doge

pictures · 5 min

Ask for a picture

An image generator needs a subject, a setting, light, and one change at a time.

Image tools turn a description into a picture. They do not know which details matter to you unless you say them. A short prompt produces a generic scene. A long prompt that changes five things at once produces a mess you cannot steer.

Try this

  1. Name the subject first. One person, one object, or one place.
  2. Add the setting and the light. "A desk by a window, morning light" is more useful than "beautiful."
  3. Name the kind of picture. Photograph, diagram, poster, or simple icon. Say the shape if you need one: square, wide, or tall.
  4. Say what to leave out. No words in the image. No extra people. No logo.
  5. When the picture is close, change one thing and run it again. Keep the rest of the prompt still.

A prompt you can copy

A single ceramic cup on a wooden table, soft morning window light, photographed from slightly above, empty background, no text, no hands.

Check the result

Count the objects you asked for. Read any letters the tool painted; they are often wrong, so do not use them as real words. If the picture includes a real person's face, treat that as a likeness you did not have permission to make, and start again from a description that is not a specific person.

All lessons

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