shopify store.
Options include:
search by product title
filter using collections
browse your product listings
You can select:
a single product
multiple products at once
Select Images
Within each product listing, you can select specific images to process.
You do not need to select all images
You can process only the images you want
Run AI Match (Recommended)
Start AI Match
After selecting images, click AI Match.
This is the default and recommended workflow.
Choose Intent (Optional)
You can guide AI Match in two ways:
Option 1: Use suggested actions
Option 2: Enter your own intent
Examples:
“Convert to headless crop”
“Generate lifestyle images”
“Create product videos”
The more specific your intent, the better the results.
Processing Time
AI Match typically takes a few seconds per image
Total time depends on:
number of images
number of recipes in your account
Processing may take:
~30 seconds for small batches
a few minutes for larger jobs
Review and Adjust Recipe Selection
Image Classification
AI Match first classifies your images based on:
image type (on-model, product-only, flat lay etc.)
product category
Recipe Recommendations
For each category + image type combination, AI Match suggests:
top recommended recipes (typically top 3)
These are selected based on:
image type
product category
Modify Selection
You can:
accept the recommended recipes
click the card + to browse more recipes -
adjust selections for each group of images -
Create a custom group:
Move images to the custom group:
Submit for Processing
Once you confirm your selection:
click Submit
multiple recipes will run in parallel
credits required based on your selection will be shown before you run
Monitor Processing Jobs
Job Status
After submission, your job starts processing.
You can track progress via:
job status link at the top
progress indicator
History Panel
You can also view all jobs in:
the History panel inside the app
This shows:
running jobs
completed jobs
Credits Usage
At the top of the app, you can see:
remaining credits in your account
You can upgrade your plan if needed by clicking the Upgrade button.
Review and Apply Results
Review Outputs
Once processing is complete, you can review the results.
Each image may have:
multiple generated outputs
different variations including videos
Outputs are grouped by recipe so you can easily see what each recipe’s transformation looked like.
Apply to Shopify
You can apply results directly to your Shopify listings:
add as new images
replace existing images
add videos to product listings
No manual download or upload is required.
Re-Process with Different Recipes
You can reuse generated images after saving them to your listings.
For example:
Take a generated on-model full body image already saved in your listing
Apply a different recipe, such as a headless crop
Create additional variations and add them back to the same listing
This allows you to:
Build multiple PDP variants incrementally over time
Extend your existing assets without generating everything at once
Understand Recipes
What is a Recipe
A recipe defines how an image is transformed from input to final output.
It is not just a visual template. It is a structured set of intelligent steps that combine multiple AI models and processing operations to produce a consistent result.
A recipe may include:
Crop style
Background settings
Layout rules
Output size and aspect ratios
In addition, a recipe encapsulates multi-model intelligence. It orchestrates all the underlying steps required to generate the final image so you do not have to manually use different AI tools or models.
For example, a single recipe can:
Apply body-aware or face-aware cropping
Set subject margins and alignment
Remove or clean the background
Expand the image using generative fill
Place products on models using entity-aware AI
Resize and adapt the image to multiple formats using content-aware resizing
All of these steps are executed together as one workflow.
Key idea:
A template defines the visual outcome (what the final image should look like)
A recipe defines the process (how the image is actually generated using multiple steps and AI models)
A template is static and visual
A recipe is dynamic and executable
Recipes combine multiple models and transformations into a repeatable, scalable process that generates consistent PDP-ready images across your catalog
A recipe defines how an image is transformed.
View Recipe Details
You can click on any recipe card to:
preview before and after images
view transformation settings
see output configuration
Customize Matching with Categories
If AI Match classification does not meet your expectations:
you can group images into custom categories
assign your own recipe sets
This allows you to:
control how images are processed
override AI classification when needed
Manual Recipe Selection (No AI Mode)
When to Use
Use manual mode if:
you already know what transformations you want
you don’t want to use AI Match
How to Use
click Manual Select Recipes
browse available recipes
select and apply
Filters
You can filter recipes by:
automation type
product category
publish channel (Shopify, Meta etc)
output type - image or video
aspect ratio generated
search keywords & more
Create or Modify Recipes (Advanced)
Recipes in Crop.photo are created from automations in the Crop.photo web app.
You don’t edit recipes directly. Instead, you:
create an automation
adjust its settings
Run & save the result as a reusable recipe
Open the Crop.photo Web App
To create or modify recipes:
click Create Recipe in the Shopify app
this opens the Crop.photo web app
Start from an Existing Recipe or Automation
You can create a new recipe in two ways:
Option 1: Start from an existing recipe
select a recipe you like
create a new automation from it by clicking - Use Recipe button
use it as a base
Option 2: Start from an automation project
go to the Crop.phot Web App homepage
choose an automation (e.g. Auto-Align, Headless Crop, AI Video Generator)
create a new automation project
Run and Adjust the Automation
Inside the automation:
upload or import input images from another project
modify settings such as:
output size
background
layout
model or styling
Run the automation and review the results.
You can iterate until the output matches your requirements.
Save as a Recipe
Once you’re satisfied with the results save the automation as a recipe:
During this step, you can define:
recipe name and metadata
category and tags
primary thumbnail (main preview image)
additional preview images
Use Recipes in the Shopify App
Saved recipes are automatically linked to your account and can be filtered using the “Me” option. System-defined recipes from Crop.photo are marked with the Crop.photo logo so they can be easily distinguished.
They will:
appear in the Shopify app
be available during AI Match
be searchable in manual recipe selection
When to Customize Recipes
You may want to customize recipes when:
you need brand-specific styling
marketplace formats differ
you want different crops or layouts
default settings need to be personalized from existing recipes
Get Help
If you need assistance:
open the web app
use the chat feature
You can get help with:
creating recipes
troubleshooting outputs
workflow questions