Cinematic prompt guide: lens, light, film and camera moves
Last updated . App syntax checked .
Short answerTo make an AI picture or clip look filmed, describe it the way a camera crew would: the lens and aperture, the shot size and angle, one named light set-up and the time of day, a film stock and a grade, and for video one camera move per shot. Drop words like 8K and hyperdetailed. Then write it the way your app reads it: settings at the end for Midjourney, only positive descriptions for Flux and Runway, and no "no" words in a Veo prompt. Results still vary from one try to the next.
Build a cinematic photo promptBuild a cinematic video prompt
Write a cinematic prompt in seven steps
- Say who or what, and what happens. One subject and one action, in plain words: "a fisherman mending a net on the harbour wall". Leave out words like 8K, masterpiece and hyperdetailed.
- Pick the lens and the aperture. The lens sets the perspective (wide 24mm, natural 50mm, flattering 85mm, compressed 200mm) and the aperture sets how much is sharp (f/1.8 soft background, f/11 everything sharp).
- Frame it: shot size and angle. A close-up from a low angle and a wide shot from above tell different stories. Name one of each.
- Name one light set-up and the time of day. "Rembrandt lighting at night" or "backlight rim at golden hour" beats "dramatic lighting". Add colour temperature and atmosphere (haze, rain, fog) if they matter.
- Add the film stock and the grade. A film stock gives grain and colour (Portra 400 warm skin, Tri-X gritty black and white); the grade sets the overall colour (teal and orange, cool desaturated).
- For video, one camera move per shot. A slow push-in, an orbit or a drone rise. For several shots, paste the same look lock into each one so the clips match.
- Write it the way your app reads it, then check for clashes. Midjourney wants settings at the end, Flux and Runway want only positive descriptions, and Veo keeps "no" out of the prompt. Two choices that fight (tilt-shift miniature on a close-up) waste a generation.
The photo prompt generator and the video prompt templates both have a Cinematic mode that does these steps with buttons, writes the result for your app and flags clashes. The rest of this page explains every word they use.
Start from a look
Each look is a full set of choices that work together. Open one in a tool, then change what you like. No look is named after a film or a director: they describe what you see.
Look
Neo-noir night
Rain, neon and hard shadows in a wide anamorphic frame.
Anamorphic 40mm · Two-colour neon · CineStill 800T · Two-tone neon
Look
Golden-hour documentary
Warm backlight, floating dust and a handheld, observed feel.
35mm storyteller · Backlight rim · Kodak Portra 400 · Warm nostalgic
Look
16mm indie
Soft window light, visible grain and a quiet, honest frame.
35mm storyteller · Soft window light · Kodak Vision3 250D · Natural
Look
High-fashion studio
Beauty light, a seamless backdrop and medium-format polish.
85mm portrait · Butterfly (beauty) · Clean digital · Natural
Look
Nature-doc telephoto
A long lens, morning mist and patient, stacked layers.
600mm super-telephoto · Backlight rim · Clean digital · Natural
Look
Widescreen adventure
Scale, dust and a teal-and-orange grade across a huge landscape.
Anamorphic 40mm · Backlight rim · Kodak Vision3 250D · Teal and orange
Look
90s family album
Direct flash, warm consumer film and a light leak. Pure memory.
35mm storyteller · On-camera flash · Kodak Gold 200 · Warm nostalgic
Look
Nordic winter thriller
Flat overcast light, fog and a cold, muted grade.
50mm normal · Overcast daylight · Clean digital · Cool desaturated
Look
Classic black-and-white portrait
Rembrandt light, an 85mm lens and smooth black-and-white grain.
85mm portrait · Rembrandt · Ilford HP5 Plus · High-contrast mono
Look
Product hero
Macro detail, three-point light and a clean, centred frame.
100mm macro · Three-point studio · Clean digital · Natural
Look
Music-video neon
Neon gels, smoke and a tilted, energetic frame.
24mm wide · Two-colour neon · Clean digital · Two-tone neon
Look
Pastel storybook
Centred symmetry, soft high-key light and a pastel grade.
35mm storyteller · High-key soft · Kodak Portra 400 · Soft pastel matte
Look
Candlelit period drama
Warm candlelight, soft haze and rich motion-picture film.
50mm normal · Candle and firelight · Kodak Vision3 500T · Warm nostalgic
Look
Gritty street black and white
Hard sun, deep shadows and grainy black-and-white film.
