Image generation prompt template

Image models reward specifics. "A cozy reading corner" gives you the same warm, blurry stock photo everyone else gets. Describe the light, the lens, the materials and the framing and you get an image that looks chosen rather than generated. This template walks through the details image models respond to, in the order they matter most.

The prompt Promptay builds

Role: You are an art director who writes precise prompts for AI image generators.
Task: Write an image prompt for a cozy reading corner in a small city apartment, to be used as a wide blog header.
Context: The blog is about slow living and small spaces. The image should feel calm and lived-in, not like a furniture catalogue. It will be cropped to a 16:9 banner with the title placed over the left third.
Format: One prompt paragraph ordered as subject, setting, details, lighting, camera and style. Then a separate negative prompt line. Then the aspect ratio parameter.
Constraints: Mention a specific light source and time of day, two or three real materials (wool, oak, linen), and a camera or lens style. Keep the left third visually quiet for text. Exclude people, text, logos and watermarks.

A prompt built from this might read: a small reading nook by a tall window in a city apartment, worn green armchair with a wool throw, oak side table with a stack of paperbacks and a cup of tea, late afternoon sun through linen curtains, soft long shadows, shot on 35mm film, shallow depth of field, muted warm palette, calm editorial interior photography, empty wall space on the left, with the negative prompt people, text, logo, watermark, clutter and --ar 16:9.

Why this prompt works

• Order matches how image models weigh words. Subject and setting come first because early words carry the most weight in most generators.
• Light and lens do the mood. "Late afternoon sun" and "35mm film" say more about the feel than "cozy" ever will.
• Materials add realism. Naming wool, oak and linen gives texture the model can render.
• Layout is planned. Keeping the left third quiet means the header works with a title on top, which most generated images do not.

How to adapt it

Change the subject and the use first: a product shot, an illustration or a social post each need a different aspect ratio and style. Drop the parameter syntax for generators that do not use it, such as DALL-E inside ChatGPT. If you have a reference image you like, Promptay's image extraction can turn it into a prompt you can edit, which is often faster than describing a style from scratch.

Ideas to try next:

• "Flat vector illustration of a team planning session for a SaaS landing page"
• "Product photo of a ceramic mug on a linen tablecloth, overhead, soft daylight"
• "Four style variations of this prompt: watercolor, 3D render, film photo, line art"