A prompt for an AI image generator is a written brief: subject, setting, style, lighting, composition and detail, in that order. Copy one below, change the subject, keep the structure.
60 of them below — headshots, 1980s photos, couples, thumbnails, product stills, posters — each written out in full, each tagged with the model to run it on.
The six-part formula behind every prompt here
Every prompt in this library is built from the same six parts, written in the same order. Learn the order once and you can write your own instead of hunting for one.
01
Subject
Who or what is in the frame
Vague
a businesswoman
Specific
a woman in her thirties in a charcoal blazer
02
Setting
Where it happens, and what sits behind the subject
Vague
in an office
Specific
against a soft grey seamless backdrop
03
Style
The medium — photo, render, illustration, film still
Vague
professional
Specific
editorial photography, shot on 85mm
04
Lighting
The source, its direction and how hard it is
Vague
good lighting
Specific
large softbox from camera left, subtle rim light behind
05
Composition
Framing, aspect ratio, and where the empty space goes
Vague
nice composition
Specific
face on the left third, negative space right, 16:9
06
Detail
The two or three specifics that stop it looking generic
Vague
high quality, 8k, masterpiece
Specific
visible skin pores, a faint catchlight in each eye
The aspect ratio belongs in the composition slot. Leaxor offers 9:16 for Shorts and Reels, 16:9 for YouTube thumbnails, 1:1 for square social, and 3:2 for a classic photo frame — so every prompt below ends in one of those four.
Prompts for professional photos and headshots
Business headshots live or die on lighting. Name the source and its direction and you skip the plastic, over-retouched look most generators reach for by default.
Corporate headshot
Flux 2 Pro
Corporate headshot of a woman in her thirties wearing a charcoal blazer, seated against a soft grey seamless backdrop, large softbox key light from camera left with a subtle rim light behind, shallow depth of field at f/2.0, 85mm portrait lens, natural skin texture with visible pores, confident closed-mouth smile, 3:2
LinkedIn portrait
Imagen 4 Ultra
LinkedIn headshot of a man in a navy knit sweater standing in a bright modern office, soft window light from the side, background thrown out of focus into gentle bokeh, relaxed posture, shot on 85mm f/1.8, tack-sharp eyes, neutral warm colour grade, 1:1
Founder portrait
Seedream 4.5
Editorial founder portrait, subject leaning against a concrete wall in an industrial workspace, hands in pockets, flat overcast window light, muted palette of grey and olive, medium-wide framing with negative space on the right, documentary photography look, 3:2
Dramatic studio
Seedream 5.0 Pro
Studio portrait of a chef in a white jacket against a matte black background, single hard key light at 45 degrees, deep falling shadows, dramatic chiaroscuro, visible fabric weave and a faint catchlight in each eye, 1:1
Golden-hour outdoor
Flux 2 Pro
Outdoor professional portrait of a real-estate agent at golden hour, standing on a quiet suburban street, warm backlight creating a hair rim, fill from a reflector below, background compressed with a 135mm lens, friendly open expression, 3:2
Team page, high-key
Nano Banana 2
Team-page portrait, half-body, subject in a plain white t-shirt against a light beige wall, flat even lighting with no harsh shadows, clean and minimal, high-key exposure, generous headroom so the shot survives a tighter crop, 1:1
Portrait prompts for men, women and character close-ups
A portrait prompt gets interesting the moment you stop describing a face and start describing a person, in a place, at an hour of the day.
Weathered character
Flux 2 Pro
Close-up portrait of an elderly fisherman with a weathered face and white stubble, wearing a wool cap, soft overcast light on a harbour at dawn, every wrinkle and pore rendered sharply, muted blue-grey palette, 85mm lens, 1:1
Backlit window
Seedream 4.5
Portrait of a young woman with curly auburn hair backlit by late-afternoon sun through a dusty window, dust motes catching the light, warm amber tones, eyes in sharp focus, fine 35mm film grain, shallow depth of field, 3:2
Ring-light beauty
Nano Banana Pro
Studio beauty portrait of a man with a shaved head and a strong jawline, circular ring-light catchlight in both eyes, cool teal background, high contrast, skin texture fully retained, individually sharp eyelashes, 1:1
Environmental candid
Flux 2 Pro
Environmental portrait of a teenage skateboarder sitting on a ledge at a concrete skatepark, low late-day sun, wide 35mm framing that shows the whole park behind him, candid unposed expression, slightly desaturated grade, 3:2
Low-key stage
Seedream 5.0 Pro
Dramatic low-key portrait of a violinist half in shadow, a single warm practical stage lamp as the only light, dark maroon background, haze in the air, cinematic film still, 9:16
Street documentary
Imagen 4 Ultra
Candid street portrait of a market vendor mid-laugh behind a stall of citrus fruit, harsh midday sun with hard shadows, saturated colour, photojournalism style, 35mm lens, 3:2
Couple photo prompts
Couples are where generators drift into stock-photo blandness. Give them an action and a moment — walking, laughing, mid-step — instead of a pose.
