Ai dslr photography

AI Photography: The DSLR Style Guide

Most AI images look fake for one reason: they never name how a real photograph is made. Real photographers choose a camera body, a lens, a film stock, an angle and a light, and that language carries into the image. This guide is that language, distilled from a working photography and cinematography vocabulary and tested against current models. It runs long on purpose: work through it top to bottom the first time, then come back and use the table of contents like an index.

Works in: Midjourney, GPT Image, Flux, Nano Banana, Stable Diffusion.

How to use this skill

When the user asks for an image prompt in this style, compose one using the formulas and vocabulary below. Fill each slot with a concrete choice, then return the finished prompt. Prefer naming a real camera/lens, a light, and a colour or film treatment, which is what makes the output read as a real photograph rather than an AI render.

Formulas

The photograph formula

[shot type] of [subject + action], [setting], shot on [camera + lens], [lighting], [film stock / colour grade], ultra-realistic, natural skin texture

The order matters less than the ingredients. Every slot you fill pulls the image further from 'AI render' toward 'photograph'. Naming a real camera and lens is the single biggest jump in realism.

The cinematic-still formula

Cinematic film still from a [year] [genre] film, [shot type] of [subject + action], [setting], directed by [director], shot on [cinema camera], [lighting], [emotion], cinematic colour grading, film grain

Starting with 'cinematic film still' tells the model to render a frame from a real movie, not a poster. Naming a director tints scenery, wardrobe and mood; adding a decade adds period detail.

Worked prompt examples

Period drama

A cinematic scene, detailed photograph from the fictional Oscar-winning historical drama 'The Last Empress'. The close-up image captures the Empress in her royal attire, standing in the grand hall of her palace. The intricate details of her costume and the grandeur of the palace create a visually striking image, showcasing the film's meticulous attention to historical accuracy and the stunning costume design that won it the Oscar.

Dynamic action

Cinematic scene from a samurai movie, wearing traditional armor and holding a katana sword, in the middle of an intense battle in feudal-era Kyoto, image capturing the dynamic and implied movement, motion blur, the background is a battlefield with smoke in the distance, masculine, determined, epic, action scene, dynamic action, dynamic motion, combat pose, dramatic, dutch angle shot, captured by a Phantom High-Speed Camera, cinematic lighting, intricate details of his costume, hyper-realistic, clean sharp focus, cinematic color grading, film grain

Golden-hour portrait

Editorial DSLR portrait, extreme close-up of a woman with freckles, golden-hour backlight rim-lighting her hair, shot on a Canon EOS R5 with an 85mm f/1.2 lens, ultra-realistic natural skin texture with visible pores, shallow depth of field, creamy bokeh, warm cinematic colour grade, subtle film grain

Analog film stock

1980s analog film photograph, a blonde woman in aviator sunglasses holding a paper cup on a sunny beach, shot on Kodak Portra 400 film, warm faded tones, soft grain, natural skin, candid

Cinematic neon still

Cinematic film still, a lone figure holding an umbrella on a rain-soaked neon-lit city street at night, moody Blade Runner atmosphere, shot on Arri Alexa, dramatic low-key lighting, teal-and-orange colour grade, reflections on wet asphalt, shallow depth of field

Architectural interior

Architectural photograph of a minimalist cozy bedroom with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a sea of clouds at dawn, light wood and matte concrete, soft diffuse morning light, shot on a Sony A7R IV, hyper-detailed, serene

Vocabulary

Cameras & lenses

General camera keywords

• Canon EOS 5D Mark IV: The default workhorse. Reach for it when the brief is general: portraiture, landscape, event photography.
• Sony Alpha a7 III: Fast and light. Street, sports, wildlife, anywhere the moment won't wait.
• Hasselblad X1D: Medium-format clarity. Landscape, fashion, product work where detail is the whole point.
• Canon EOS-1D X Mark II: Built for speed. Sports, wildlife, action sequences.
• Nikon D850: High dynamic range. Landscape and portrait work that needs shadow and highlight detail.
• Panasonic Lumix GH5S: A hybrid stills/video body, useful when a scene needs a slightly more clinical, modern rendering.
• Kodak Portra 800 film: Not a camera, a film stock: name it for a nostalgic, grain-forward look.
• Sony CineAlta / Canon Cinema EOS: Dedicated cinema cameras. Use for the full motion-picture look and colour science.
• Phantom High-Speed Camera: Built to capture fast motion without blur. The right choice for action and impact shots.
• Blackmagic Design Camera: A cinema camera associated with a raw, unpolished digital-film look.
• Arri Alexa: The industry-standard cinema camera. The look most 'expensive movie' images are chasing.
• Super-16 (vintage film): Grainy, warm, nostalgic. For a found-footage or 1970s film look.
• DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone camera: For aerial and bird's-eye shots.

