Make images with AI, and use them responsibly
Describe a picture and AI will make it in seconds. Here’s how to get the one in your head, and the simple rules for using it well.
Video transcript
Need a poster, a birthday card or a picture for your slides? Describe it, and AI will make it in seconds. Here’s how to get it right, and use it well.
The trick is detail. Leave something out and the AI guesses, so a vague request gets a bland picture, and a specific one gets much closer to what you imagined.
Say who or what is in it, and where. Choose a style, like a photo or a watercolour, and the lighting. Then say how it’s framed, and the shape you need.
So instead of just asking for a cat, ask for a ginger cat asleep on a sunny windowsill, in soft watercolour, as a square picture.
Treat the first image as a draft. Change one thing at a time, like the colours or the angle, until it’s right. Then look closely before you use it.
AI images are great for social posts, party invitations, slides, mood boards and quick mock-ups, like a logo idea to show a designer.
A few ground rules, too. Check a tool’s terms before using its images for business, never make fake pictures of real people, say when an image is AI-made if it matters, and look out for odd hands or garbled words.
Read the full guide below for prompts you can copy, and start with something fun.
In 30 seconds
- Describe the subject, setting, style, lighting and shape: the more specific, the better the picture.
- Treat the first image as a draft, and change one thing at a time.
- Don’t fake real people, check the terms before business use, and say when an image is AI-made.
The school summer fair needs a poster, your slides need something better than clip art, or you want a birthday card that’s a little bit silly. Instead of trawling stock photo sites, you can describe the picture you want and let AI make it in seconds.
Some assistants, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, make images right in the chat. Design tools such as Canva have it built in, and Midjourney is known for striking, artistic pictures.
What to describe
AI fills every gap you leave with a guess. Cover these six things in your Jargon busterPrompt: What you type or say to an AI to tell it what you want. and there’s far less guessing.
- SubjectWho or what, doing what: “a fox in a red bobble hat, waving”.
- SettingWhere and when: a snowy village green at dusk, a tidy kitchen, a Cornish beach.
- StylePhoto, watercolour, flat illustration or pencil sketch, plus a mood: cosy, bold or calm.
- LightingSoft morning light, golden hour, bright and even, or candlelit. Light changes the whole feel.
- CompositionHow it’s framed: close-up or wide, eye level or from above, and where the subject sits.
- ShapeSquare for a social post, wide for a banner or slide, tall for a poster or phone screen.
| Weak prompt | Strong prompt |
|---|---|
| A cat | A ginger cat asleep on a sunny windowsill, soft watercolour, square |
| A picture for my bakery website | Fresh sourdough loaves on a wooden counter, warm morning light, photo style, wide banner with space on the left for words |
| A Christmas card | A robin on a snowy fence post, vintage storybook illustration, soft light, tall card shape, no text |
Make a [square / wide / tall] image of [subject, doing what] in [setting]. Style: [photo, watercolour, flat illustration]. Lighting: [soft morning light, golden hour]. Framing: [close-up or wide], with space [at the top] for text. Mood: [cosy, bold, calm]. Don’t put any words in the image.
Treat the first one as a draft
Change one thing at a time, such as “same picture, but make the hat green” or “wider, with more sky”, so you can see what each change does.
Many tools also let you select one area and redo just that part, or upload your own photo to restyle. Stuck for ideas? Ask an assistant to write the prompt for you.
I need an image for [what it’s for, such as a poster for our school summer fair]. Ask me five quick questions about the subject, setting, style, lighting and shape, one at a time. Then write a detailed image prompt I can paste into an image tool.
Where AI images work well
They shine when you need something quick, fun or illustrative: social posts, invitations, slides, mood boards for a room makeover or a wedding, and mock-ups of a logo or label to show a designer.
Use them responsibly
- Check the terms. Each tool sets its own rules on business use, such as adverts or products you sell, and they change. Read them first.
- Don’t fake real people or events. A realistic image of someone doing something they never did is a Jargon busterDeepfake: A fake video, image or voice recording made with AI to look or sound like a real person.: it can mislead and hurt people, and some are illegal. Ask before you edit anyone else’s photo.
- Say when it’s AI-made where it matters: in news, adverts, school work, or anywhere people might take it for a real photo.
- Look closely before you share. Check hands, faces and any writing. AI can add a sixth finger or turn a sign into gibberish.
Used like this, AI images are a sketchbook, not a camera: great for ideas and fun, never a record of what really happened. Putting them on a website? Here’s how to build one with AI.
Check yourself
3 quick questions nothing is savedTools in this guide
Spotted a mistake? Tell us and an editor will check it.
