How to Write Better AI Image Prompts (2026)

The single biggest lever on AI image quality isn't the model — it's the prompt. A few minutes learning prompt structure will get you dramatically better, more consistent results. Here's a repeatable formula.

The prompt formula

Most strong prompts follow the same order: subject, then details, then setting, then lighting, then style. Front-load the most important elements — models weight earlier words more heavily.

• Subject — who or what ("a woman in a red silk dress").
• Details — specifics that matter ("long dark hair, gold jewellery").
• Setting — where ("in a sunlit studio").
• Lighting — the mood-maker ("soft golden-hour light, rim lighting").
• Style — the finish ("photoreal, 85mm, shallow depth of field").

Lighting is the secret weapon

Amateur prompts skip lighting; great prompts lead with it. Terms like "golden hour", "soft window light", "rim light", "cinematic lighting" and "high-key" change a flat image into a striking one more than almost any other keyword.

Be specific, then iterate

Vague prompts produce average images. Add concrete nouns and adjectives, generate, then change one thing at a time. Lock a seed when you want to tweak a prompt without the whole image changing.

What to avoid

• Contradictions ("minimalist, highly detailed, busy").
• Too many subjects in one prompt — split them.
• Over-long keyword soup — quality beats quantity.

On FavMe your prompt is never rewritten, so what you write is exactly what the model sees — which means good prompting pays off directly.

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