By angle and shot type

• Eye-level shot: Sony Alpha a7 III with a Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS. Neutral, natural perspective.
• Low-angle shot: Sony Alpha a7 III with a Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM. Makes the subject read as dominant.
• High-angle shot: Nikon D850 with a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR. Makes the subject read as smaller, more vulnerable.
• Extreme low-angle shot: Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, with a low-angle tripod.
• Extreme high-angle shot: Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, with a high-angle tripod.
• Side-angle (side-view): Panasonic Lumix GH5S with a Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm f/2.8 II.
• Shot from behind: Nikon D850 with a Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR.
• Close-up shot: Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.
• Medium shot: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.
• Full shot: Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.
• Extreme close-up shot: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM. For texture: skin, fabric, small objects.
• Ground-level shot: Canon EOS-1DX Mark III with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM.
• Aerial shot (bird's-eye view): DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone camera.
• Webcam-style shot: Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam. For a deliberately low-fi, found-footage feel.
• GoPro-style shot: GoPro HERO9 Black with a Super Suit Dive Housing. Wide, immersive, action-cam distortion.
• Underwater shot: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with a Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM, in underwater housing.
• Underwater close-up shot: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro.

By weather

• Sunny: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM.
• Partly cloudy: Nikon D850 with a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR.
• Rainy: Sony Alpha a7 III with a Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM, in a waterproof housing.
• Snowy: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM, plus waterproof housing.
• Overcast: Panasonic Lumix GH5S with a Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm f/2.8 II.
• Foggy: Sony Alpha a7R IV with a Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS.
• Hazy: Canon EOS R6 with a Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM.

By time of day

• Sunrise: Sony A7R IV with a Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM.
• Morning: Fujifilm X-T4 with a Fujinon XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR.
• Afternoon: Sony A7 III with a Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS.
• Golden hour: Canon EOS R5 with a Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM. The safe, flattering default.
• Sunset: Sony A7R IV with a Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM.
• Twilight: Panasonic Lumix S1H with a Panasonic Lumix S Pro 50mm f/1.4.
• Night: Sony A7S III with a Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN Art. Built for low light.

By mood & styling

• Dark and moody: Sony a7S III with a Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 ZA.
• Bright and vibrant: Canon EOS R6 with a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM.
• Fantasy: Fujifilm X-T4 with a Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R.
• Historical: Fujifilm GFX 100S with a Fujinon GF 23mm f/4 R LM WR, or a Nikon Z7 II with a Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S.
• Adventure / action: GoPro HERO10 Black.
• Documentary: Canon EOS C300 Mark III with a Canon CN-E 24mm T1.5 L F.
• Horror: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro with a Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art.
• Mystical: Nikon D6 with a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.4G ED.
• Romantic: Canon EOS R with a Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM.
• Rustic: Panasonic Lumix GH5S with a Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art.

Angles & shot types

Distance & framing

• Extreme long shot: Great distance from the subject, who is barely visible. Used to highlight surroundings, scale and location over the subject itself.
• Long shot (wide shot): Shows the entire subject and their environment. For a person, this means the full body with real surrounding context.
• Medium shot: Frames roughly waist-up or chest-up. The default for dialogue scenes: enough face to read emotion, enough of the room to place them in it.
• Closeup shot: The subject, usually a face, fills the frame. Emphasises detail and emotion over context.
• Extreme closeup shot: Isolates one feature, an eye, a hand, a mouth. Emphasises a single specific detail intensely.
• Full shot: Head to toe, the entire body visible in the scene. Showcases physicality, posture and action.
• Two-shot: Frames two subjects together. The standard for conversation scenes; it establishes the relationship between them.

