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20 AI image prompts that draw what you meant

Most AI images miss because the prompt names a subject and stops. These prompts spell out the framing, the lens, the light and the exact words, then edit one thing at a time until the picture matches the one in your head.

Swap anything in [brackets] for your subject, photo or style.

01. Turn a rough idea into a full image prompt

You know roughly what you want but not how to say it.

I want an image of [your rough idea]. It is for [where it will be used: a post, a slide, a product page, a print].

Before you write anything, ask me up to five questions about what you would otherwise have to guess: the subject's details, the setting, the mood, the style and the shape of the image.

Once I answer, write one image prompt in plain sentences, in this order: subject, setting, composition and camera angle, lens or framing, light, style, color palette, aspect ratio, any text that must appear (in double quotes). Keep it under 120 words.

Then list the two details the image model is most likely to get wrong and how the prompt guards against them.

02. Describe the shot like a photographer, field by field

Any image where a one line prompt gave you something generic.

A photograph of [subject, with two or three specific details: material, age, color, expression].

Setting: [where, time of day, season, what is in the background].
Composition: [close up, medium shot or wide shot], [eye level, low angle or overhead], subject placed [center, left third, right third], [how much empty space and where].
Lens: [for example 35mm for a natural street look, 85mm for a portrait with a soft background, macro for small details].
Light: [soft window light from the left, hard midday sun, warm lamp light at night, overcast and even].
Style: [documentary photo, studio photo, film photo with grain, clean commercial photo].
Palette: [three main colors or "muted and natural"].
Aspect ratio: [1:1, 4:5, 16:9, 9:16].
Leave out: [anything you keep getting that you do not want].

03. Shoot a clean product photo on a plain background

A store listing, a catalog or a product page.

A studio product photo of the [product] in the attached image. Keep its shape, color, label and proportions exactly as they are in the reference. Do not add, remove or redesign any part of it.

Place it [standing upright, lying flat, at a three quarter angle] on a plain [white, light grey or soft color] background with a soft shadow directly under it. Even, soft studio lighting from the front and slightly above, no harsh reflections on [glass, metal or glossy parts]. The product fills about [60 to 70] percent of the frame, centered, sharp from front to back.

Aspect ratio [1:1 or 4:5]. No props, no text, no extra objects.

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  1. Make a thumbnail that reads at phone size
  2. Get short text into an image without mangled letters
  3. Edit one thing in a photo and keep the rest
  4. Fix a generated image one change at a time
  5. Lock a character's look before you make a series
  6. Keep the same product identical across a set of images
  7. Put your product in a real scene
  8. Sketch logo directions without chasing a final logo
  9. Write a style guide so a set of illustrations matches
  10. Make a post image sized for the platform
  11. Describe an image you like so you can make your own
  12. Test five versions of a prompt, one change each
  13. Remove clutter from a photo without making it look fake
  14. Turn a casual photo into a clean profile picture
  15. Plan a carousel where every slide matches
  16. Find out why your prompt keeps getting ignored
  17. Have a second model critique the image before you use it