Autumn walk
Flux 2 Pro
Candid engagement photo of a couple walking a tree-lined path in autumn, leaves in the air around them, backlit golden-hour sun, both laughing mid-step, warm palette, shallow focus, 35mm documentary style, 3:2
Rooftop blue hour
Seedream 4.5
Couple portrait on a rooftop at blue hour, city lights as soft bokeh behind them, foreheads touching, cool ambient light with one warm practical from a string bulb, cinematic colour grade, 9:16
Faded film beach
Seedream 4.5
1970s-style couple photo on a beach at sunset, soft atmospheric haze, faded warm colour, visible film grain and a light leak across one corner, subjects mid-laugh, Kodak Portra look, 3:2
Family at home
Imagen 4 Ultra
Family of four on a worn leather sofa in a sunlit living room, morning light through sheer curtains, relaxed and unposed, natural skin tones, wide 28mm framing, 3:2
Kitchen at night
Seedream 5.0 Pro
Couple dancing in a dim kitchen at night, a single overhead bulb as the only source, motion blur on their hands, warm tungsten cast, intimate and grainy, 35mm lens, 1:1
Editorial studio
Nano Banana Pro
Studio couple portrait against a seamless grey backdrop, matching black outfits, even softbox lighting from both sides, one subject standing slightly behind the other, minimal editorial styling, 1:1
1980s and retro film prompts
The 80s look is a lighting choice, not a filter: direct on-camera flash, slight overexposure, and colour that has aged badly in one specific direction.
1985 mall studio
Flux 2 Pro
1985 mall studio portrait, subject in a pastel sweater against an airbrushed blue-and-pink laser backdrop, direct on-camera flash, slight overexposure, soft focus, orange date stamp in the lower right corner, 3:2
Disco floor
Seedream 4.5
1980s disco photo, crowd on a lit dance floor, direct flash freezing the motion, red and blue gel lighting, heavy grain with slight motion blur at the edges, saturated Kodak Gold colour, 3:2
1987 backyard
Flux 2 Pro
1987 suburban backyard barbecue snapshot, harsh flash at dusk, wood-panel fence behind, faded colours with a magenta shift, dust and fine scratches on the print, 35mm point-and-shoot look, 3:2
VHS still
Seedream 4.5
1990s VHS still of a suburban living room, visible scanlines and chromatic fringing, low resolution, tracking distortion across the top of the frame, white timestamp overlay in the corner, 3:2
Neon arcade
Seedream 5.0 Pro
1980s arcade at night, rows of glowing cabinets receding into the dark, neon reflections on a wet floor, hazy air, cyan-and-magenta palette, cinematic wide shot, 16:9
1984 office portrait
Nano Banana 2
Retro 1984 corporate portrait, subject in oversized glasses and a brown blazer, brown gradient studio backdrop, flat direct flash lighting, print yellowed with age, 3:2
Prompts for social media images
Social images need somewhere for the words to go. Ask for negative space by name, or you get a beautiful picture with nowhere to put the headline.
Morning desk flat-lay
Flux 2 Pro
Flat-lay of a morning desk scene, oat-milk latte, open notebook and a linen napkin, warm morning window light casting long shadows, muted beige palette, top-down 90-degree angle, generous negative space in the top-left for a headline, 1:1
Hands and mug
Imagen 4 Ultra
Lifestyle shot of hands holding a ceramic mug over a wooden cafe table, visible steam, soft window light, shallow depth of field, cosy and warm, 1:1
Single-object cover
Nano Banana Pro
Carousel cover image: a single ripe peach on a pale pink background, hard directional light casting one crisp shadow, minimal high-key styling, centred with clear room above for a headline, 1:1
Beauty flat-lay
Seedream 5.0 Pro
Aesthetic flat-lay of three skincare bottles on a cream marble surface with a dried eucalyptus sprig, soft diffused daylight, gentle shadows, clean minimal beauty-brand styling, 1:1
Vertical BTS
Flux 2 Pro
Behind-the-scenes photo of a creator filming at a desk lit by a ring light, warm practical lighting, slightly messy and real rather than staged, candid documentary feel, 9:16
Bright food
Imagen 4 Ultra
Bright kitchen scene: a bowl of berries and yogurt on white marble, overhead natural light, fresh and airy, high-key exposure, crisp detail on the fruit, 1:1
YouTube thumbnail prompts
A thumbnail is judged at the size of a postage stamp. Prompt for one subject, extreme contrast, and an empty third where the title will sit.
