A repeatable structure for product image prompts: subject, set, light, lens and finish.
Great product images come from directing like a photographer. Instead of piling on adjectives, build every prompt from the same five layers.
- Subject — the product, its material and exact details
- Set — surface, props and background
- Light — direction, quality and colour temperature
- Lens — focal length, aperture and angle
- Finish — grade, grain and mood
matte black ceramic coffee cup, on a travertine plinth with a single dried olive branch, hard key light from camera left creating a long shadow, warm 3200K, 100mm macro at f/4, eye-level, muted editorial colour grade, fine film grain
Change one layer at a time
When a result is close, don't rewrite the prompt. Change a single layer — usually light — and compare. This is how you build a library of modifiers you can trust.