Angle & perspective

• Over-the-shoulder shot: Shot from behind one subject, their shoulder and the back of their head in frame. Adds depth and intimacy to dialogue.
• Point-of-view (POV) shot: Frames the scene exactly as the subject would see it, putting the viewer inside their perspective.
• Establishing shot: Usually an extreme long shot that opens a scene, telling the viewer where and when the action is happening.
• Master shot: Includes all key figures and the full action of a scene. Often the first shot filmed or shown in a sequence.
• Low-angle shot: Camera positioned below the subject, looking up. Makes the subject appear larger, more dominant, more powerful.
• High-angle shot: Camera positioned above the subject, looking down. Makes the subject appear smaller, less significant, sometimes vulnerable.
• Eye-level shot: Camera at the subject's own eye level. Neutral and natural: how you'd actually see them in person.
• Dutch angle shot: The camera is intentionally tilted off the horizontal. Reads as disorientation, tension or unease.
• Overhead shot: Camera directly above the subject, looking straight down.
• Bird's-eye view shot: Higher than an overhead shot, as if viewed from the sky. Emphasises scale and a wide perspective.
• Drone shot: An aerial shot captured via drone, typically higher and more mobile than a bird's-eye or overhead shot.
• Worm's-eye view: Looking up at the subject from ground level. Dramatic, and makes the subject feel formidable.
• Ground-level view: Camera positioned at ground level, with the background rising up from the horizon line.
• Side view: Camera positioned to the side of the subject rather than facing them directly.
• Off-centre view: The subject is placed away from the centre of the frame, adding visual interest and tension.
• Rule-of-thirds shot: The frame is divided into nine equal parts, with the subject placed along the grid lines. The default for balanced, professional composition.

Style & treatment

• Candid shot: Taken as if the subject doesn't know they're being photographed. Reads as natural and relaxed, the opposite of a posed portrait.
• Silhouette shot: The subject is backlit and the exposure is set for the background, so the subject renders as a dark shape.
• Shot from behind: Frames the subject from their back. Dramatic and mysterious: it withholds the face.
• Underwater shot: Captured from beneath the water's surface, for perspectives you can't get any other way.

Lighting

Natural lighting

• Sunlight: The most common outdoor light source. Its quality shifts everything else: hard and direct at noon, soft and warm at the edges of the day.
• Moonlight: Soft, cool, ethereal. Reads as night without going fully dark.
• Firelight / candlelight: Warm, flickering, intimate. The default for cozy, rustic or romantic indoor scenes.
• Cloudy skies / overcast: Soft, diffused, shadowless light. The most flattering condition for portraits.
• Reflections: Shimmering light bounced off water, glass or wet surfaces. Pairs well with other lighting for a dreamy effect.

Ambient lighting

• Overhead: Ceiling lights or chandeliers, the default indoor ambient source.
• Wall sconces: Decorative fixtures that throw soft, indirect light.
• Table lamps: Can read as warm and cozy, or bright and harsh, depending on the shade and bulb.
• Floor lamps: Warm and cozy, useful for lighting the corners of a room.
• Natural light: Light entering through windows or skylights. Gives a scene consistent, believable illumination.

Artificial & directional lighting

• Studio lights: Fully controlled light. The default for portrait, product and fashion work.
• Strobe lights: A bright flash. Freezes motion and adds punch.
• Ring lights: Even, flattering, shadow-minimising light. The beauty-portrait and influencer-video default.
• Neon lights: Coloured, saturated light. The signature of a cyberpunk or night-city look.
• LED lights: A wide range of colour temperatures, from clinical cool to warm practical.
• Butterfly lighting: Light placed above and slightly in front of the face, casting a small shadow under the nose. A classic glamour setup.
• Rembrandt lighting: A triangular patch of light on the cheek under one eye, with dramatic shadow on the rest of the face.
• Split lighting: Light placed at 90 degrees to the face, so exactly half is lit and half is in shadow.
• Rim lighting: Placed behind the subject to illuminate their edges, separating them from the background. Moody and cinematic.
• Low-key lighting: One or two light sources, mostly shadow. Dramatic and moody: the default for noir and horror.
• High-key lighting: Bright, even, mostly shadow-free. Light and airy: the default for clean, commercial images.
• Top light: Light from directly above, emphasising texture and shape through hard shadows.
• Side light: Strong shadows and highlights from one side, emphasising texture and dimension.
• Backlighting: Light placed behind the subject, creating a glowing halo around them.