28mm documentary · Hard midday sun · Kodak Tri-X 400 · High-contrast mono
Lenses and focal length
The focal length decides perspective, not just how close you are. A wide lens near a face stretches it; a long lens far away flattens the background against the subject. That is why portraits are usually shot around 85mm and rooms at 24mm or wider.
| Lens | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Fisheye 8–15mm | Bends straight lines into curves. Skate, music-video and POV energy. | fisheye lens, curved lines |
| 14mm ultra-wide | A huge sense of space. Stretches anything close to the lens. | 14mm ultra-wide lens |
| 24mm wide | Shows the subject in their surroundings: rooms, streets, establishing shots. | 24mm wide-angle lens |
| 28mm documentary | Close, involved street and documentary feel without heavy distortion. | 28mm lens |
| 35mm storyteller | A natural view of people in a scene. The classic film-story lens. | 35mm lens |
| 50mm normal | Close to how your eye sees. Honest, undramatic perspective. | 50mm lens |
| 85mm portrait | Flattering faces, and the background falls away soft. The go-to portrait lens. | 85mm portrait lens |
| 135mm telephoto | Strong compression. The background melts into colour behind the subject. | 135mm telephoto lens |
| 70–200mm telephoto | Pulls distant subjects close and stacks background layers together. Sport, candids. | 200mm telephoto lens, compressed background |
| 600mm super-telephoto | Nature-documentary reach: flattened layers, heat shimmer, a tiny zone of focus. | 600mm super-telephoto lens, flattened layers |
| 100mm macro | Shows small things life-size: eyes, textures, drops, product details. | 100mm macro lens |
| Anamorphic 40mm | The wide cinema frame: oval bokeh and horizontal streak flares. | 40mm anamorphic lens, oval bokeh |
| Tilt-shift, straight lines | Keeps tall buildings and rooms perfectly upright. Architecture and property. | 24mm tilt-shift lens, straight verticals |
| Tilt-shift miniature | A thin band of focus seen from above makes real places look like toy models. | tilt-shift miniature effect, thin band of focus |
| Vintage prime | Older glass: softer contrast, a gentle glow and warm flare. | vintage uncoated lens, soft contrast |
| Swirl-bokeh portrait | The background blur swirls around the subject. Dreamy and old-fashioned. | Petzval-style lens, swirling bokeh |
Aperture and depth of field
A low f-number (f/1.2 to f/2.8) means a thin slice of sharp focus and a soft background. A high one (f/8 to f/11) keeps everything sharp. Shallow focus pulls attention to one thing; deep focus lets the viewer explore the whole frame.
| Focus and depth | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| f/1.2 razor-thin | Only the eyes are sharp. Everything else dissolves. | f/1.2, razor-thin focus |
| f/1.8 shallow | Subject sharp, background soft and creamy. | f/1.8, shallow depth of field |
| f/2.8 soft but readable | The background is soft, but you can still tell where we are. | f/2.8, soft background |
| f/5.6 moderate | Two or three people or a product all in focus, background a little soft. | f/5.6, subject fully sharp |
| f/11 deep focus | Sharp from front to back: landscapes, architecture, big groups. | f/11, deep focus |
| Split-diopter | A face close to camera and a figure far away, both sharp in one frame. | split-diopter, near and far both sharp |
| Rack focus video only | Focus moves from the foreground to the background during the shot. | rack focus from foreground to background |
Camera and film format
The format sets the texture of the whole image: clean digital, a smooth medium-format look, or the grain of 16mm film.
| Camera and format | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Full-frame digital | A clean, modern image with natural depth. | full-frame digital camera |
| Medium format | The bigger-sensor look: smooth tones and a very gentle focus fall-off. | medium-format camera |
| Super 35 cinema | The standard movie-camera look: natural motion and depth. | Super 35 cinema camera |
| Super 16mm film | Visible grain and softer detail. Indie and documentary. | Super 16mm film, visible grain |
| Super 8 home movie video only | Heavy grain, faded colour and a slight frame wobble. Memories. | Super 8 film, heavy grain, faded colour |
| 35mm point-and-shoot photo only | Snapshot film camera: casual framing, flash and grain. | 35mm point-and-shoot film camera |
| Phone camera | Everyday realism: deep focus, slight noise, natural HDR. | smartphone photo, deep focus |
Shot sizes, angles and composition
Shot size is how much of the subject fills the frame; the angle is where the camera looks from. Both change how the viewer feels about the subject before anything happens.
