The 5-Element Frame
The prompt structure that works across major models is to write in the order subject → style → composition → lighting → details. Example: "Tokyo at sunset (subject) / ukiyo-e style (style) / diagonal overhead wide shot (composition) / warm cinematic light (lighting) / Hokusai wave patterns, cloud texture, 8 people (details)."
Subject and Object
- Narrow the lead to one (multiple subjects easily break)
- Choose concrete nouns ("30s woman, business suit" over "person")
- Add verbs/states ("brewing coffee," "concentrating")
Style Reference
- Broad categories like "photo," "watercolor," "3D render"
- Specific artist names (Midjourney references past-work URL with --sref)
- SD reuses composition with IP-Adapter / ControlNet
- Flux Kontext interactively edits like "change only the clothes to red"
Composition Keywords
- Camera: close-up, medium shot, wide shot, bird's-eye, low angle
- Lens: 35mm, 85mm, shallow depth of field, bokeh
- Composition rules: rule of thirds, symmetry, leading lines
Lighting/Color
- Time: golden hour, blue hour, midday, studio lighting
- Light source: rim light, softbox, backlight, neon
- Color tone: warm tones, muted palette, monochrome
Negative Prompts
Stating elements to avoid reduces artifacts. Like "extra fingers, deformed hands, watermark, low quality, blurry." Midjourney uses --no, SD has a negative-prompt field.
Per-Model Character and Selective Use
| Model | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Midjourney V7 | Aesthetic completeness, mood | Text rendering, no API |
| FLUX 1.1 Pro | Realism, finger/hand accuracy | Minimal UI, little Japanese info |
| Stable Diffusion | Customizability, local run | Hard setup |
| GPT Image (DALL-E) | Text rendering, instruction-following | Style breadth |
| Ideogram 3.0 | Best English typography | Japanese text unstable |
Commercial-Use Check
- Adobe Firefly: training data commercially licensed, safe for enterprise
- Getty AI: opt-in material based
- Midjourney / SD / Flux: confirm terms, especially Stability's Community License
- Similarity check: confirm conflicts with existing characters/works
Practical Tips
- Generate 4-8 images with the same prompt and pick the best 1
- Keep consistency with fixed seed + tweaks on the adopted image
- When switching models, adjust prompt style too
- Record failure patterns and accumulate negative prompts
Summary
Image generation works across models when combining the 5-element frame + negatives + style reference. For commercial use, also consider license-safe Adobe Firefly or Getty AI and use them selectively by purpose.