Shocked reaction
Flux 2 Pro
Close-up of a shocked man with wide eyes and a hand on his head, bright saturated yellow background, hard rim light separating him from it, extreme contrast, face filling the left third, empty space on the right for title text, 16:9
Before and after
Seedream 5.0 Pro
Split-composition thumbnail: a rusted old laptop on the left, a glowing new one on the right, hard studio light on both, deep black background, high contrast, dramatic, 16:9
Chart crash
Recraft v4
A single glowing red arrow driving down through a crashing stock chart, dark navy background, volumetric light around the arrow, very high contrast, simple enough to read at thumbnail size, 16:9
Money box
Flux 2 Pro
Stack of cash spilling out of a cardboard box on a dark desk, hard top light, deep shadows, one saturated green accent light from behind, negative space on the left for text, 16:9
Point at camera
Nano Banana Pro
Face-forward close-up of a woman pointing directly at the camera with a determined expression, bright orange gradient background, thick white outline cut around the subject, punchy contrast, 16:9
Title baked in
Ideogram v3
Thumbnail with the words 'I TRIED IT' in a heavy white condensed sans-serif across the lower third, a startled man behind the text, bright red background, thick black outline on every letter, very high contrast, 16:9
Product and brand photography prompts
Commercial product work is mostly surface and shadow. Say what the material is and where the highlight falls, and the render stops looking like plastic.
Floating e-commerce
Flux 2 Pro
Studio product shot of a matte black wireless earbud case floating against a light grey gradient, soft top light with one crisp specular highlight along the edge, subtle contact shadow beneath, clean e-commerce styling, 1:1
Backlit serum
Seedream 5.0 Pro
Hero shot of an amber glass serum bottle on a wet slate slab, water droplets beading on the glass, a single hard light behind it glowing through the liquid, deep shadows, luxury skincare advertising, 1:1
Mid-air sneaker
Nano Banana Pro
Running shoe frozen mid-air against a dusty concrete background, dust particles lit by a hard rim light, dynamic diagonal composition, sports advertising photography, 3:2
Leather flat-lay
Imagen 4 Ultra
Overhead flat-lay of a leather wallet, brass keys and a fountain pen on dark walnut, warm directional light from the left, rich deep shadows, premium menswear catalogue styling, 1:1
Neon drink
Seedream 4.5
Cold can of craft soda on a bar top with condensation running down it, backlit by neon signage, shallow depth of field, moody and saturated, beverage advertising, 9:16
Minimal packaging
Recraft v4
Minimal packaging shot: a white cylindrical tube standing on a pale sand-coloured surface, one hard light casting a long geometric shadow, large negative space above the product, 1:1
Landscape and environment prompts
Landscapes fail when the prompt names a place and nothing else. Add the hour, the weather, and one thing in the foreground.
Alpine sunrise
Imagen 4 Ultra
Jagged alpine peaks at sunrise, mist pooling in the valleys below, wildflowers in the foreground, warm first light striking only the summits, ultra-wide 16mm lens, deep focus front to back, landscape photography, 16:9
Desert highway
Flux 2 Pro
Empty desert highway at dusk, heat haze shimmering above the tarmac, a lone telephone pole at the right, purple-to-orange gradient sky, wide symmetrical composition, 16:9
Foggy redwoods
Seedream 4.5
Dense redwood forest in heavy fog, shafts of light falling between the trunks, damp ferns on the forest floor, cool green-grey palette, vertical framing that emphasises the height of the trees, 9:16
Monochrome coast
Seedream 5.0 Pro
Icelandic black sand beach in a storm, basalt sea stacks offshore, long exposure smoothing the surf into mist, flat overcast light, monochrome, 16:9
Rainy neon alley
Seedream 4.5
Rain-soaked Tokyo alley at night, neon signage reflecting in the puddles, a single figure with an umbrella walking away from camera, shallow depth of field, cool cyberpunk grade, 9:16
Tuscan hills
Imagen 4 Ultra
Rolling Tuscan hills at golden hour, a single cypress-lined road winding through them, warm hazy light, soft layers receding into the distance, medium telephoto compression, 16:9
Prompts for posters, logos and text in images
Most models still mangle letters. Put the exact words in quotes, keep them short, and run it on a model built for type.
