Most people write prompts like shopping lists. They add more words and hope for a better result. The best AI images and videos come from a different habit: thinking like an art director.
Start with the idea, not the words
Before you type anything, answer one question: what should the viewer feel? Calm, excited, hungry, curious. Every choice after that, from light to colour to camera, should support that one feeling.
A prompt is a creative brief. Write it for a crew, not for a machine.
Direct the five things a crew would ask about
- Subject: what is in the frame, in plain words.
- Setting: where it happens and what is around it.
- Light: where it comes from, how soft or hard it is, what colour.
- Camera: the lens, the angle and how close we are.
- Mood: the one feeling the image should give.
Example
Here is a weak prompt and a directed one for the same idea.
Weak: a cool perfume ad, high quality, 8k, amazing
Directed:
A frosted glass perfume bottle on black stone, one warm light from the side, soft mist behind, 85mm lens close to the product, calm and premium mood, no text.The second prompt is not longer for the sake of it. Every part makes a decision.
Change one thing at a time
When the result is close but not right, do not rewrite everything. Change only the light, or only the camera, and compare. You will learn more in ten small tests than in one big rewrite.
Keep a style sheet
For brand work, save the parts that stay the same: colours, light, lens, mood. Reuse them in every prompt so the whole campaign looks like one shoot.
You can copy all my prompts for free on the prompts page.