Transform Product Images into Marketable Images - n8n Workflow

Every e-commerce business faces the same expensive problem: turning basic product shots into professional marketing imagery costs thousands of dollars and weeks of waiting. You need models, photographers, studios, and endless back-and-forth revisions. For small businesses and growing brands, this becomes an impossible bottleneck between having inventory and actually selling it.

What if you could send a simple product photo through Telegram and receive a polished, campaign-ready image with a professional model wearing your clothing in minutes? This n8n workflow does exactly that, combining AI image generation with smart automation to transform how you create marketing content.

Prerequisites: What You Need to Get Started

Before building this automated product photography system, you will need access to several APIs and services. The good news is that most offer free tiers or trials to get you started.

Required API Accounts:

• Telegram Bot API: Your workflow trigger. Create a bot through BotFather on Telegram to receive product images.
• OpenRouter API: Provides access to Google's Gemini 2.5 Flash model for AI image generation. This is where the magic happens.
• Google Drive API: Stores both original and generated images with shareable links.
• Airtable API: Manages your product database and tracks which items have been processed.

Key n8n Nodes Used:

• Telegram Trigger: Captures incoming product images
• Extract from File: Converts binary image data
• Code Node: Formats images for AI processing
• HTTP Request: Communicates with OpenRouter API
• Convert to File: Handles file transformations
• Google Drive: Manages file uploads and sharing
• Airtable: Creates and updates product records

How the Workflow Actually Works

This workflow operates in two parallel tracks that eventually merge. One track handles your original product image while the other generates and processes the AI-enhanced marketing photo. Both paths upload to Google Drive and connect in Airtable for easy management.

Step 1: Capture Product Images Through Telegram

The workflow begins when you send a product photo to your Telegram bot. The Telegram Trigger node listens for incoming messages and automatically downloads any images you send. Include a caption with your product name, as this becomes the identifier throughout the system.

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The trigger splits into two branches immediately. Both receive the same image file, but they serve different purposes. One branch prepares the original for archival, while the other feeds it into the AI generation pipeline.

Step 2: Prepare the Image for AI Processing

The Extract from File node converts the binary image data into a usable format. Then, a custom Code node transforms this into a base64-encoded data URL that the AI model can process. This step is crucial because AI image models require specific formatting.

Here is what the formatting code accomplishes: it takes the raw base64 data and wraps it in a proper data URL structure with the correct image type prefix. Without this formatting, the AI API would reject your image.

Step 3: Generate Campaign-Quality Marketing Images

Now comes the impressive part. The HTTP Request node sends your product image to OpenRouter, which routes it to Google's Gemini 2.5 Flash model. But the real secret is in the prompt engineering.

The prompt instructs the AI to act as a creative director for a high-end fashion campaign. It does not just place your product on a generic model. Instead, it analyzes the garment's style, determines the target audience, and synthesizes the perfect model persona that embodies the clothing's essence. The AI considers demeanor, features, styling, and the overall vibe before generating the final photograph.

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The generated image shows a model in a professional studio setting with neutral gray background, proper lighting, and that polished campaign look that typically costs thousands to produce. The output specification requests 8K UHD quality with sharp focus and hyper-realistic detail.

Step 4: Extract and Process Generated Images

When the AI returns your marketing image, the Extract Image Data node pulls out several key pieces of information: the base64 image data, MIME type, filename, and any accompanying text description. This structured extraction makes the subsequent file conversion smooth and reliable.

The Convert to Downloadable File node then transforms the base64 data back into a proper binary image file format that can be uploaded and shared.

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Step 5: Store Everything in Google Drive

Both the original product photo and the AI-generated marketing image get uploaded to Google Drive. Each file receives sharing permissions set to "anyone with the link," making them accessible for your marketing team, e-commerce platform, or anywhere else you need them.

The workflow generates shareable web content links for both files. These links become the bridge between your automation and your product database.

Step 6: Organize Products in Airtable

The final step ties everything together in Airtable. The workflow creates a new product record with the original image and marks the status as "Done." Then, it updates that same record with the generated marketing image.

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Your Airtable base becomes a comprehensive product catalog where each item includes both the original product shot and the professional campaign image. The caption you sent via Telegram becomes the product name, making everything easily searchable and organized.

Why This Workflow Changes the Game

This automation solves several critical business problems at once. First, it eliminates the cost barrier to professional product photography. Traditional campaign shoots cost anywhere from two thousand to ten thousand dollars per product. This workflow reduces that to pennies in API costs.

Second, it removes the time bottleneck. Instead of waiting weeks for photoshoot scheduling, execution, and editing, you get results in minutes. You can photograph your entire inventory in a morning and have campaign-ready images by lunch.

Third, it maintains consistency. Every generated image follows the same professional studio setup with proper lighting and composition. Your brand aesthetic stays cohesive across hundreds of products without managing multiple photographers or style guides.

Practical Use Cases:

• Fashion E-commerce: Generate lifestyle shots for every product variation without hiring models for each colorway.
• Seasonal Updates: Refresh your entire catalog with new campaign imagery when trends change.
• Market Testing: Create multiple campaign versions to A/B test which visual styles convert better.
• Social Media Content: Build a library of share-worthy product images for consistent posting.
• Wholesale Catalogs: Provide retailers with professional product imagery that helps them sell your items.

The Bottom Line

This n8n workflow transforms product photography from an expensive, time-consuming necessity into a quick, affordable process you can execute on demand. By combining AI image generation with smart automation, you get professional campaign imagery that would normally require an entire production team.

The real power is not just in cost savings or speed. It is in creative freedom. When professional imagery costs thousands per product, you shoot conservatively. When it costs pennies and takes minutes, you can experiment, iterate, and build the visual library your brand deserves.

Set up this workflow once, and you have a marketing image factory that runs whenever you need it. Just send a photo through Telegram, and automation handles the rest.