Swiss poster
Ideogram v3
Minimal poster with the words 'STAY CURIOUS' in a heavy condensed sans-serif, white type on a deep navy field, one thin orange rule beneath the text, generous margins, Swiss graphic design, 9:16
Vintage travel
Ideogram v3
Vintage travel poster with the word 'DOLOMITI' in a bold retro serif across the bottom, flat geometric mountain shapes above, limited five-colour palette, screen-print texture, 9:16
Chalkboard menu
Ideogram v4
Coffee-shop chalkboard reading 'FRESH BREW DAILY' in hand-lettered chalk script with small flourishes, dark slate background, realistic chalk dust and smudges, 1:1
Geometric logo
Recraft v4
Logo concept: a stylised fox head built from five clean geometric shapes, single-weight line work, pure black on white, flat vector, centred with even margins, 1:1
Duotone flyer
Ideogram v3
Bold event flyer with 'LATE NIGHT SET' in oversized display type, a halftone photo of a crowd behind the words, duotone black and electric blue, grungy print texture, 9:16
Product label
Ideogram v4
Product label mockup reading 'WILD HONEY' in an elegant serif on a kraft-paper background, a small illustrated bee above the words, warm amber accents, letterpress feel, 1:1
Anime, illustration and 3D render prompts
Naming the medium does most of the work. Cel-shaded, flat vector and octane render each pull the model into a completely different house style.
Anime key visual
Seedream 4.5
Anime key visual of a girl in a school uniform standing on a rooftop at sunset, wind lifting her hair, cel-shaded with clean confident lineart, vibrant orange sky, detailed city skyline behind her, 9:16
Painted background
Seedream 5.0 Pro
Hand-painted anime background of a small cottage in a meadow of tall grass, towering cumulus clouds, visible brushwork, soft warm palette, wide establishing shot, 16:9
Flat vector editorial
Recraft v4
Flat vector illustration of a person working at a laptop in a plant-filled room, limited four-colour palette, bold simple shapes, no gradients or texture, editorial illustration style, 3:2
3D character
Nano Banana Pro
3D render of a friendly round robot holding a paper coffee cup, soft studio lighting with subsurface scattering, pastel background, smooth matte materials, appealing character design, 1:1
Sci-fi concept art
Seedream 5.0 Pro
Concept art of a derelict spaceship interior, red emergency lighting, thick atmosphere and floating dust, painterly brushwork, muted teal and rust palette, cinematic wide shot, 16:9
Isometric diorama
Recraft v4
Isometric 3D illustration of a tiny city block with a cafe, a bookshop and a park, soft ambient occlusion, clean pastel colours, miniature diorama feel, 1:1
Why your prompt is not working
Seven failures that come up again and again, and the single edit that fixes each one.
Every face comes out airbrushed and plastic
Ask for texture explicitly — visible skin pores, natural skin texture, fine lines. Models smooth skin by default because that is what most training captions rewarded.
The image is technically fine and completely boring
You described a noun and no light. Swap good lighting for a real setup: hard key at 45 degrees, flat overcast window light, a single practical lamp.
Text in the image comes out as gibberish
Put the exact words in quote marks, keep them under four words, and run it on Ideogram v3 or v4. Every other model treats letters as decoration.
The subject is dead centre and there is nowhere for a title
Name the empty space: subject on the left third, negative space on the right. A thumbnail prompt without it is a thumbnail you will have to crop.
Stacking quality words changed nothing
8k, masterpiece, ultra detailed and award winning are noise on current models. One concrete detail beats five superlatives.
The style drifts between runs
Lock the medium in the first six words — cel-shaded anime key visual, flat vector illustration — rather than appending it at the end, where it competes with everything else.
It ignored half of a long prompt
Put what matters most first. Attention thins out toward the end, so a detail buried in the twelfth clause is a detail you are hoping for rather than asking for.
Which model for which prompt
The same prompt is a different picture on a different model. All 10 sit behind one prompt box in Leaxor, so switching costs a click — and 1–3 credits an image, depending which one you land on.
