How to write AI image prompts: from subject to composition
A useful image prompt is a small design brief. It explains what matters, how the scene is arranged and which details make the result recognizable. You do not need an endless list of quality words.
A guide by OpenPix
The six building blocks of a clear prompt
Start with one understandable sentence about the subject. Add instructions that make visible decisions. This order is a writing aid, not a guaranteed weighting rule for the model.
- Subject: identify who or what appears, including shape, material and a few important traits.
- Action: describe a specific activity, such as opening a door.
- Setting: establish the location using a few spatial reference points.
- Viewpoint: choose a wide shot, medium view or detail and state viewing direction.
- Light and color: specify source, direction and a restrained palette.
- Style: select a suitable OpenPix style, then add useful linework or texture cues.
Describe relationships instead of stacking words
Say who holds which object and where it is. The woman holds a red cup in her right hand is clearer than woman, cup, red, hand. Assign each character a position and an action.
Choose one main light and one framing goal first. A close-up, full body, extreme wide shot and many tiny props compete with each other. Words such as 8K do not set the actual output dimensions or guarantee more detail.
Improve the result in comparable steps
Review subject, composition and light separately. Change only one area per attempt and save the prompt with its style and format. For clean comparisons, initially turn off optional prompt refinement so the wording is not rewritten too.
The model can vary even with the same text. For a character across several actions, use the linked character guide and a constant identity block.
Detailed example prompts
Example: a precise everyday scene
A young baker with short brown curls places a round sourdough loaf on a flour-dusted wooden counter. Eye-level medium view, both hands beside the loaf, soft morning light from a window on the left, warm ochre and cream colors, visible flour marks and natural apron fabric, quiet blurred bakery background, photographic style.
Person, action and object are connected. Window light and the limited palette establish mood. Flour and fabric provide concrete texture cues while the quiet setting protects the focal point.
Example: a controlled product composition
One matte dark-green water bottle stands on a pale stone block. Slightly elevated three-quarter view, generous empty area on the right for later lettering, soft studio light from upper left, subtle shadow to the right, fine surface texture, neutral warm background and clear product photography without lettering.
Object count is explicit. Viewpoint, shadow and empty space define a useful layout. Lettering is added later because generated letters can be unreliable.
Best practices for your images
- Write subject, then action and composition; give every added detail a visible purpose.
- Copy the original prompt for variants and change one building block at a time.
- Inspect the full image for hands, reflections, edges and unintended text.
- Check the rights needed for your intended use of real people or brands.
Common mistakes and limitations
- More text is not automatically better. Remove contradictions and irrelevant details.
- A prompt cannot guarantee exact anatomy, an identical character or unrestricted legal use.