How to use
PinaKoala.
A complete walkthrough — from your first product photo to a full catalog of studio-quality scenes. Most users finish their first generation in under three minutes.
Getting started
PinaKoala is an iOS app available on the App Store. After you install it, sign up with your email or Sign in with Apple. New accounts come with starter credits so you can try a generation before purchasing.
Your first photoshoot
Take a product photo
Place your product on a clean white surface and snap a well-lit photo. The cleaner the input, the better the output. Natural daylight from a window works great — no special lighting equipment needed.
Crop the photo so the product fills 60–80% of the frame. Keep the camera roughly at the product's mid-height to avoid distortion.
Pick a category
PinaKoala organizes scenes into three categories: Interior (living room, bedroom, kitchen, etc.), Studio (clean backgrounds, surfaces, props for catalog photography), and Outdoor (terrace, garden, beach).
Match the category to where the product would naturally be used or photographed. A vase: Interior. A watch: Studio. A picnic blanket: Outdoor.
Set the scene
Choose room, style, lighting, framing, and angle. Each parameter controls one aspect of the final image, so they don't conflict — pick whatever combination looks right for your brand.
Not sure what to pick? Use one of the suggested presets at the top of each picker. They're tuned for common e-commerce use cases.
Generate
Tap Generate. A typical scene takes about 30 seconds; matrix generations (multiple combinations at once) take 60–90 seconds. You can leave the app while it processes — we'll send a notification when your renders are ready.
Review and refine
Scroll through your generated images. If you want a variation, tap Refresh on any photo to regenerate it with the same parameters. Tap Transform to change aspect ratio (square for Instagram, vertical for Pinterest, horizontal for hero banners). Tap Upscale for higher resolution before publishing.
Each of these actions uses additional credits — the cost is shown before you confirm.
Download and ship
Tap any photo and use the share sheet to save to your camera roll, send to a teammate, or upload directly to Etsy, Amazon, Shopify, or Wildberries. Photos are saved as JPGs by default.
Matrix generation
Matrix generation runs every combination of your selected parameters in parallel. Pick 3 rooms × 3 styles, hit generate, and get 9 scenes from one upload.
This is the fastest way to populate a product listing or build out a small catalog. Use it when:
- You're listing a new product and don't yet know which scene resonates with buyers
- You want A/B variations to test on social ads
- You need lifestyle shots across multiple rooms for a single product
Getting the best results
The quality of generated images depends mostly on the input photo. A few rules of thumb:
Do
- Use a clean white or transparent background
- Photograph in soft, even lighting
- Show the product from a flattering angle
- Crop tight enough that the product is the clear subject
- Use the highest resolution your phone can produce
Avoid
- Cluttered or patterned backgrounds in the source photo
- Harsh shadows or strong directional light
- Multiple products in one frame (PinaKoala will pick one)
- Heavily edited photos with filters or retouching
- Tiny products that fill less than a third of the frame
Credits and packages
PinaKoala uses a credit system. You buy a one-time package — there's no subscription, no monthly fee, no auto-renewal.
Credits are deducted per action: a single generation uses fewer credits than a full matrix; an upscale or transform uses fewer than a fresh generation. The exact cost is shown in the app before you confirm.
Credits never expire while your account is active.
When a generation fails
Sometimes a generation fails — the AI returns an unusable image, or our backend hits a temporary error. When that happens, we automatically refund the credits used to your in-app balance. You don't need to email us; the refund is automatic and shows up within a few minutes.
If your balance hasn't been refunded after 24 hours, contact support with your project name and approximate time of the failed generation.
Need more help?
If you run into a problem this guide doesn't cover, head to support. If you have an idea for a feature you'd like to see in the app, share it on our feature suggestions page.
Got the app? Start your first shoot.
Open PinaKoala on your iPhone, upload your first product photo, and generate a full set of studio-grade scenes in under three minutes.
Back to home