| Shot size | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Extreme wide | A tiny figure in a huge place. Shows scale. | extreme wide shot |
| Wide | The whole body plus plenty of surroundings. | wide shot |
| Full | Head to toe, with a little space around. | full shot |
| Medium wide | Mid-thigh up. Body language and hands. | medium-wide shot |
| Medium | Waist up. The framing for conversations. | medium shot |
| Medium close-up | Chest up. The face leads, but shoulders show. | medium close-up |
| Close-up | The face fills the frame. Emotion reads. | close-up |
| Extreme close-up | One detail: eyes, lips, a ring, a drop of water. | extreme close-up |
| Detail insert | A cut-in on hands or an object doing something. | detail insert shot |
| Camera angle | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Eye level | Neutral and honest. The viewer meets the subject as an equal. | eye level |
| Low angle | The camera looks up. The subject feels powerful or heroic. | low angle |
| High angle | The camera looks down. The subject feels small or vulnerable. | high angle |
| Top-down | Straight down from above: flat-lays, patterns, tables. | top-down view |
| Worm's-eye | From the ground straight up. Towering and dramatic. | worm's-eye view |
| Dutch angle | A tilted horizon. Unease or restless energy. | Dutch angle |
| Over the shoulder | Past one person to another. Conversations and confrontations. | over-the-shoulder shot |
| Point of view | What the character sees. Their hands may enter the frame. | POV shot |
| Side profile | A pure side view. Graphic, calm, editorial. | side profile |
| Aerial | From high in the air. Geography and scale. | aerial view |
| Composition | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Rule of thirds | The subject sits off-centre on a third. Natural and balanced. | rule of thirds |
| Centred symmetry | Perfect mirror balance. Formal and striking. | centred symmetrical composition |
| Leading lines | Roads, rails or walls point the eye to the subject. | leading lines |
| Frame within a frame | A doorway or window frames the subject. | frame within a frame |
| Negative space | A small subject in lots of empty space. Quiet, lonely. | negative space |
| Foreground layer | Shoot through leaves, glass or a crowd for depth. | out-of-focus foreground layer |
Light set-ups
Name one light and where it comes from. "Dramatic lighting" makes the model guess; "a single hard key light from the side with deep shadows" does not. Portrait set-ups (Rembrandt, loop, butterfly, split) describe where the key light sits relative to the face.
| Light set-up | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Rembrandt | Key light 45° to the side and above: a small triangle of light on the far cheek. | Rembrandt lighting |
| Loop | A soft key slightly to one side, with a small shadow beside the nose. Flatters most faces. | soft loop lighting |
| Butterfly (beauty) | Light high and straight in front: a small shadow under the nose, sculpted cheekbones. | butterfly beauty lighting |
| Split | Half the face lit, half in shadow. Mystery and conflict. | split lighting, half the face in shadow |
| Single hard key | One hard light and deep black shadows (chiaroscuro). Noir and drama. | single hard key light, deep shadows, chiaroscuro |
| High-key soft | Bright and even, almost no shadows. Clean, upbeat, commercial. | soft high-key light, minimal shadows |
| Three-point studio | Key, fill and rim: the subject separates cleanly from the background. | three-point lighting with rim light |
| Soft window light | Daylight from one side through a window. Natural and intimate. | soft window light from the side |
| Lamps in the scene | Lamps and screens inside the shot light the faces. Believable night interiors. | motivated practical lamps in frame |
| Backlight rim | Light from behind outlines the subject, and beams show in haze. | backlight rim light, visible light beams |
| Silhouette | A bright background and the subject as a dark shape. Graphic and mysterious. | silhouette against a bright background |
| Overhead top light | One hard light straight above, eyes in shadow. Isolated, interrogation mood. | single overhead top light |
| Two-colour neon | Magenta from one side, cyan from the other. Night-life energy. | magenta and cyan neon light from opposite sides |
| Overcast daylight | One huge soft source. No hard shadows, true colours. | soft overcast daylight |
| Hard midday sun | Short, crisp shadows and bright highlights. Summer and street. | hard midday sun, crisp shadows |
| On-camera flash | Direct flash: a bright subject, dark fall-off and a hard shadow behind. Party, editorial. | direct on-camera flash |
| Candle and firelight | Warm flicker from low and to the side. Intimate, period drama. | warm candlelight |
| Moonlight | Cool blue night light with soft, faint shadows. | cool moonlight |
Colour temperature, time of day and atmosphere
Light has a colour, measured in kelvin: candles and household lamps are warm (around 2,000 to 3,200K), daylight is neutral (around 5,600K) and shade and moonlight read blue. A camera balanced for one turns the other warm or blue, which is why tungsten film shot in daylight comes out blue.
