Writing Good AI Prompts
Write clear prompts for AI templates: structure, punctuation, weights, negative prompts and ready-to-use examples.
The prompt is the text that tells the AI what to make. A clear prompt gives consistent, controllable results, event after event. This guide covers the structure, punctuation and weights you can use in AI templates that take a text prompt, plus ready-to-use examples.
Chapters (8)
The basics
- Write the main prompt in English. The questions for guests in a dynamic prompt can be in any language, but the prompt itself works best in English.
- Use a simple structure:
[Style/Theme], [Descriptive elements], [Techniques]. - Use keywords separated by commas and avoid long sentences, except where you need them for context.
- Keep it short: one or two lines is usually enough.
Example: surreal landscape, swirling clouds, bold contrasting colors, impasto brush strokes, dramatic depth, crisp detail
Keywords or instructions?
There are two ways to write a prompt, and both have their place:
| Style | Looks like | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Keywords | night street fashion, neon bokeh, rim light, 50mm lens, cinematic | You describe a look or a scene and want fine control with punctuation and weights (this guide). |
| Instruction | Change the clothes of the people in this photo to … Keep the same people … Do not add anyone. | The template changes the guest's own photo (for example Re-Imagine in AI Offline or an Image → Image model in AI Online) and the guests must stay recognisable. |
Whatever style you use, test every prompt on real photos: one guest, a couple and a group. Not every AI model reacts to punctuation and weights in the same way, so check the effect with your own template.
What each punctuation mark does
| Mark | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
, comma | Soft separator between ideas. | mountains, river, blue sky |
; semicolon / . full stop | Hard separator between ideas. | ancient cavern; hidden treasure |
! exclamation mark | Emphasis. | cityscape at night! |
: colon | Sets an exact weight. | cat:2.0, eyes:1.8 |
( ) parentheses | Groups words and adds light emphasis. | (beautiful sunset) |
(( )), ((( ))) | Nested parentheses: stronger emphasis with each level. | ((detailed texture)) |
[ ] square brackets | Lowers the weight. | [sunset] |
| pipe | Blends two different ideas. | cyberpunk city | traditional batik |
Prompt weights
A weight tells the AI how important a word is.
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
1.0 | Normal (the default). |
above 1.0 | More important. |
below 1.0 | Less important. |
0 | Ignored. |
| Form | Effect |
|---|---|
keyword:value | Exact weight, for example cat:2.0. |
(keyword) | Light emphasis (about 1.1). |
((keyword)) | Medium emphasis (about 1.2–1.3). |
(((keyword))) | Strong emphasis (about 1.3–1.4). |
[keyword] | Less emphasis (about 0.9). |
You can combine them: a (cat:2.0), ((playful)), a [eyes:0.7], (curious)
Once you have weights that give good results, keep them and change only one value at a time while testing.
Group photos: keep men and women as they are
AI models tend to drift towards female faces in group photos. Use weights to keep men from turning into women (the exact numbers can vary with the rest of the prompt):
(man:1.6) or (woman:1.1)
If guests wear a hijab:
(man:1.6) or (woman:1.1) or (hijab woman:0.7)
- Make sure the number of people and their gender in the prompt match the photo you expect.
- Add
group shotfor group templates.
Negative prompt
Some AI Offline templates show a Negative Prompt field next to the normal prompt. It lists what the result should avoid. It is optional: keep it short and relevant.
lowres, blurry, artifact, oversaturated, bad anatomy, extra fingers
Prompt templates
Portrait, one person
portrait, [style], [face/skin/hair details], [wardrobe], [lighting], [lens], [background], [techniques], (detailed face:1.3)
Group photo
(man:1.6) or (woman:1.1), [style], [wardrobe], [lighting], [lens], group shot, [background], (detailed face:1.3)
Replace each part in square brackets with your own words, for example [lighting] → soft key light.
Ready-to-use examples
| Theme | Prompt | Negative prompt |
|---|---|---|
| Surreal landscape | surreal landscape, swirling clouds, bold contrasting colors, impasto brush strokes, dramatic depth, crisp detail | |
| Group, casual indoor | (man:1.6) or (woman:1.1), casual indoor portrait, soft key light, 35mm lens, mid-shot trio, neutral background, natural skin tones, subtle film grain | blurry, lowres, deformed hands, gender swap |
| Night street fashion with hijab | (man:1.6) or (woman:1.1) or (hijab woman:0.7), night street fashion, neon bokeh, rim light, candid pose, 50mm lens, cinematic | overexposed highlights, plastic skin |
| Cyberpunk + batik blend | cyberpunk city alley | traditional batik patterns, neon glow, reflective puddles, moody atmosphere, volumetric light, ((texture detail:1.3)) | |
| Close-up, focus on the eyes | portrait close-up, (detailed face:1.3), (sharp eyes:1.6), soft skin, studio lighting, 85mm lens, shallow DOF |
Checklist before you save
- The main prompt is in English.
- It follows
[Style], [Descriptive], [Techniques]. - The weights are right, and you did not change ones that already worked.
- The number of people and their gender are consistent.
- Each punctuation mark is used for its purpose.
- The negative prompt (if any) is short and relevant.
- You tested it on real photos: single, couple and group.
Save prompts that work in the Prompt Library so you can reuse them in other templates.
Next steps
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