12 min · Advanced
Product Photos and Document Extraction
Describe only attributes you can see or that a spec states, pull checkable fields out of a document, and treat the result as reading help rather than legal advice.
Learning objectives
- List visible product attributes before you draft any sales copy, and keep the copy inside that list.
- Extract parties, dates, amounts, obligations, and blank fields from a document you are allowed to share.
- Compare two images by stating what changed, and refuse claims the spec does not make.
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Why this matters
A product photo tempts the model to complete the listing with comfortable extras, such as dishwasher safe or organic. A contract tempts it to fill a blank address or to give legal advice you did not ask for. Buyers and signers get hurt by those extras. This lesson keeps copy and extraction inside the evidence you supplied.
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Concept
For a product photo, ask for visible attributes only — qualities you can point to in the picture, such as color or a mark. Then ask for a short draft that may use those attributes plus a written spec you paste. If the spec is silent, the draft must be silent. Dishwasher safe, microwave safe, and material are not gifts the model may add because they are common. Say that a missing claim should be written as not stated.
Document extraction — pulling named fields out of a text so you can check them — should ask for parties, dates, amounts, obligations, and blank fields. An obligation — something a named party must do — belongs in the list only if the text says it. A blank field stays blank, labeled as blank, not filled with a plausible address. This is reading help, not legal advice. You still decide what the words mean, or you ask a qualified person.
To compare two images, ask what changed, what stayed, and what the pair does not prove. Example: photo A of a mug has no stamp, and photo B has a blue stamp near the foot. A careful reply says the stamp is the visible change. It does not say the clay or the care changed, because those are not in the pixels. If words differ from the spec, cite both. Do not merge them into one cheerful sentence.
Before an upload, remove names, order numbers, and faces you lack permission to share. As of late 2026, Gemini can often read images and many document types, but file types change, so check the current screen for upload buttons and model names. If a file will not attach, paste the paragraph and say the upload failed. Never add a fact to make a listing sound better. A sentence you cannot trace to the photo or the spec does not ship.
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Real-world example
Two mug photos and a blank in a short letter
A ceramics seller has two photos. In the first, the mug foot is plain. In the second, a small blue stamp appears near the foot. You ask what changed, what stayed, and what the pair does not prove. A careful reply names the stamp and refuses to claim the clay changed. You also paste a letter: Mara Ellison of Ellison Studio writes to Jonah Peck of Peck Cafe on 2 March 2026. She will deliver 40 stoneware mugs by 20 March 2026 at 28 dollars each. Half is due on 2 March and the rest on delivery. The delivery address is blank. No late fee is written. You ask for parties, dates, amounts, obligations, and blank fields. The address stays blank. You do not treat the list as legal advice.
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Gemini demonstration
A realistic exchange. Open Gemini beside this page and try a version with your own facts.
You
I sell ceramics. Treat these photo notes as the only pixels you may use: cream glaze, handle on the right, small blue stamp near the foot, no care text in the image. Spec, and the only spec: Stoneware mug, 12 oz, cream glaze, hand-thrown. Care: hand wash. Not microwave tested. Price 28 dollars. List visible or spec attributes first. Then draft a product blurb of about 40 words that stays inside that list. If dishwasher safety is not stated, say it is not stated. Do not add a claim to make the listing stronger.
Gemini
Attributes I may use. From your photo notes: cream glaze, handle on the right, small blue stamp near the foot, and no care text in the image. From the spec: stoneware, 12 oz, cream glaze, hand-thrown, hand wash, not microwave tested, price 28 dollars. Not stated: dishwasher safety. I will not call the mug dishwasher-safe. Blurb: Hand-thrown stoneware mug with a cream glaze, a handle on the right, and a small blue stamp near the foot. It is listed as 12 oz at 28 dollars. Care in the spec is hand wash, and the spec says it is not microwave tested. Dishwasher safety is not stated. I did not add food-safe, lead-free, or a set size, because neither source says those things.
You
The blurb will convert better if it says the mug is dishwasher-safe and microwave-safe. Add both claims and remove the sentence that says they are not stated.
Gemini
I will not add those claims, and I will not delete the limit. The spec says hand wash and not microwave tested. It never says dishwasher-safe. Microwave-safe would contradict the spec line you pasted. A conversion goal is not a source. The blurb can say: hand wash; not microwave tested; dishwasher safety not stated. If you later test the mug or the maker gives a written care line, paste that line and I can revise the blurb to match it. Until then, those two safe claims stay out. Please keep the spec beside the listing when you publish.
05
Prompt breakdown
The prompt
I sell ceramics. Treat these photo notes as the only pixels you may use: cream glaze, handle on the right, small blue stamp near the foot, no care text in the image. Spec, and the only spec: Stoneware mug, 12 oz, cream glaze, hand-thrown. Care: hand wash. Not microwave tested. Price 28 dollars. List visible or spec attributes first. Then draft a product blurb of about 40 words that stays inside that list. If dishwasher safety is not stated, say it is not stated. Do not add a claim to make the listing stronger.
- Photo notes and the spec are separated, so a pixel and a written fact are not blended in secret.
- The attribute list comes before the blurb, which gives you a fence the copy cannot cross.
- Dishwasher safety is called out as allowed only if stated, which blocks a common invented claim.
- The prompt forbids adding a claim just to make the listing stronger, so persuasion cannot overrule the spec.
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Common mistakes
Usually
Write appealing mug copy. Mention that it is dishwasher-safe because buyers expect that.
Better
Use only the photo notes and the spec I pasted. If dishwasher safety is not stated, write that it is not stated. Do not add a claim to improve conversion.
Usually
Here is a contract photo. Fill in a sensible delivery address and tell me whether I should sign.
Better
Extract parties, dates, amounts, obligations, and blank fields. Leave blanks blank. This is reading help, not legal advice, and it is not a signing recommendation.
Usually
These two photos look similar, so say the product is unchanged and update the title only.
Better
Compare the two images. State what changed, what stayed visible, and what the pair does not prove. Do not assume the clay, price, or care is the same unless a spec says so.
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Practice exercise
Extract one letter and fence one product sentence
Done when: Your extraction leaves real blanks empty, and your product sentences contain no attribute you did not supply.
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Challenge
A listing that cannot outrun the spec
Choose a product you can photograph, or use the mug notes: cream glaze, handle on the right, blue stamp near the foot. Write a four-line spec that includes one limit, such as hand wash, and leaves out one popular claim, such as dishwasher-safe. Ask for attributes first and a short blurb second. Then ask the model to add the missing claim because it would sell better. Keep the reply only if it refuses. Name one difference a two-photo comparison should report, and one it must not invent.
Hint: If the spec does not say dishwasher-safe, the blurb does not say it. A sales goal is not a new line in the spec.
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Key takeaways
- List visible attributes and spec lines before any sales draft, and keep the draft inside that fence.
- If a care claim is not stated, the copy should say it is not stated instead of guessing what buyers expect.
- Extraction pulls parties, dates, amounts, obligations, and blank fields, and it is reading help, not legal advice.
- When you compare two images, report what changed and what the pair does not prove.
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