| Colour temperature | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Tungsten 3200K | Camera set for warm lamps: lamps look white, daylight turns blue. | tungsten 3200K white balance |
| Daylight 5600K | Neutral under the sun. Lamps and candles glow orange. | 5600K daylight white balance |
| Mixed warm and cool | Warm lamps inside against cool blue light from outside. | mixed warm and cool light |
| Warm amber cast | Everything leans golden. Cosy, nostalgic. | warm amber cast |
| Cool blue cast | Everything leans blue. Cold, clinical or wintry. | cool blue cast |
| Time of day | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Before dawn | Deep blue light, no shadows. Calm and quiet. | pre-dawn blue light |
| Sunrise | A low warm sun, long shadows, maybe mist. | sunrise |
| Morning | Clean, bright, fresh light. | morning light |
| Midday | The sun overhead: short shadows, high contrast. | midday |
| Golden hour | A low warm sun, long soft shadows, glowing skin. | golden hour |
| Sunset | An orange and pink sky with the sun on the horizon. Silhouettes. | sunset |
| Blue hour | A deep blue sky just after sunset, with city lights coming on. | blue hour |
| Night, city | A dark sky, lit only by street lamps and windows. | night |
| Night, moonlit | Very dark countryside under the moon and stars. | moonlit night |
| Atmosphere | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Clear air | Crisp and clean, with full contrast. | clear air |
| Light haze | Softens the distance and shows light beams. | light haze |
| Fog or mist | Layers fade into white. Mystery and depth. | drifting fog |
| Rain, wet streets | Reflections on the ground and drops caught in the light. | light rain, wet reflective streets |
| Falling snow | Soft flakes and muffled, cold light. | falling snow |
| Dust in sunbeams | Floating specks glow inside a shaft of light. | dust in sunbeams |
| Smoke | Drifting smoke catches the backlight. Stage or battlefield mood. | drifting smoke |
| Heat shimmer | Wavy air over hot ground, best through a long lens. | heat shimmer |
Film stocks, grain and colour grades
A film stock brings its own grain, contrast and colour. Some here are no longer made (Kodachrome), but image models still know their look. The grade is the overall colour treatment on top, and lens effects add the small flaws that make a picture feel photographed.
| Film stock and grain | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Clean digital | No grain and neutral colour. | clean digital, no grain |
| Kodak Portra 400 | Fine grain, warm natural skin tones, soft contrast. The portrait favourite. | Kodak Portra 400 film look, fine grain |
| Kodak Ektar 100 | Very fine grain and vivid, saturated colour. Landscapes and travel. | Kodak Ektar 100 film look, vivid colour |
| Kodak Gold 200 | Warm, golden consumer film. Family-album snapshots. | Kodak Gold 200 film look, warm grain |
| Fujifilm Superia 400 | Cooler greens and cyans with everyday grain. | Fujifilm Superia 400 film look |
| Fujifilm Velvia 50 | Slide film: intense saturation and deep blacks. Dramatic landscapes. | Fujifilm Velvia 50 look, saturated |
| Kodachrome | Mid-century slide colour: rich reds, deep blues, crisp contrast. | vintage Kodachrome look |
| CineStill 800T | Tungsten-balanced night film: red halation glows around bright lights. | CineStill 800T look, red halation |
| Kodak Vision3 500T | Motion-picture night stock: warm practicals, rich shadows, visible grain. | Kodak Vision3 500T look, visible grain |
| Kodak Vision3 250D | Motion-picture daylight stock: natural colour and gentle grain. | Kodak Vision3 250D look, gentle grain |
| Kodak Tri-X 400 | Black and white with gritty grain and punchy contrast. Street and reportage. | Kodak Tri-X 400 black and white, gritty grain |
| Ilford HP5 Plus | Black and white with smooth grain and softer contrast. Portraits. | Ilford HP5 black and white, smooth grain |
| Ilford Delta 3200 | Black and white with heavy grain. Dark nights and concerts. | Ilford Delta 3200 black and white, heavy grain |
| Instant film | Soft focus, creamy faded colour and a gentle colour shift. | instant film look, faded colour |
| Colour grade | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Natural | True-to-life colour with no strong style. | natural colour |
| Teal and orange | Cool shadows and warm skin. The blockbuster look. | teal and orange grade |
