The request
“When a product with variants opens, the default product image should be selected, not the first variant's picture. Only when the customer picks a color should the image change.”
The theme pre-selected the first variant and its image, which was often not the hero shot.
The approach
We changed the product page to load with the main product image and no variant selected. Once the customer picks a variant, the gallery switches to that variant's images.
What we shipped
Main product image shown on load
No variant pre-selected
Gallery switches on variant selection
Consistent in quick view