Subject
What is present? Be concrete about the object, person, material, or scene.
Visual prompt worksheet
Write a prompt for this image.
Start with what is actually visible. Then turn subject, light, composition, and atmosphere into language an image model can use.
Generate from an image
Look once. Describe precisely.
A strong prompt does not try to explain everything. It preserves the few choices that make a reference image feel like itself.
Frame
Where does the eye land? Notice scale, camera height, distance, and negative space.
Light
Describe direction, softness, time of day, contrast, and the way shadows fall.
Feeling
Name the visual mood through colors, textures, pace, and styling choices.
From observation to prompt.
Use the reference as a source of visual facts, not as a vague instruction to “make it look like this.”
Reference notes
matte charcoal vessel, sparse flowering branches, pale stone plinth, cool blue wall, soft window light from the left, restrained editorial still life
Prompt draft
editorial still life of a matte charcoal ceramic vessel with sparse flowering branches on a pale stone plinth, cool blue studio wall, soft side window light, quiet negative space, tactile paper and stone textures, restrained art direction
matte charcoal vessel, sparse flowering branches, pale stone plinth, cool blue wall, soft window light from the left, restrained editorial still life
Prompt draft
editorial still life of a matte charcoal ceramic vessel with sparse flowering branches on a pale stone plinth, cool blue studio wall, soft side window light, quiet negative space, tactile paper and stone textures, restrained art direction
Use details that change the result.
Most weak prompts fail because they use broad labels that could describe thousands of images. A useful prompt keeps the decisions that would be hard to guess without seeing the reference.
Replace broad style labels
Instead of writing “minimal,” name the pale backdrop, the sparse arrangement, the soft side light, and the quiet crop. The model can act on those choices.
Separate what you see from what you want
First describe the reference faithfully. Only after that should you change the subject, combine it with a new setting, or prepare it for a particular model.
Keep a visual priority
Not every detail belongs in the prompt. Lead with the subject and composition, then add the light, material, and mood that carry the image.
A repeatable writing pass.
This sequence helps you turn a reference into prompt text without relying on a list of disconnected style words.
- State the main subject and the setting in a plain sentence. If this is unclear, no amount of styling language will fix the prompt.
- Add the frame: crop, camera height, distance, orientation, and the relationship between the subject and empty space.
- Describe the light and color behavior. Notice whether the image is soft, direct, backlit, muted, saturated, warm, or cool.
- Finish with material and mood cues, then read the prompt once to remove adjectives that do not change the picture.
Before
minimal luxury vase photo
After
close editorial still life of a matte charcoal ceramic vessel holding sparse flowering branches, pale stone plinth, cool blue studio wall, soft window light from the left, long gentle shadows, tactile paper and stone textures, calm negative space
minimal luxury vase photo
After
close editorial still life of a matte charcoal ceramic vessel holding sparse flowering branches, pale stone plinth, cool blue studio wall, soft window light from the left, long gentle shadows, tactile paper and stone textures, calm negative space