| Bleach bypass | Low saturation, high contrast, silvery highlights. Gritty war and thrillers. | bleach bypass grade |
| Warm nostalgic | Golden and slightly faded. Memories and summer. | warm nostalgic grade |
| Cool desaturated | Muted blue-grey. Winter thrillers. | cool desaturated grade |
| Soft pastel matte | Lifted blacks and gentle pastel colour. Dreamy and light. | soft pastel matte grade |
| Two-tone neon | Magenta and cyan dominate. Cyberpunk and club nights. | magenta and cyan two-tone grade |
| High-contrast mono | Black and white with deep blacks and bright whites. | high-contrast black and white |
| Day for night | A daylight scene graded dark blue so it reads as moonlit night. | day-for-night grade |
| Cross-processed | Shifted colour: yellow-green highlights, punchy contrast. 90s fashion. | cross-processed colour |
| Lens effects | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Streak flares | Horizontal blue streaks across bright lights (anamorphic style). | horizontal streak flares |
| Halation | A soft red glow around bright highlights, like cinema film. | red halation around highlights |
| Black-mist diffusion | Highlights bloom softly and skin looks gentle. Less digital. | black-mist diffusion, soft highlight bloom |
| Vignette | The edges darken gently to pull the eye in. | gentle vignette |
| Light bokeh | Out-of-focus lights turn into soft round discs (needs a wide aperture). | round bokeh from background lights |
| Starburst lights | Point lights become sharp stars (needs a small aperture). | starburst point lights |
| Light leak | A warm orange glow bleeding in from the frame edge. Analogue feel. | warm light leak |
| Motion blur | Moving things smear slightly, as with a 180-degree shutter. | natural motion blur |
| Extra grain | A visible film-grain texture on top of any look. | visible film grain |
| Colour fringing | Faint colour fringes at the frame edges. A real-lens flaw. | subtle chromatic aberration at the edges |
Camera moves and speed for AI video
Use one camera move per shot. Two moves in a five-second clip usually come out jittery. Moves that need time (orbits, crane moves, dolly zooms) work best in clips of eight seconds or more.
| Camera move | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Locked-off | The camera does not move. The action does the work. | locked-off camera |
| Slow push-in | Creeps toward the subject. Builds tension or intimacy. | slow push-in |
| Pull-back reveal | Moves away to reveal where we are. | pull-back reveal |
| Sideways truck | Slides sideways alongside the scene. | lateral truck |
| Tracking follow | Follows behind or beside a moving subject at their pace. | tracking follow shot |
| Leading shot | Moves backward in front of a walking subject, keeping their face. | leading shot |
| Orbit | Circles the subject to show them from all sides. | slow orbit |
| Crane up | Rises from low to high for a grand reveal. | crane up |
| Tilt up | Pivots up from the ground to reveal height. | tilt up |
| Slow pan | Pivots sideways across a landscape or room. | slow pan |
| Whip pan | A fast, blurred swing to a new subject. Energy and transitions. | whip pan |
| Handheld | Slight natural shake. Documentary, urgent, real. | handheld camera |
| Drone rise | An aerial glide forward and up over the location. | drone shot rising |
| FPV drone dive | A fast, swooping first-person flight through gaps. | FPV drone dive |
| Dolly zoom | The background stretches while the subject stays the same size. Vertigo. | dolly zoom |
| Crash zoom | A sudden, fast zoom into a detail. Comedy or shock. | crash zoom |
| Slow zoom in | Optical zoom while the camera stays put. Flat and observational. | slow zoom in |
| Motion and speed | What it does | Write it as |
|---|---|---|
| Real time, 24 fps | Normal speed with natural motion blur, like a film camera. | real time, 24 fps, natural motion blur |
| Slow motion | Action stretched out so every detail shows. | slow motion |
| Speed ramp | Normal speed that slows down at the key moment. | speed ramp |
| Time-lapse | Hours pass in seconds. Clouds and crowds race. | time-lapse |
| Hyperlapse | A time-lapse while the camera travels forward. | hyperlapse |
How each AI app reads these words
The same look needs different wording in each app. This table comes from each app's own prompt guide, last checked on . Apps change often, so follow the source link if something looks different.