Hard & soft lighting

• Direct sunlight: Strong, well-defined shadows. Punchy but unforgiving.
• Spot lighting: A tight, strong beam. Creates sharp shadows and highlights.
• Halogen bulbs: Harsh, intense light, associated with commercial and industrial spaces.
• Laser lighting: Sharp coloured beams. For stage and concert effects.
• Fresnel lighting: A focusing lens used in theatre and film lighting rigs.
• Hard fill lighting: A second light used to fill in shadows without softening them entirely. Common in commercial and fashion work.
• Window light: Soft and directional. The classic indoor portrait light.
• Cloudy days: Naturally soft, even light with no hard shadows.
• Softbox lighting: Softens and evenly distributes a studio light source.
• Umbrella lighting: Reflects and diffuses light for a soft, even result.
• Beauty dish lighting: Soft but still directional. A flattering middle ground for portraits.

Filmmakers

Action

• James Cameron: Terminator, Aliens.
• Michael Bay: Bad Boys, Transformers.
• John Woo: Hard Boiled, Mission: Impossible II.
• Robert Rodriguez: Sin City, Desperado.
• Zack Snyder: 300, Watchmen.
• Peter Hyams: Timecop.

Comedy

• Woody Allen: Annie Hall, Manhattan.
• Mel Brooks: Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein.
• Charlie Chaplin: The Gold Rush, City Lights.
• Pedro Almodovar: Talk to Her, All About My Mother.
• Greta Gerwig: Lady Bird.

Drama

• Martin Scorsese: Goodfellas, The Departed.
• Francis Ford Coppola: The Godfather.
• Akira Kurosawa: Seven Samurai, Rashomon.
• François Truffaut: The 400 Blows, Day for Night.
• Kathryn Bigelow: The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty.
• Alejandro González Iñárritu: Birdman, The Revenant, Babel.
• Federico Fellini: 8½, La Dolce Vita.
• Chloé Zhao: Nomadland, The Rider.
• Sofia Coppola: Lost in Translation.

Fantasy

• Peter Jackson: The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit.
• George Lucas: Star Wars, Indiana Jones.
• Guillermo del Toro: Pan's Labyrinth.
• Tim Burton: Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice.

Superhero

• Jon Favreau: Iron Man, The Mandalorian.
• Sam Raimi: Spider-Man, Doctor Strange.
• Patty Jenkins: Wonder Woman.

Horror

• Alfred Hitchcock: Psycho, The Birds.
• John Carpenter: Halloween, The Thing.
• Wes Craven: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream.
• George A. Romero: Night of the Living Dead.
• Lars Von Trier: Melancholia, Antichrist.
• David Lynch: Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet.
• Vincenzo Natali: Cube.

Musical

• Bob Fosse: Cabaret, All That Jazz.
• Baz Luhrmann: Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby.
• Gene Kelly: Singin' in the Rain, An American in Paris.

Sci-fi

• Ridley Scott: Alien, Blade Runner.
• Stanley Kubrick: 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• Christopher Nolan: Inception, Interstellar.
• Denis Villeneuve: Arrival, Dune, Blade Runner 2049.
• James Cameron: Titanic, Avatar.
• Steven Spielberg: E.T., Ready Player One.
• Joseph Kosinski: TRON: Legacy, Oblivion.
• Vincenzo Natali: Splice.
• Peter Hyams: 2010: The Year We Make Contact.

Thriller

• David Fincher: Fight Club, Se7en, Gone Girl.
• Quentin Tarantino: Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill.
• M. Night Shyamalan: The Sixth Sense, Split.
• Darren Aronofsky: Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan.
• David Lynch: Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet.
• Orson Welles: Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil.
• Joseph Kosinski: Only the Brave.

Western

• Sergio Leone: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
• John Ford: The Searchers, Stagecoach.
• Clint Eastwood: Unforgiven, The Outlaw Josey Wales.

Animation

• Hayao Miyazaki: Princess Mononoke.
• Walt Disney: The Lion King.

Crime

• Brian De Palma: Scarface, The Untouchables.
• Michael Mann: Heat, Collateral.
• Quentin Tarantino: Pulp Fiction.

Historical

• Steven Spielberg: Schindler's List.
• James Cameron: Titanic.
• Mel Gibson: Braveheart.
• Robert Zemeckis: Back to the Future, Forrest Gump.
• Ang Lee: Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi.

