How to make AI photos

Context

Context breathes life into your subject and situates it within a specific environment or mood. Prompts with context such as "a knight atop a white horse veiled by the dense fog of an ancient forest" or "an astronaut gazing at Earth from a quiet space station" can add narrative depth and emotion to your images.

Details

Rich details transport viewers into the scene. Within your prompt, use details to your advantage like the time of day, weather, and textures. For example, a prompt like “a vibrant sunflower among a sea of others under the bright sun during the Midwestern summer with bees buzzing about” invokes a multisensory experience thanks to its extra details.

Think like a photographer

Along with telling a story, another great tip for making photorealistic AI images is to think like a photographer when crafting your prompts. This means considering lighting, framing, and lens choices just as a photographer would when planning a shot.

Lighting

Whether it's the hopeful radiance of a sunrise or the eerie tranquility of moonlight, lighting can radically alter the entire mood of a scene. A prompt such as "a woman in a sunlit room, the morning light streaming through white curtains " not only sets the visual mood, but it can evoke specific emotions.

Framing

Framing in photography is about how the elements in the photo are arranged and presented. It influences how the viewer perceives the subject. For example, a prompt like "a close-up of a child’s smile with blurred festival lights in the background" shows effective framing and places the girl front and center.

Lens

In photography, the lens can dramatically alter the perception of the scene: it's about perspective and depth. A prompt such as "a bird’s-eye view of a serene mountain village with snow-capped roofs, winding roads, and smoke billowing from chimneys" results in an image taken from above a scene—aerially. Oppositely, "a detailed macro shot of dewdrops on a spiderweb in a garden" results in a close-up image that emphasizes details.

For even more specific lens options, you might specify a type of camera and lens in your prompt.

Modify and refine

Creating the perfect AI art prompt is like an author revising their manuscript: modifying and refining your AI image prompts can give you the best results. Try refining your prompts by adjusting framing, tweaking lighting, and adding or removing details. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different prompt variations and allow AI some creative leeway for unique outcomes.

With practice and imagination, you can create photorealistic visuals that tell captivating stories. Continue learning the art of image prompting as you put your inner photographer to work with Copilot. To create AI photos on the go, download the Copilot app.