Most AI images look “off” not because the model is weak, but because the prompt is vague. A photoreal result comes from giving the model the same information a photographer would actually have on set.
The structure that works
Every reliable photo prompt on this site follows the same skeleton:
- Identity clause — “Use my uploaded image as the reference photo. Preserve the face and identity exactly.” This keeps the person recognizable.
- Subject & action — Who is in frame and what are they doing? Pose and expression matter more than you think.
- Wardrobe & props — Name colors, fabrics and objects. Generic words produce generic results.
- Setting — Where, when, and what’s in the background.
- Lighting — Golden hour, Rembrandt, neon, candlelight. Lighting is the single biggest realism lever.
- Lens & technical — Focal length (35mm, 85mm, 100mm), depth of field, film grain, color grade, resolution.
Why you must name a lens
A focal length does two things at once: it sets the perspective and the depth of field. Saying “85mm portrait lens, shallow depth of field” tells the model to compress features and blur the background — the look your eye reads as “real photo.”
Avoid the plastic skin trap
Add preserve skin texture, visible pores, natural skin to fight the waxy,
over-smoothed default. Pair it with a real lighting setup and the result stops
looking generated.
Steal our prompts
Browse any category and copy a prompt wholesale — then swap the two or three words that describe your photo. That’s the fastest path to a result you’ll actually use. Or just open the prompt generator and build one from scratch.