Image creation
How to combine a photo and a prompt
Use a reference photo to establish the subject and a written direction to explain the change, then review how the two inputs shaped your image.
Published September 11, 2026 · Peelaway editorial
Short answer
Short answer
Use the photo to show what already exists and the prompt to explain what you want to change or create around it. Name the subject, the intended setting, and the details that should remain recognizable. Add a style when you want a particular treatment. After creating, compare the output with both the reference and your written direction.
Start with a clear direction
- 01Give the photo and prompt different jobs.
- 02Resolve contradictions before creating.
- 03Check fidelity and instruction following separately.
Decide what each input contributes
The photo can establish an object, a person, a layout, or a starting scene. The prompt can ask for a new setting, a different mood, or a particular composition. A selected style adds another layer: how the picture should look. You do not need to describe every visible detail in the photo if the important change can be stated more clearly.
For example, a photo of a ceramic cup can establish the cup while a direction asks for a quiet breakfast scene with window light. If the cup’s painted pattern is essential, name it as a detail to review. The reference guides the output, but generation may still reinterpret the pattern, handle, rim, or proportions.
Write a combined-input direction
- 1
Identify the reference subject
Start with a specific noun from the photo, such as the blue ceramic cup or the person in the foreground. This is especially useful when the photo contains several objects. Avoid a vague instruction such as make it better when you can name the visual change you actually want.
- 2
Describe the change
Explain the new setting or treatment: place the cup on a linen-covered breakfast table beside a window. Add only the composition or lighting details that matter. This sample direction illustrates how to write a request; it does not claim that an exact corresponding result has been generated or approved.
- 3
Name what needs review
Say that the cup’s shape and painted pattern should stay recognizable. Then check those features in the result. A request to preserve them is not a promise of exact reproduction, and repeating the instruction does not substitute for comparing the source and output.
Resolve competing directions
If the photo shows a crowded room but the prompt asks for one isolated object, make the intended subject clear. If the selected style is a flat illustration but the prompt asks for a photographic surface, decide which direction matters more. Conflicts often describe two different pictures rather than one detailed picture.
After the first creation, review instruction following and source fidelity separately. An image can fit the new setting while changing the original subject, or preserve the subject while missing the desired mood. Revise the failing part and keep the successful choices stable so you can judge whether the next result improves the intended outcome.
Related questions
Quick answers
How is this different from a text-only image?
With a prompt-only creation, your words establish the scene without an attached source photo. With both inputs, an existing image provides additional visual information. Use a photo when that information matters, rather than attaching an unrelated image that conflicts with the idea you are trying to create.
Should I describe everything in the photo?
Focus on what the system needs to distinguish or change. Naming the important subject and the requested transformation is usually a clearer starting point than a long inventory of the entire image. Add detail when the result reveals a specific ambiguity you need to resolve.
When should I use Image Edit instead?
Use the focused editing guides when you have a specific correction or a shared instruction for a photo batch. This guide covers combining references and ideas in the primary creation space. Both workflows need result review, but the starting purpose and controls differ.
Evidence and current requirements
- Peelaway gallery and creationThe gallery leads into creation with an image, a prompt, or both; examples demonstrate individual visual treatments.Source checked September 11, 2026.
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