Leaxor image models, what each is best at, its credit cost, and how many prompts in this library are tagged for it
Model
Best at
Made by
Credits
Prompts here
Flux 2 Pro
Crisp & photoreal
Black Forest Labs
1
13
Nano Banana Pro
Top quality
Google
2
6
Seedream 4.5
Cinematic detail
ByteDance
2
10
Imagen 4 Ultra
Google photoreal
Google
3
8
Recraft v4
Illustration & vector
Recraft
2
5
Ideogram v3
Best for text
Ideogram
2
4
HiDream
Fast & affordable
HiDream.ai
1
—
Seedream 5.0 Pro
Design-grade detail
ByteDance
1
10
Nano Banana 2
Fast, near-Pro quality
Google
1
2
Ideogram v4
Text, cheaper than v3
Ideogram
1
2
Model documentation, straight from the people who trained them: Black Forest Labs for Flux, Google DeepMind for Imagen, and Ideogram for the two text-in-image models. A full breakdown lives on the model pages.
Frequently asked questions
What is a prompt for an AI image generator?
It is a written brief for the model: what is in the frame, where it is, what medium it is in, how it is lit, how it is framed, and the two or three details that stop it looking generic. A model cannot ask a follow-up question, so anything you leave out it invents. That is why a six-part prompt beats a six-word one almost every time.
What makes a good AI image generator prompt?
Specificity in the right places. 'Good lighting' tells a model nothing; 'large softbox from camera left with a subtle rim light' tells it everything. Name the light source and its direction, name the medium in the first few words, and say where the empty space goes. Stacked quality words — 8k, masterpiece, award winning — do almost nothing on current models.
Are these prompts free to use?
Yes. Copy, edit and publish whatever you make from them — there is nothing to attribute. Running one costs credits only if you generate it here: credits are $0.10 each, an image costs 1–3 credits depending on the model, and the minimum purchase is 50 credits. There is no subscription, and credits never expire.
Do these prompts work in Midjourney, DALL-E and Stable Diffusion?
They do. Every prompt here is plain natural language with no tool-specific flags, so it pastes cleanly into Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion or anything else. The aspect ratio is written at the end as plain text — move it into that tool's own ratio setting if it has one.
How long should an AI image prompt be?
One to three sentences, roughly 30 to 60 words. Shorter than that and the model fills the gaps for you; much longer and it starts dropping clauses from the end. If a prompt has to be long, put the part you care most about first.
Why does my prompt keep producing the same generic image?
Usually because it names a subject and nothing else. A model given 'a businesswoman in an office' has one obvious answer and will keep giving it to you. Change the light, the lens, the hour of day or the medium and the same subject becomes a different picture.
Which model should I run these prompts on?
Flux 2 Pro is the default and handles most of this library well. Reach for Ideogram v3 or v4 when the image has to contain readable words, Recraft v4 for flat vector and logo work, Seedream for cinematic and moody, and Imagen 4 Ultra for straight photorealism. All 10 sit behind the same prompt box, so switching is one click.
Paste any prompt above into Leaxor's Image mode, pick a model, and get a finished high-res still in the same tab. 1–3 credits an image, credits are $0.10 and never expire, and there is no subscription.
Prompts for social media images
Social images need somewhere for the words to go. Ask for negative space by name, or you get a beautiful picture with nowhere to put the headline.
Morning desk flat-lay
Flux 2 ProFlat-lay of a morning desk scene, oat-milk latte, open notebook and a linen napkin, warm morning window light casting long shadows, muted beige palette, top-down 90-degree angle, generous negative space in the top-left for a headline, 1:1
Hands and mug
Imagen 4 UltraLifestyle shot of hands holding a ceramic mug over a wooden cafe table, visible steam, soft window light, shallow depth of field, cosy and warm, 1:1
Single-object cover
Nano Banana ProCarousel cover image: a single ripe peach on a pale pink background, hard directional light casting one crisp shadow, minimal high-key styling, centred with clear room above for a headline, 1:1
Beauty flat-lay
Seedream 5.0 ProAesthetic flat-lay of three skincare bottles on a cream marble surface with a dried eucalyptus sprig, soft diffused daylight, gentle shadows, clean minimal beauty-brand styling, 1:1
Vertical BTS
Flux 2 ProBehind-the-scenes photo of a creator filming at a desk lit by a ring light, warm practical lighting, slightly messy and real rather than staged, candid documentary feel, 9:16
Bright food
Imagen 4 UltraBright kitchen scene: a bowl of berries and yogurt on white marble, overhead natural light, fresh and airy, high-key exposure, crisp detail on the fruit, 1:1