After nine lessons of using the gallery's prompts, you have seen the same shape again and again. That shape is not an accident; it is what makes the prompts work across models. This lesson names each part, so you can write a new prompt that works as well, for a picture the gallery does not have.
See the shape
Open Editorial Portrait Collage in Photography and read it slowly. It is built from labelled parts:
Build a multi-frame fashion editorial collage of the subject from the reference photo.
Layout: a vertical stack of small frames on one side and a single tall hero frame
on the other, with thin even gutters between frames and no text, captions or frame numbers.
Colour: every small frame in black and white, the hero frame in full colour. Variation:
a different pose and expression in each frame, same wardrobe throughout.
Identity: Preserve the exact facial identity ... same person, same shoot, same lighting
setup in every frame.
Look: hard direct on-camera flash with a crisp shadow, serious, still, unsmiling, against
pure black negative space, high-fashion editorial photography with strong contrast and deep blacks.
Output: horizontal 3:2 framing, sharp in every frame, print quality.
Keep it original: do not depict any celebrity or real public figure ...Plus a negative prompt that lists the likely failures.
Know what each part does
| Part | What it answers | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| The first line | What to make | One sentence, the most important one. Models weigh it most |
| Layout | Where things go | Name positions (left, right, top) and counts (six panels) |
| Colour, Variation | How panels or frames differ from each other | Only for sets of panels, like a collage or a sheet |
| Identity | What must not change | Only when you use a reference photo or need consistency |
| Look | The style, light and mood | Name the light and the medium; they change the picture most |
| Output | The shape and the finish | Aspect ratio and quality in one line |
| Text | Every word in the image | Quote each word, and say they are the only ones |
| Keep it original | What to stay away from | No celebrities, no copies of existing works |
| Negative prompt | The failures you expect | List what went wrong in your last try |
Not every prompt needs every part. A landscape needs no Identity and no Text.
Write a prompt in five steps
- Write the first line as a plain instruction: "A top-down photo of a breakfast table for a café menu."
- Add the layout: "Plates of pancakes, coffee and fresh berries arranged in a loose grid, with space at the top for a title."
- Add the look: "Soft morning window light from the left, natural colours, shallow depth of field, food photography."
- Add the output: "Aspect ratio 4:5, high detail."
- Add a negative prompt from what you expect to go wrong:
blurry, messy table, harsh shadows, text, watermark.
Then generate, look at what failed, and move each failure into the negative prompt or make the matching instruction clearer.
Borrow from a neighbour
The fastest way to a new prompt is to start from a close one. Find a gallery prompt with the right Layout or the right Look, copy it, and replace the parts that differ. The parts that stay are already tested.
Use search to find the part you need: flat lay, isometric, golden hour, watercolour, three panels.
Make it reusable
If you will use your prompt again with different content, turn the changing words into placeholders in square brackets, like the gallery does: [dish name], [primary brand colour]. Keep your best prompts in a note with their placeholders, and fill them in each time.
That was the last lesson. You can now find, customize, brand and adapt any prompt in the gallery, and write your own. If something is missing or wrong, the Feedback button in the gallery's bar goes straight to the issue tracker.