Let me try to explain that a little better.
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Consider this Scratch project:
That green "costume image" sprite will be returning this image:
In other words, the image for the current costume of the sprite, regardless of whether the sprite is currently hidden, or if another sprite happens to be obscuring it.
It is the current costume image for the sprite where the code block is running.
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Consider this Scratch project:
That green "backdrop image" block will be returning this image:
In other words, it shows what is currently visible on the backdrop at the location of the sprite.
It will include any other sprites that are visible, and any current backdrop.
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Consider this Scratch project:
That green "backdrop image" block will be returning this image:
In other words, it returns the current contents of the Stage, including the backdrop and all visible sprites.
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Does that help?
Which of those are you using in your project?
Kind regards
D