Struggling with image differentiation as my catalogue grows

I’ve been running into a recurring issue as my catalogue grows, and I’m curious how others here deal with it.

I source from established factories and work mostly in private label. The products themselves are compliant and differentiated, but when it comes to images, a lot of listings inevitably start looking very similar — especially in search results where customers are scrolling fast.

I’m noticing a few problems that seem tied to this:

• CTR feels capped because visually everything blends together
• small image tweaks don’t really move the needle
• refreshing images across many ASINs gets expensive fast
• full re-shoots for every SKU just aren’t realistic at scale

I’m not talking about cutting corners or doing anything sketchy — more about the practical reality of running a larger catalogue.

So I wanted to ask other sellers who’ve been through this:

• At what point did you decide image differentiation was “worth it”?
• Do you rely mostly on re-shoots, or do you have lighter-weight workflows?
• What kinds of image changes actually improved CTR or conversion for you?
• How often do you realistically refresh images on existing ASINs?

Genuinely looking to learn from people who’ve already figured this out.