After spending way too long on image generation across Midjourney, DALL-E 3, and Stable Diffusion, here are the techniques that have consistently moved the needle. These apply across tools.

1. Lead with the subject, not the vibe

Weak: a moody atmospheric photo of a lighthouse
Strong: lighthouse at dusk, rocky coastline, fog rolling in, long exposure, moody atmosphere

Put what you want TO SEE first.

2. Specify the medium explicitly

“photo”, “oil painting”, “pencil sketch”, “3D render”, “watercolor illustration” - make it unambiguous. Without this, models guess.

3. Use lighting as a modifier, not an afterthought

Lighting changes everything. Add: golden hour lighting, dramatic side lighting, soft diffused light, neon ambient glow, harsh overhead fluorescent.

4. Aspect ratio shapes composition

Wide ratios (16:9) naturally suggest landscapes and cinematic shots. Portrait ratios (2:3) suit character close-ups. Square (1:1) works for icons and products. Match ratio to intent.

5. Negative prompts are not optional

Common negatives worth adding: blurry, low quality, watermark, text, extra limbs, distorted face, overexposed

6. Reference artists carefully

in the style of Edward Hopper gives you something specific. in the style of a famous artist gives you nothing. Be precise.

7. Camera terms unlock photorealism

shot on Canon EOS R5, 85mm f/1.4, shallow depth of field, bokeh background - these cues dramatically improve photorealistic outputs.

8. Color palettes are powerful

muted earth tones, high contrast neon palette, monochromatic blue tones, pastel color palette with warm accents - these are much more effective than adjectives like “colorful”.

9. Compositional framing

rule of thirds, centered symmetrical composition, dynamic diagonal lines, bird's eye view, Dutch angle - explicit composition terms help.

10. Seed locking for iterations

If you get something close but not quite right, lock the seed and tweak individual words. This is more efficient than regenerating from scratch.

What techniques have worked for you? Drop them below.

Curated by Selendia AI 🎨