Photographers

Portrait

• Richard Avedon: Portrait and fashion, stark white-background clarity.
• Annie Leibovitz: Dramatic light, staged narrative portraits.
• Yousuf Karsh: Formal, classic studio portraiture.
• Platon Antoniou: Bold, high-contrast close-up portraits.

Street

• Henri Cartier-Bresson: The decisive candid moment.
• Garry Winogrand: Raw, energetic American street life.
• Vivian Maier: Quiet, observational street portraits.
• Bruce Gilden: Close, confrontational flash street photography.

Landscape

• Ansel Adams: Dramatic black-and-white tonal range.
• Galen Rowell: Vivid natural light in wilderness landscapes.
• Sebastião Salgado: Epic monochrome humanism and landscape.
• Peter Lik: Hyper-saturated, large-format nature photography.

Wildlife

• Frans Lanting: Intimate, painterly wildlife portraiture.
• Art Wolfe: Bold colour and composition in nature.
• Nick Brandt: Elegiac black-and-white African wildlife.
• Joel Sartore: Clean studio-style species documentation.

Fashion

• Irving Penn: Clean, minimal studio fashion portraiture.
• Richard Avedon: Stark, kinetic high-fashion imagery.
• Helmut Newton: High-contrast, provocative fashion work.
• Mario Testino: Glossy, glamorous editorial fashion.

Documentary

• Dorothea Lange: Humanist Depression-era documentary work.
• Walker Evans: Plainspoken American documentary style.
• Robert Capa: Immersive, in-the-action war documentary.
• Steve McCurry: Saturated colour, piercing-eyed portraiture.

Architecture

• Julius Shulman: Iconic mid-century modern architecture.
• Ezra Stoller: Precise, formal architectural photography.
• Iwan Baan: Architecture shown in lived, human context.

Still life

• Edward Weston: Sculptural form and texture.
• Paul Strand: Sharp-focus modernist still life.
• Karl Blossfeldt: Botanical forms shot like sculpture.
• Laura Letinsky: Quiet, muted domestic still life.

Black and white

• Ansel Adams: Dramatic tonal range.
• Dorothea Lange: Humanist documentary monochrome.
• Sebastião Salgado: Epic monochrome humanism.
• Sally Mann: Intimate, atmospheric black-and-white.

Fine art

• Cindy Sherman: Staged, identity-shifting self-portraiture.
• Jeff Wall: Large-format, cinematic tableau photography.
• Andreas Gursky: Vast, hyper-detailed scale.
• Hiroshi Sugimoto: Minimal, meditative long exposures.

Sports

• Neil Leifer: Iconic, decisive-moment sports photography.
• Walter Iooss Jr.: Dynamic, athletic action photography.
• Annie Leibovitz: Staged, narrative athlete portraiture.
• Elsa Garrison: Modern editorial sports photography.

Travel

• Steve McCurry: Saturated colour, striking portraiture.
• David Alan Harvey: Warm, intimate travel documentary.
• Michael Kenna: Minimal, long-exposure landscapes.
• Jimmy Nelson: Formal portraiture of indigenous cultures.

Macro

• Harold Davis: Luminous, painterly macro florals.
• Thomas Shahan: Extreme close-up insect photography.
• Levon Biss: Hyper-detailed, sculptural insect portraiture.
• Robert Thompson: Textural natural-world macro work.

Underwater

• David Doubilet: Split-level, immersive underwater imagery.
• Ernst Haeckel: Scientific illustration of marine organisms.
• Brian Skerry: Documentary-style ocean wildlife.
• Anuar Patjane Floriuk: Dramatic underwater seascapes.

Concert

• Jim Marshall: Intimate, backstage rock photography.
• Lynn Goldsmith: Bold, iconic musician portraiture.
• Danny Clinch: Raw, documentary music photography.
• Anton Corbijn: Moody, high-contrast band portraiture.

Nude

• Edward Weston: Sculptural, form-focused nude studies.
• Helmut Newton: High-contrast, provocative nude fashion.
• Robert Mapplethorpe: Formal, classical nude composition.
• Spencer Tunick: Mass, large-scale outdoor nude installations.

Abstract

• Man Ray: Surrealist experimental photography.
• Laszlo Moholy-Nagy: Bauhaus abstraction and photograms.
• Aaron Siskind: Graphic, texture-focused abstraction.
• Wassily Kandinsky: Abstract colour and form composition.