| App | How to write for it | To leave things out | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midjourney V8.2 (default) images | Settings go at the end. --raw turns off Midjourney's default styling for a more literal, photographic result. --no reads each word on its own, so it lists single words. | A --no setting with single words | Parameter list, Raw, No |
| Flux FLUX.2 images | FLUX.2 has no negative prompt, so this only describes what you want. Earlier words count most, so the subject comes first. 30 to 80 words suits most pictures. | Nothing: describe only what you want | FLUX.2 prompting guide |
| Gemini Nano Banana images | Follows Google's photorealistic template: the shot and subject, then the light, then the angle and lens. The aspect ratio is written in the prompt. | A plain sentence, such as "No text, logos or watermarks." | Gemini API image generation |
| ChatGPT GPT Image images | OpenAI's guide says lens and camera specs are read loosely, as a general look rather than exact optics. "Photorealistic" is kept on purpose: the guide says it switches on the photo look. Short labelled lines suit it. | A plain sentence, such as "No text, logos or watermarks." | Image prompting guide |
| Ideogram images | Ideogram reads about 150 words. "No" and "without" in the main prompt can backfire, so it only says what to show. | A separate negative prompt box, as plain nouns | Prompting guide |
| Veo 3.1 video | Written in the order of Google's guide: camera, subject, action, scene, lens, light, style, then sound in its own sentences. Google advises against "no" and "don't" in the prompt, so what to leave out goes in the negative prompt as plain nouns. | A separate negative prompt box, as plain nouns | Veo prompt guide |
| Kling 3.0 video | Kling's guide puts the subject and action first, then the scene, camera and light. | A separate negative prompt box, as plain nouns | Kling prompt guide |
| Runway Gen-4.5 video | Runway's guide asks for positive phrasing only ("sharp focus", not "not blurry") and natural sentences, and says word order does not matter. | Nothing: describe only what you want | Text to video guide, Introduction to prompting, Gen-4.5 |
| Seedance 2.5 video | We found no official Seedance prompt guide, so this follows what works across video models: one action and one camera move, short and concrete. | A separate negative prompt box, as plain nouns | No official guide found |
Here is one look, neo-noir night, written three ways by the tools' own code:
A detective in a rain-soaked trench coat lighting a match under a flickering neon tube, in a narrow city alley at night, medium close-up, low angle, frame within a frame. 40mm anamorphic lens, oval bokeh, f/1.8, shallow depth of field, Super 35 cinema camera. Magenta and cyan neon light from opposite sides, night, mixed warm and cool light, light rain, wet reflective streets. CineStill 800T look, red halation, magenta and cyan two-tone grade, gentle vignette. Real skin texture, natural proportions --ar 239:100 --raw --no text, watermark, logo
A medium close-up of a detective in a rain-soaked trench coat lighting a match under a flickering neon tube, in a narrow city alley at night, from a low angle, looking up. 40mm anamorphic lens, oval bokeh, f/1.8, shallow depth of field, Super 35 cinema camera, frame within a frame. Magenta and cyan neon light from opposite sides, night, mixed warm and cool light, light rain, wet reflective streets. CineStill 800T look, red halation, magenta and cyan two-tone grade, gentle vignette. Real skin texture with visible pores, natural proportions. Unbranded, unlabelled surfaces.
Photorealistic medium close-up of a detective in a rain-soaked trench coat lighting a match under a flickering neon tube, in a narrow city alley at night. Camera: Super 35 cinema camera, 40mm anamorphic lens, oval bokeh, f/1.8, shallow depth of field, low angle, frame within a frame. Light: magenta and cyan neon light from opposite sides, night, mixed warm and cool light, light rain, wet reflective streets. Look: CineStill 800T look, red halation, magenta and cyan two-tone grade, gentle vignette. Texture: real skin with pores and fine lines, natural fabric creases. Frame: ultra-wide 2.39:1 cinemascope. Constraints: no text, no logos, no watermark.
