Reference images
Show the look you want with example photos. A photo becomes a free reference when you move it into the Reference images group, and you can still add references after you have paid.
A reference image is a photo you upload only to show us something — a look, a color treatment, a pose, a lighting mood. It is never edited and never charged. You only pay for the photos we actually edit.
Reference images are the fastest way out of a hard description. Instead of writing “warm but not orange, slightly faded blacks”, add the frame that already looks right and say Match the color of moodboard-01.jpg — or type # in your instructions and pick the photo, so the editor sees exactly which one you mean.
What makes a good reference
- A finished photo whose look you want copied: color, contrast, grain, skin tone.
- A pose, crop or expression you are aiming for.
- Part of another photo you want merged into yours — a sky, a background, a product angle.
Add references before you pay
In the order workspace, everything you upload lands in Photos to edit first — there is no separate “reference” upload. A photo becomes a reference when you move it into the Reference images group:
- Drag it onto the Reference images group, or onto the dashed
Drag photos hereslot at the end of it. - Or hover the photo, open ⋯ at the bottom right of the card, and choose Reference images (
Won’t be edited · no charge).
Moving photos between groups, and putting them in order, is covered in full in Organize photos.
The message Moved 1 photo to Reference images — not charged. confirms it, and the Order summary on the right changes straight away: Editing photos drops by one, a Reference photos line appears with 1 · free, and the Total goes down by 1 credit.
Changed your mind? Move the photo back the same way. The message then says Moved 1 photo to Photos to edit. Back to editing — 1 credit each.
How the Reference images group works
- It appears as soon as an order has two photos, always as the last group on the page. Its name is fixed: it cannot be renamed or deleted.
- Its header reads
Won’t be edited · no charge, and every photo in it carries a thinWon’t be editedstrip along its bottom edge. Reference cards are a little smaller than the photos to edit, so the two are easy to tell apart. - The group has its own box,
Note for this group (optional), for anything that applies to all of your examples, such asMatch the color of these, not the crop. - A reference opens in the same photo viewer as any other photo — its subtitle ends in
· Reference— so you can point at the exact part you mean with a note or a marked area. - Under the header the group explains itself:
Photos in this group are for reference only. They will not be edited and are not charged.
Not sure whether a photo is only a reference?
Leave it with the photos to edit. That is the advice the group itself gives: if it turns out we do not need to edit it, we move it back to Reference images and refund its credit. The other way round is slower — a photo that needs editing but was left in Reference images means we have to check the extra credit with you first, which can delay your order.
Add references after you have paid
Open the order and go to the Submission tab. Below your instructions and Photos to edit, the Reference images section has an Add reference images button and a dashed Drop reference images here box at the end of the grid. Anything you add here is stored as a reference, for free, and moodboard-02.jpg added as a reference confirms it.
Adding a reference does not send a message on its own. If the reference changes what you want, write a line on the Messages tab as well, so the editor working on your order sees it.
Rules and limits
- Reference images cost 0 credits, before and after payment.
- At least one photo has to stay with the photos to edit. Moving the last one into Reference images is refused: in the ⋯ menu that choice is greyed out with
Keep at least one editing photo., and dragging it shows the same message withMove another photo out of the reference group first, or keep this one for editing. - There is no way to mark a photo as a reference while you upload it; move it after it has landed in Photos to edit.
- After payment, everything you add on the Submission tab is a reference. Add reference images disappears once the order is closed or canceled.