Photojournalism

• Robert Capa: Immersive, in-the-action war coverage.
• W. Eugene Smith: Deeply humanist photo essays.
• James Nachtwey: Unflinching conflict photojournalism.
• Don McCullin: Stark, brutal war photography.

Mobile

• Dan Rubin: Warm, minimal mobile photography.
• Richard Koci Hernandez: Gritty, textured mobile street work.
• Murad Osmann: Staged travel-and-hand mobile series.
• Misho Baranovic: Documentary-style mobile street photography.

Astrophotography

• Adam Block: Deep-sky and nebula astrophotography.
• Jason Weingart: Storm and night-sky photography.
• Brad Goldpaint: Landscape astrophotography with the Milky Way.

Food

• Donna Crous: Warm, natural-light food styling.
• Bea Lubas: Moody, editorial food photography.
• David Loftus: Rustic, chef-collaboration food imagery.

Drone

• Dirk Dallas: Symmetrical, graphic aerial photography.
• Gabriel Scanu: Vivid coastal and landscape aerials.
• Maksim Tarasov: Minimalist aerial abstraction.

Pet

• Carli Davidson: High-speed, expressive pet action shots.
• Elke Vogelsang: Playful, character-driven pet portraiture.
• Seth Casteel: Underwater and action pet photography.

Colour

Colour manipulation

• Color / colorized: Adds colour to what would otherwise read as vintage or historical.
• Hue / tones: Basic colour variation.
• Gradient: A smooth transition between colours.
• Vibrance / vivid: Intense, saturated colour.
• Bright colors: High luminance, energetic.
• Light colors: Less saturated, softer.
• Dark colors: Low luminance, moody.
• Darkened: Reduced overall brightness.

Number of colours

• Monochromatic: One colour.
• Bichromatic: Two colours.
• Trichromatic: Three colours.
• Tetrachromatic: Four colours.
• Pentachromatic: Five colours.
• Hexachromatic: Six colours.
• Heptachromatic: Seven colours.
• Octachromatic: Eight colours.
• Polychromatic: Effectively infinite: full rainbow range.
• Analogous colors: Colours adjacent on the colour wheel.
• Triadic colors: Three colours evenly spaced around the wheel.
• Tetradic colors: Two complementary colour pairs.

Extended colours

• Tan: A warm, muted light brown.
• Beige: A pale, neutral sand tone.
• Blush: A soft pink.
• Scarlet: A vibrant red.
• Olive-green: A muted, earthy green.
• Chartreuse: A sharp green-yellow.
• Turquoise: A blue-green.
• Aqua: A bright, clear blue-green.
• Azure: A bright, clear blue.

Colour palettes

• Neutral: Muted, unassuming tones.
• Dingy colors: Dull, grimy tones.
• Pure / purity: Clean, unmixed colour.
• Faded: Washed out, low contrast.
• Warm color palette: Reds, oranges, yellows. Inviting.
• Cool color palette: Blues, greens, purples. Calm or clinical.
• Inverted colors: A negative-image effect.
• Colorful / multicolored: Many distinct colours at once.
• Rainbow / spectral color: The full visible spectrum.
• Monochrome / black and white: No colour, tonal range only.
• Desaturated: Muted, drained of colour intensity.
• Sepia: A warm brown monochrome, the classic vintage-photo tone.

Theme: realism & abstraction

Realism & abstraction

• Hyper real / hyperrealistic: Pushes past normal photographic realism. Pairs well with horror and caricature.
• Magic realism: The mundane world with one impossible element treated as normal. Pairs well with dream and fantasy scenes.
• Fantastic realism: Realistic rendering of fantastical subjects. Pairs well with dream and horror scenes.
• Contemporary realism / new realism: Grounded, present-day realism. Pairs well with people and dramatic scenes.
• Surreal / surrealism: Dreamlike, illogical juxtapositions. Pairs well with weird and creepy scenes.
• Ethereal / ethereality / lucid: Delicate, otherworldly, dreamlike. Pairs well with spiritual creatures, characters and environments.
• Fiction / science fiction: Speculative and technological. Pairs well with technology and space subjects.
• Imagined / imaginative / imagination: Invented, non-literal subjects. Pairs well with animals and otherworldly, strange scenes.
• Dreamlike / dreamy / fever-dream: Soft, illogical, floating. Pairs well with afterlife, spiritual and lofty scenes.
• Dreampunk: Dream logic mixed with technology. Pairs well with technology and vintage subjects.
• Dreamcore / weirdcore: Internet-native uncanny nostalgia. Pairs well with memes, creepy and trippy scenes.
• Otherworldly / unworldly / another realm: Alien, non-earthly. Pairs well with space, futuristic and landscape scenes.
• Abstract / abstraction: Non-representational form. Pairs well with backgrounds, modern design and logos.
• Fantasy / ethereal fantasy / dark fantasy: Mythic, invented worlds. Pairs well with beings, gods and landscapes.
• Illusion / impossible: Visually paradoxical. Pairs well with dreams, optical effects and strange scenes.
• Exaggerated / exaggeration / visual exaggeration: Pushed past realistic proportion. Pairs well with emotions and extremes.
• Immaterial / intangible: Formless, weightless. Pairs well with smoke, lines and objects.

