How to write AI image prompts that don't fall apart: six jobs, five real examples

{
    "prompt": "Most AI images look generic for one reason: the ## Why prompts go flat A weak Leave out the light and you get flat, even light. Leave out the framing and the subject lands dead centre. Leave out the background and you get something vaguely pleasant and forgettable. The fix is not a longer prompt. It is a ## The six jobs * **Subject.** Who or what, doing what, made of what. \"A woman in a structured black suit\" beats \"a stylish woman\". * **Style or medium.** Photo, line art, 3D render, risograph print. Put it early. It moves the picture more than almost anything. * **Lighting.** The one people skip. Name the source, the direction and the quality: \"single direct flash from camera-left\". * **Camera.** Lens, depth of field, angle. \"85mm\" and \"shallow depth of field\" mean something specific to a model. * **Composition.** Where things sit, how much empty space, and the aspect ratio. * **Limits.** What must not appear. Plain sentences like \"no text, no watermark\" work in most tools. On top of all six sits a seventh question: which model are you writing for? More on that near the end. ## Five prompts, taken apart All five come from Promptclay, a place where AI creators share prompts, remix each other's with the Each ### Example 1: light and lens do the heavy lifting ** ```plaintext Studio fashion portrait of a woman in a structured black suit, white shirt, and black tie against a matte red backdrop. Hands in pockets, relaxed posture, direct gaze. Single direct flash from camera-left creating sharp shadows and strong contrast. Clean commercial fashion style with crisp detail. 85mm portrait lens. Aspect rat",
    "model": "Claude 3.7 / GPT-4o",
    "aspect_ratio": "1:1",
    "category": "Portrait & Character",
    "content_type": "image_prompt",
    "surface": "gallery",
    "quality_score": 84,
    "provenance": "COMMUNITY_PROMPT"
}