Purpose
Name the image and where it will be used.
Copy, adapt, and create
GPT Image 2.5 Prompts and Editing Guide
Build clearer prompts for new images and focused edits. Start with the structure, then use the templates below for your specific task.
Start here
GPT Image 2.5 Prompt Structure
Create a [type of image] for [purpose]. Show [subject] [action] in [setting]. Use [composition], [lighting], [materials], and [visual style]. Include the exact text "[copy]" in [location]. Preserve [fixed details]. Do not include [unwanted elements].
Subject
Describe the main person, product, or object.
Scene
Set the action, location, and time of day.
Composition
Choose framing, angle, and subject placement.
Visual direction
Define lighting, materials, color, and style.
Exact text
Quote required copy and state its placement.
Preserve
List details that must remain unchanged.
Exclude
Remove unwanted objects or visual defects.
Jump to a task
Copyable Prompt Template Directory
Each prompt category includes a reusable template, a complete example, preservation notes, common mistakes, and model guidance.
Create from a description
Text-to-Image Prompt Templates
Build a new image by defining its purpose, subject, setting, composition, light, and exclusions in that order.
Model guidance
Use Flare for fast drafts and variations. Choose Sunburst for final images with demanding materials, complex layouts, or finer detail.
Copyable template
Create a [type of image] for [purpose]. Show [main subject] [action] in [setting]. Use [shot or composition], [lighting], [color palette], and [visual style]. Include [important materials or details]. Do not include [unwanted elements].
Complete example
Create a cinematic wide campaign image for a premium outdoor brand. Show a woman in a rust-red technical jacket standing beside a silver camper in a misty pine valley at sunrise. Use a low eye-level camera, soft golden backlight, natural skin texture, wet fabric detail, and restrained earth tones. Leave clean space in the upper-left for later copy. Do not include text, logos, extra people, or oversaturated colors.
Details to preserve
- The intended asset and its use
- Subject placement and camera framing
- Required materials, colors, and open space
Common mistake
Starting with a long list of style words before explaining what the image should show or where it will be used.
Change one thing clearly
Image Editing Prompt Templates
Separate the requested change from the details that must remain unchanged. This gives the edit a clear boundary.
Model guidance
Use Flare for quick color, mood, and background experiments. Use Sunburst for identity-sensitive work, product edits, and changes with strict preservation rules.
Copyable template
Using the uploaded image, change only [target element] to [requested result]. Preserve [identity, product shape, pose, composition, camera angle, lighting, background, labels]. Match the existing perspective, scale, shadows, and material texture. Do not change [protected details].
Complete example
Using the uploaded portrait, change only the black leather jacket to a tailored navy wool coat with a clean lapel and natural fabric folds. Preserve the person's face, identity, skin tone, hairstyle, expression, body shape, hands, pose, framing, camera angle, background, and lighting. Match the existing perspective and shadows. Do not add jewelry, props, text, or other people.
Details to preserve
- Face, identity, pose, and hands
- Camera position, framing, and perspective
- Approved background, lighting, labels, and logos
Common mistake
Writing only 'make it better,' or requesting several unrelated changes without identifying what must stay fixed.
Commercial product images
Product Photo Prompts
Describe the sales channel, product geometry, materials, lighting, surface, and details that buyers must recognize.
Model guidance
Flare works well for testing campaign directions. Choose Sunburst for final product images, reflective materials, packaging accuracy, and reference-guided edits.
Copyable template
Create a [shot type] product photo of [product] for [channel]. Place it on [surface or setting] with [props]. Use [lighting direction], [camera angle], and [background]. Show realistic [materials and reflections]. Keep [label, shape, color, and packaging details] accurate. No [unwanted elements].
Complete example
Create a premium 16:9 product photograph of an unbranded crystal perfume bottle for a luxury beauty campaign. Place it on a mirror-polished chrome platform with deep red petals, suspended water droplets, and thin amber glass. Use precise side lighting to show realistic glass thickness, liquid refraction, condensation, and metal reflections. Keep the bottle centered, large, sharp, and geometrically correct. No readable text, logos, duplicate bottles, warped glass, or excessive bloom.