Material & texture

Physical properties

• Blobby / blobs: Soft, rounded, amorphous form.
• Cracks / cracked: Surface fracture and wear.
• Corroded: Chemically degraded, worn surface.
• Dirty / with imperfections: Realistic wear rather than a clean render.
• Carbonated / effervescent: Bubbling, fizzing surface texture.
• Icy: Frozen, crystalline surface.
• Charred: Burnt, blackened surface.
• Corrugated: Ridged, wave-patterned surface.
• Perforated: Punctured with regular holes.
• Hydrophobic: Water-repelling; beads rather than spreads.

Hardness & phase

• Soft / hard: The basic material-firmness axis.
• Soft body / squishy: Deformable, yielding.
• Solid: Rigid, fixed form.
• Melting / freezing: Mid-transition between liquid and solid.
• Vaporization / condensation: Mid-transition between liquid and gas.

Reflections & refractions

• Rough / matte: Diffuse, non-reflective surface.
• Glossy / shiny / polished: Smooth, reflective surface.
• Reflection / reflective / retroreflective: Bounces light back toward its source.
• Refraction / refractive: Bends light passing through the material.
• Caustics: Focused light patterns cast by refraction, like light through water.
• Glare / specular highlights: Bright, concentrated points of reflected light.
• Shimmer / shimmering / glimmering: Fine, moving highlights across a surface.

Optics & light manipulation

• Transparent / translucent / opaque: How much light passes through the material.
• Scattering / subsurface-scattering: Light diffusing beneath a surface, as in skin or wax.
• Ambient occlusion: Soft shadowing in crevices and contact points.
• Opalescent: Milky, shifting iridescence.
• Polarized / polarization: Light filtered to a single orientation.
• Solarized / solarization: A partial tonal inversion, a classic darkroom effect.
• Iridescent: Colour that shifts with viewing angle.
• Dispersion / chromatic / prismatic: Light splitting into its component colours.
• Sparkly / glitter: Many small, bright reflective points.

Chromism & luminescence

• Glowing / glowing neon / glow-in-the-dark: Self-illuminating surfaces.
• Radiant: Emitting light outward.
• Cherenkov radiation: The eerie blue glow associated with high-speed particles, useful for sci-fi.
• Luminescence / bioluminescence: Light generated by a living organism, think a glowing forest.
• Chromism: Colour that changes in response to a stimulus.
• Piezochromism: Colour change from pressure.
• Tribochromism: Colour change from friction, like race-car tyres.
• Metallochromism: Colour change from metal content.
• Goniochromism: Colour that shifts with viewing angle.
• Hydrochromism: Colour change from water exposure, like a mug that reveals an image when filled.

Adding emotion

The emotion glossary

• Suspense: Mental uncertainty and anxiety, keeping the viewer on edge.
• Fear: A response to perceived threat or danger.
• Joy: Open, unguarded happiness.
• Sadness: Sorrow, loss, or disappointment.
• Anger: Intense displeasure or hostility.
• Disgust: Revulsion toward something offensive.
• Surprise: A sudden, unexpected reaction.
• Anticipation: Expectation of something about to happen.
• Love: Deep affection or attachment.
• Hope: Optimistic expectation of a good outcome.
• Despair: The complete absence of hope.
• Nostalgia: Sentimental longing for the past.

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From God of Skills: a curated, hand-tested directory of AI skills, prompts, templates and image style guides. Source: https://godofskills.com/ai-dslr-photography?ref=claude-skill