Relight a product shot with Ideogram 4.5: 3 lighting passes, cost

To relight a product shot with Ideogram 4.5, send the photo as the first input_references image to POST /v1/images and describe only the new light in the prompt; three lighting variants cost $0.1125 at low quality or $0.225 at medium on Sume. Each variant is a separate edit of the original, not a chain, so one weak result does not damage the others.

Ideogram launched 4.5 on 2026-09-30 and calls it "the most precise edit model" (Ideogram on X, read 2026-10-05). Precision is what relighting needs, because the product, its label and its edges must not move while the shadows do. That is a vendor claim; the checks below are how you test it.

Chain the passes or branch from the original?

Branch. If pass two edits pass one's output, any drift in the product label compounds. If every variant edits the same original, each is one generation away from the truth. Chaining only makes sense when a later look needs an earlier one, such as adding a reflection after the surface changes.

Branching also lets you run the variants in parallel. A Pro plan runs 4 generations at once and queues 20 more, per the generation admission docs, so three variants fit without waiting.

What should the three prompts say?

Name the light, then name what must stay. Keep the second half identical across all three so you compare like with like.

• Soft window light: "Relight this photo as soft daylight from a large window on the left. Keep the product, its label text, its position and the background unchanged."
• Hard studio spot: "Relight this photo with one hard spotlight from above right and a crisp shadow on the surface. Keep the product, its label text, its position and the background unchanged."
• Warm evening: "Relight this photo with warm low sunset light from the right. Keep the product, its label text, its position and the background unchanged."

What does it cost?

Ideogram 4.5's list prices are $0.03, $0.06 and $0.22 by quality; Sume bills list x 1.25. The price is the same at any size, so a 2K relight costs what a 1K one does.

What should I check on every result?

Look at the places a lighting edit tends to damage, in this order:

• Label text. Zoom to 100 percent and read every word; a light change that alters a letter is a failed pass.
• Product edges. The outline should sit where it did in the source, with no halo or blur.
• Shadow direction. The new shadow must agree with the new light. If the light comes from the left and the shadow falls left, reject it.
• Colors. A warm light should tint the surface, not recolor the product itself; compare a flat color patch in both images.
• Geometry. Without aspect_ratio, the edit keeps the source shape per the Image API docs, so the size should match the source exactly.

When do I move up a quality tier?

Start every variant at low. If the label survives and only the shadow is off, adjust the prompt and re-run at low: it costs $0.0375 and not $0.275. Move to medium or high only for the variant you will ship. The quality tier changes the price, and the docs do not say what it changes in the picture, so judge it on your own product.

Save the approved variants as PNG and keep the original untouched. If a buyer later wants a fourth look, you branch from the same original and the three you shipped stay as they were. Longer chains and what they cost are in the ten-edit chain post.