Details to preserve
- Product silhouette and proportions
- Packaging color, label placement, and cap design
- Material behavior, contact shadow, and reflections
Common mistake
Using vague words such as 'premium' without describing the surface, light direction, camera view, or product details.
People and character work
Portrait Prompts
Control framing, expression, wardrobe, light, and skin treatment. For edits, state every identity detail that should remain recognizable.
Model guidance
Use Flare for portrait concepts and fast wardrobe variations. Use Sunburst when facial consistency, natural materials, hands, or identity preservation matter more.
Copyable template
Create a [portrait type] of [adult subject] in [setting]. Frame the subject [camera distance and angle]. Use [lens cue], [lighting], [expression], [wardrobe], and [color direction]. Show natural skin and realistic fabric. Preserve [identity details when editing]. Avoid [retouching or anatomy problems].
Complete example
Create a photorealistic editorial portrait of an elderly sailor repairing a fishing net on a small wooden boat. Frame him from the waist up at eye level with a 50mm lens and shallow depth of field. Use soft coastal daylight, a calm focused expression, weathered blue workwear, realistic skin, woven rope fibers, restrained natural colors, and subtle film grain. Keep the moment candid. No text, logos, plastic skin, distorted hands, or heavy beauty retouching.
Details to preserve
- Face, age, skin tone, and recognizable features
- Expression, hairstyle, body proportions, and pose
- Natural hands, fabric texture, and lighting direction
Common mistake
Stacking beauty terms that produce plastic skin, or changing clothing without explicitly protecting the subject's face and identity.
Campaign layouts
Advertising and Poster Prompts
Treat the request as an art-direction brief. Define the campaign idea, hierarchy, copy, placement, palette, and forbidden extras.
Model guidance
Use Flare to explore several campaign directions quickly. Choose Sunburst for final layouts with dense detail, strict hierarchy, or more demanding text placement.
Copyable template
Create a [format] advertisement for [fictional brand or offer]. Feature [subject or product] with [visual concept]. Use [layout], [color palette], and [art direction]. Add the exact headline "[copy]" once in [position] using [typography]. Leave [required space]. Do not add other words, logos, or watermarks.
Complete example
Create a vertical travel poster for an imaginary luxury sleeper train crossing snowy European mountains at blue hour. Show a midnight-blue train with warm windows curving through an alpine valley. Use Swiss modernist layout, cream and navy typography, subtle paper texture, and generous margins. Add the exact headline "NIGHT TRAIN NORTH" once at the top and "ZURICH / OSLO" once below it. Add no other words, logos, or watermarks.
Details to preserve
- Headline spelling, frequency, and hierarchy
- Product visibility and campaign focal point
- Margins, negative space, and approved palette
Common mistake
Requesting 'an ad' without defining its format, headline position, visual hierarchy, or whether extra copy is allowed.
Readable words in images
Prompts with Exact Text
Quote the approved copy, control where it appears, limit how often it appears, and explicitly reject extra wording.
Model guidance
Flare is useful for testing simple headlines. Use Sunburst for text-heavy layouts, packaging, interface concepts, or edits that must preserve existing copy.
Copyable template
Include the exact text "[approved copy]" once. Place it [location] in [font style, weight, case, and color]. Keep it [alignment and size relationship]. Do not rewrite, repeat, translate, curve, crop, or add any other text. Preserve [existing approved text when editing].
Complete example
Create a clean 4:5 mineral sunscreen advertisement with a matte white tube on pale limestone beside clear water. Add the exact headline "LIGHT ON SKIN." once near the top in bold uppercase sans-serif type. Print "SOLACE" once on the tube. Keep both phrases fully visible, correctly spelled, and high contrast. Use soft coastal daylight and realistic water reflections. Do not add taglines, prices, badges, logos, fine print, or other words.
Details to preserve
- Exact spelling, punctuation, and capitalization
- Text placement, alignment, and visual hierarchy
- Existing labels or approved copy during edits
Common mistake
Mentioning the desired words without quotation marks, placement instructions, or a rule that prevents extra text.
Assign every input a role
Reference Image Instructions
Number each reference and explain exactly what it controls. Also state which details must not transfer between images.
