Make pro-looking images without a designer
Get usable graphics from a clear description and a few tweaks.
Describe the shot like a photographer — subject, setting, light, framing — then generate several and pick. Match the tool to the job: ImageFX or Leonardo to start free, Ideogram when the image needs readable text, Firefly when it's for commercial use.
AI image tools are only as good as the brief. 'A nice product photo' gives generic stock; describing the subject, background, lighting and framing the way a photographer would is what produces something usable. The tool matters too — each has a clear strength — so pick by what you're making.
- ▸Google ImageFX free — photorealistic, generous free limits — best place to start
- ▸Leonardo.ai free — general-purpose with strong controls, ~150 credits/day
- ▸Ideogram — by far the best at readable text in images — logos, posters, ads
- ▸Adobe Firefly — commercially safe: licensed training data + legal indemnification
- ▸Flux (Black Forest Labs) — top-tier photorealism for portraits and product shots
Describe the four pillars
Cover four things and you beat most people: the subject and what it's doing; the setting and background; the lighting and mood (this does most of the emotional work); and the framing and aspect ratio. Leave any out and the model fills the gap with its bland default.
Speak in photography terms
Image models were trained on real photography, so real photographic terms steer them powerfully — '50mm lens', 'shallow depth of field', 'golden hour', 'overhead flat-lay', 'soft diffused light'. A small vocabulary of these is worth more than any number of adjectives like 'beautiful', which the model can't really act on.
Design for the use, and iterate
Brief the image for where it lives: if a headline sits on top, demand negative space there; if it's a banner, specify the wide ratio up front. Treat the first render as a draft — generate several and refine one element at a time ('same shot, warmer light, less clutter'). Restraint is the secret to a premium look; a clean, simple scene reads as expensive, an over-stuffed one reads as AI.
- 1Name the subject and what it is.
- 2Describe the background, then the light and mood.
- 3Say the framing and aspect ratio; leave space for any text.
- 4Generate 4 and pick the best; refine one thing at a time.
Image prompts to copy
Want the prompts that go further?
Drop your email + WhatsApp — I'll send the weekly playbook and the full prompt vault.
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