Words to drop, and what replaces them
These words were common in early image prompts. Today they add little or push models toward a generic, glossy look. Cinematic mode removes them and tells you which of your choices now does the job.
| Words | Why drop them | What does the job instead |
|---|---|---|
8K, 4K, UHD, ultra HD | Resolution is a setting in the app, not a word in the prompt. | Your lens, focus and depth, film stock and grain choices, and the size setting in the app |
hyperdetailed, ultra-detailed, highly detailed, intricate details | It never says which detail matters, so models add busy texture everywhere. | Your lens, focus and depth, film stock and grain choices |
photorealistic, hyperrealistic, ultra-realistic, lifelike | A word cannot make a picture real; a real camera, lens and film description can. | Your camera and format, lens, film stock and grain choices |
masterpiece, best quality, award-winning, trending on ArtStation | Old tag-style words. Current models ignore them or drift to a generic, glossy look. | Your light set-up, colour grade choices |
octane render, Unreal Engine, ray tracing, CGI | 3D-render words push a computer-graphics look into a photo. | Your camera and format, film stock and grain choices |
cinematic, cinematic lighting, cinematic look | Too vague: every model reads "cinematic" differently. | Your lens, light set-up, colour grade choices |
dramatic lighting, epic, stunning, beautiful, perfect | A matter of taste, so the model has to guess what you mean. | Your light set-up, colour grade choices |
sharp focus, ultra sharp, crisp details | The focus choice says exactly what is sharp and what is soft. | Your focus and depth choice |
Choices that fight each other
Some combinations cannot both be true, so the model has to pick one, and usually picks badly. Runway's own prompting guide gives the same advice: avoid conflicting instructions. These are the clashes the tools warn about:
- Tilt-shift miniature needs a high, wide view of a big scene. On a close-up it only blurs the edges. Use a wide shot from a high angle, or an 85mm lens for a portrait.
- Tungsten white balance or tungsten film (CineStill 800T, Vision3 500T) under daylight turns everything blue. For daylight, pick Daylight 5600K or a daylight film such as Portra 400 or Vision3 250D. Keep tungsten for night, lamps and candles.
- f/1.2 keeps only a thin slice sharp, so a wide scene or a group goes soft almost everywhere. Use f/8 to f/11 for wide shots, or move in closer.
- Round bokeh discs need a wide aperture. At f/8 to f/11 lights stay as small points. Pick f/1.8 or f/2.8, or swap bokeh for starbursts.
- Starbursts appear when the lens is stopped down (f/8 or smaller). With a wide aperture the lights turn into soft discs instead.
- A macro lens shows small things life-size; it cannot take in a wide scene. Use a close-up or an extreme close-up, or a wider lens.
- Hard midday sun and this time of day cannot both be true. Keep the time and pick a light that fits it (backlight rim, overcast, lamps in the scene), or set the time to midday.
- Moonlight needs a night sky. Set the time to night, or use the day-for-night grade to fake it.
- Black-and-white film has no colour to grade. Pick Natural or High-contrast mono, or a colour film.
- A Dutch tilt breaks symmetry on purpose. Pick one: tilted energy or centred calm.
- Bright high-key light and a night look work against each other. For night, pick lamps in the scene, moonlight or neon.
- A drone or aerial view cannot hold a close-up of a face or a small detail. Use a crane or a push-in for close shots, or a wide shot for aerials.
- A handheld time-lapse jitters badly. Use a locked-off camera for a time-lapse, or a hyperlapse if the camera should travel.
- A hyperlapse moves the camera; with a locked-off camera it is a time-lapse. Pick one.
Keep one look across several shots
Video models make each clip separately, so the light, colour and even the character drift between shots. A look lock fixes the words: write the camera, light, film and character once, paste exactly the same block into every shot, and change only the shot size, the move and the action. Here is a three-shot sequence for Veo built that way:
LOOK (keep exactly the same in every shot) Camera and lens: A 35mm lens at f/2.8 on a Super 35 cinema camera. A background that is soft but still recognisable. Light: A strong backlight behind the subject, outlining them with a bright rim, with visible light beams, at golden hour. Dust floating in shafts of sunlight. Film and colour: It has the look of Kodak Portra 400 film, with fine grain and warm, natural skin tones. Colour grade: warm and nostalgic, golden and slightly faded. Lens effects: highlights blooming softly through a black-mist diffusion filter. Motion: real-time motion at 24 frames per second with natural motion blur. Character: a farmer in her fifties in a faded blue shirt and a straw hat. Same face, hair, clothes and props in every shot. Setting: Rolling farmland in late summer. Same weather and time of day in every shot. Screen direction: the subject always moves from left to right across the frame.