Model guidance
Use Flare for quick reference-based concepts. Choose Sunburst for multi-image composition, identity preservation, precise product matching, and controlled style transfer.
Copyable template
Use image 1 for [identity or main subject]. Use image 2 for [product, clothing, or object]. Use image 3 only for [style, palette, or composition]. Preserve [protected details from image 1]. Transfer only [approved attributes]. Do not copy [background or unrelated details] from images 2 or 3.
Complete example
Use image 1 for the woman's face, identity, hairstyle, body proportions, and pose. Use image 2 for the cobalt-blue tailored suit, including its lapels, silver buttons, and fabric weight. Use image 3 only for the cool editorial color palette. Preserve the camera angle, studio background, skin tone, hands, expression, and lighting from image 1. Do not transfer the people, setting, jewelry, or props from images 2 or 3.
Details to preserve
- Primary subject identity and geometry
- The role assigned to each numbered reference
- Background, camera, and lighting that should remain fixed
Common mistake
Uploading several images without labels, leaving the model to guess which subject, style, clothing, or background belongs in the result.
Fix weak results
Common Prompting Mistakes
Most prompt problems come from unclear priorities, missing preservation rules, or too many changes in one request.
Prompt repair template
Create or edit [asset]. The main goal is [single priority]. Change [specific target]. Preserve [identity, composition, colors, materials, text, and other fixed details]. Use reference image 1 for [role] and reference image 2 for [role]. Do not change [protected details].
Starting with style only
Name the asset, subject, action, and purpose before adding style words.
Combining conflicting directions
Choose one clear lighting setup, camera view, and visual direction.
Editing without preservation rules
State what must remain unchanged, especially identity, labels, layout, and product shape.
Leaving references unlabeled
Call each upload image 1, image 2, and so on, then give every image one role.
Requesting text loosely
Put exact copy in quotation marks and specify its location, hierarchy, and typography.
Changing too much at once
Make one focused edit per pass when accuracy matters.
Before you generate
Final Prompt Checklist
Run through these checks before generating. A clear priority and explicit preservation rules usually matter more than adding extra adjectives.
- The image type and purpose are clear.
- The subject, action, and setting are specific.
- Framing, lighting, materials, and style agree with each other.
- Required text is quoted with placement and typography.
- Every reference image has one named role.
- The edit target and protected details are separated.
- The prompt avoids conflicting or unnecessary instructions.
- The selected model matches the need for speed or precision.
Complete reusable template
Create a [format] for [purpose]. Show [subject] [action] in [setting]. Use [camera view and composition], [lighting], [color palette], [materials], and [style]. Add the exact text "[copy]" at [location] using [typography]. Use image 1 for [role]. Change only [edit target]. Preserve [protected details]. Exclude [unwanted elements].
Use Flare for quick drafts and everyday iterations. Use Sunburst when detailed edits, text, materials, or reference consistency matter more.
Try your promptRELATED GUIDES AND TOOLS
Put Your Prompt into Practice
Use the generator, apply these instructions to a product image, or compare Flare and Sunburst before choosing a model.
GPT Image 2.5 Prompting FAQ
Quick answers about prompt length, editing, reference images, exact text, and model choice.
Try GPT Image 2.5How should I structure a GPT Image 2.5 prompt?
Start with the asset, subject, scene, composition, visual direction, exact text, references, and constraints. For an edit, separate what should change from what must stay the same.
Do GPT Image 2.5 prompts need to be long?
No. Use the shortest prompt that makes the result clear. Add labeled sections when the request includes several subjects, references, text requirements, or preservation rules.
How do I write a GPT Image 2.5 editing prompt?
Name the edit target first. Then list the identity, geometry, composition, lighting, text, labels, and surrounding details that must remain unchanged.
How should I use multiple reference images?
Number the references and assign each one a role, such as subject identity, product, clothing, composition, lighting, style, or background.
How do I get readable text in an image?
Put the exact wording in quotes, specify placement and typography, say how many times it should appear, ask for no extra text, and verify spelling after generation.
Should I choose Flare or Sunburst?
Start with Flare when speed matters. Use Sunburst when a demanding generation or edit needs more detail or control, then compare both with the same prompt and settings.