Shot 1 of 3: a wide shot at eye level. Camera: an aerial drone shot gliding forward and slowly rising. She walks into the wheat field from the farm track. Camera and lens: A 35mm lens at f/2.8 on a Super 35 cinema camera. A background that is soft but still recognisable. Light: A strong backlight behind the subject, outlining them with a bright rim, with visible light beams, at golden hour. Dust floating in shafts of sunlight. Film and colour: It has the look of Kodak Portra 400 film, with fine grain and warm, natural skin tones. Colour grade: warm and nostalgic, golden and slightly faded. Lens effects: highlights blooming softly through a black-mist diffusion filter. Motion: real-time motion at 24 frames per second with natural motion blur. Character: a farmer in her fifties in a faded blue shirt and a straw hat. Same face, hair, clothes and props in every shot. Setting: Rolling farmland in late summer. Same weather and time of day in every shot. Screen direction: the subject always moves from left to right across the frame. Stable, flicker-free frames with natural, well-formed hands and faces, and unbranded, unlabelled surfaces.
Shot 2 of 3: a medium shot at eye level. Camera: a tracking shot that follows the subject at their pace. She runs her open hand over the tops of the wheat as she walks. Camera and lens: A 35mm lens at f/2.8 on a Super 35 cinema camera. A background that is soft but still recognisable. Light: A strong backlight behind the subject, outlining them with a bright rim, with visible light beams, at golden hour. Dust floating in shafts of sunlight. Film and colour: It has the look of Kodak Portra 400 film, with fine grain and warm, natural skin tones. Colour grade: warm and nostalgic, golden and slightly faded. Lens effects: highlights blooming softly through a black-mist diffusion filter. Motion: real-time motion at 24 frames per second with natural motion blur. Character: a farmer in her fifties in a faded blue shirt and a straw hat. Same face, hair, clothes and props in every shot. Setting: Rolling farmland in late summer. Same weather and time of day in every shot. Screen direction: the subject always moves from left to right across the frame. Stable, flicker-free frames with natural, well-formed hands and faces, and unbranded, unlabelled surfaces.
Shot 3 of 3: a close-up at eye level. Camera: a locked-off, perfectly still camera. She stops, looks up at the sky and smiles. Camera and lens: A 35mm lens at f/2.8 on a Super 35 cinema camera. A background that is soft but still recognisable. Light: A strong backlight behind the subject, outlining them with a bright rim, with visible light beams, at golden hour. Dust floating in shafts of sunlight. Film and colour: It has the look of Kodak Portra 400 film, with fine grain and warm, natural skin tones. Colour grade: warm and nostalgic, golden and slightly faded. Lens effects: highlights blooming softly through a black-mist diffusion filter. Motion: real-time motion at 24 frames per second with natural motion blur. Character: a farmer in her fifties in a faded blue shirt and a straw hat. Same face, hair, clothes and props in every shot. Setting: Rolling farmland in late summer. Same weather and time of day in every shot. Screen direction: the subject always moves from left to right across the frame. Stable, flicker-free frames with natural, well-formed hands and faces, and unbranded, unlabelled surfaces.
Veo's prompt itself carries no "no" words, as Google's guide advises. Where your Veo app has a negative prompt box, put text overlays, subtitles, watermark, logos, flicker, warped hands, morphing faces there. Even with a look lock, expect small differences between clips; using the same reference image for every shot helps.
More help with photo and video prompts
Questions, answered
Do AI image generators understand lens and aperture?
As a look, not as physics. OpenAI's image guide says ChatGPT reads camera specs loosely, as a general look and composition. Midjourney, Flux and the video models respond well to focal length, aperture and film words. Expect the feel (wide or compressed, blurred or sharp background) rather than exact optics.
Should I still write 8K or photorealistic?
Not 8K: resolution is a setting in the app, not a word in the prompt. "Photorealistic" helps in ChatGPT (OpenAI's guide recommends it) and Google's Gemini template starts with it. Elsewhere, a real lens, light and film description does the job better than the word.
Is --style raw still the Midjourney setting?
Midjourney's current docs describe --raw, which turns off its default styling and works on version 5.1 and later, including the V8.2 default. The older --style raw form appears in the legacy table for versions 5 and 6.
How do I keep the same look across AI video clips?
Write the camera, light, film and character once as a look lock and paste exactly the same words into every shot. Change only the shot size, the camera move and the action. Using the same reference image for each clip helps too. Video models still drift a little between clips, so expect a few tries.
Can I use real film stock names like Kodak Portra 400?
Yes. Image models know the look of common stocks, and Black Forest Labs' Flux guide uses "Shot on Kodak Portra 400" as an example. The tables here also describe what each stock looks like, so you can write the description instead.