Camera settings for AI photos
Pick a lens, light and color, see what each stop does, and keep the mixes you like as presets. They are used in the image studio straight away.
All 37 camera settings prompts
Every option above, with what it does and the words it adds to your prompt. Pick them above to use them here, or copy the words into any image model.
Lens
Sets the focal length: how wide the view is and how faces are drawn.
| Option | What it does | Prompt words |
|---|---|---|
| 24mm wide | Wide and close: more of the place, and faces near the edges stretch a little. | Camera: full-frame camera with a 24mm wide-angle lens, close to the subject, the surroundings in view. |
| 35mm documentary | The street and documentary look: person and place together. | Camera: full-frame camera with a 35mm lens, documentary perspective. |
| 50mm natural | Close to how the eye sees; an everyday, honest perspective. | Camera: full-frame camera with a 50mm lens, natural perspective as the eye sees it. |
| 85mm portrait | The classic portrait lens: flattering faces, soft background. | Camera: full-frame camera with an 85mm portrait lens. |
| 135mm telephoto | From far away: the background pulled close and smooth. | Camera: full-frame camera with a 135mm telephoto lens from a distance, the background compressed. |
| Phone camera | Like a phone snapshot: wide, casual, mostly in focus. | Camera: a modern smartphone camera, its wide lens and slight edge distortion. |
| 35mm film camera | Like a scanned 35mm film negative. | Camera: a 35mm film camera, the look of a scanned film negative. |
Aperture
Sets how much is sharp: a low number blurs the background, a high one keeps everything sharp.
| Option | What it does | Prompt words |
|---|---|---|
| f/1.4 strongest blur | Only the eyes sharp and the background melting away; dreamy. | Depth of field: f/1.4, only the eyes in focus, the background melting into soft bokeh. |
| f/2 soft background | Subject sharp, background softly blurred; good for portraits. | Depth of field: f/2, the subject sharp, the background softly blurred. |
| f/2.8 gentle blur | A gentle blur that still shows where you are. | Depth of field: f/2.8, the subject sharp, the background gently out of focus. |
| f/5.6 surroundings sharp | The person and nearby things sharp; good for two or three people. | Depth of field: f/5.6, the subject and nearby surroundings sharp. |
| f/8 mostly sharp | Most of the scene sharp; groups and travel photos. | Depth of field: f/8, most of the scene sharp. |
| f/16 all sharp | Everything sharp from front to back; landscapes and buildings. | Depth of field: f/16, everything sharp from front to back. |
Light
Sets where the light comes from and how hard it is. It changes the mood the most.
| Option | What it does | Prompt words |
|---|---|---|
| Soft window light | Soft daylight from the side; natural and kind to faces. | Light: soft natural light from a window or the sky; realistic shadows. |
| Golden hour | Low warm sun and long shadows; the evening glow. | Light: low golden-hour sun from the side, warm glow and long soft shadows. |
| Studio softbox | Clean, even light like a photo studio; headshots and products. | Light: studio softbox key light with a gentle fill, clean even shadows. |
| Overcast day | Cloudy-day light with no hard shadows; calm and even. | Light: overcast daylight, soft and shadowless. |
| Direct flash | Direct flash: crisp and bright with a hard shadow behind; party and fashion. | Light: direct on-camera flash, crisp hard shadows behind the subject. |
| Neon night | Colored city lights on the face at night. | Light: night city light from colored neon signs on the face. |
| Low-key, one light | One small light in the dark; dramatic, deep shadows. | Light: one small light source in a dark room, deep shadows, low-key. |
Color
Sets the color grade of the whole photo.
| Option | What it does | Prompt words |
|---|---|---|
| Natural | True-to-life colors with one main tone and a small accent. | Color: natural colors; one dominant tone, one secondary, one small accent color. |
| Warm film | Warm film tones with creamy highlights. | Color: warm film tones like Kodak Portra, creamy highlights. |
| Cool tones | Cool blue-green tones; calm and clean. | Color: cool blue-green tones, calm and clean. |
| Black and white | Black and white with rich grays. | Color: black-and-white photograph with rich gray tones. |
| Muted | Soft, low-saturation colors; quiet and modern. | Color: muted, low-saturation colors, soft contrast. |
| Vivid | Strong saturated colors and contrast; bold. | Color: vivid saturated colors with strong contrast. |
Grain
Adds film grain or keeps the image clean.
| Option | What it does | Prompt words |
|---|---|---|
| Clean, no grain | A clean digital image with no grain. | Texture: clean digital image, no grain. |
| Fine film grain | A light film grain that adds texture without noise. | Texture: fine film grain. |
| Heavy grain | Strong, visible grain; raw and analog. | Texture: heavy, visible film grain. |
Framing
Sets how much of the person is in the frame.
| Option | What it does | Prompt words |
|---|---|---|
| Face close-up | The face fills the frame. | Framing: close-up of the face. |
| Head and shoulders | Head and shoulders; headshots and profile pictures. | Framing: head and shoulders. |
| Waist up | From the waist up; shows clothes and hands. | Framing: from the waist up. |
| Full length | Head to feet; outfits and poses. | Framing: full length, head to feet in the frame. |
| Wide, in the scene | The person small in a big place; travel and scenery. | Framing: wide shot, the subject small in a large setting. |
Skin
Keeps real skin: pores, moles and freckles stay as they are.
| Option | What it does | Prompt words |
|---|---|---|
| Real skin texture | Real pores; your own marks kept, nothing smoothed, no age change. | Skin: real skin texture with visible pores; keep the person's own moles, freckles and lines exactly as they are — add none, remove none, no smoothing, no age change. |
Realism
Makes things rest on surfaces with real shadows, so nothing floats.
| Option | What it does | Prompt words |
|---|---|---|
| Real-photo shadows | Correct contact shadows; objects rest on surfaces. | Real photograph: correct contact shadows; objects rest on surfaces; nothing floats. |
Eyes
Adds the small reflections of light that make eyes look alive.
| Option | What it does | Prompt words |
|---|---|---|
| Natural catch-lights | Natural reflections of light in the eyes. | Eyes: natural catch-lights. |
How to use them
- Choose a lens, an aperture and a light first. Leave a setting off to let the model decide.
- Name the mix and save it as a preset, or copy its link to share it.
- Press "Make a photo with these". The settings go with every photo you make until you turn them off.
More to try: AI photo prompts · Video camera
Questions
Which camera settings should I put in an AI photo prompt?
Start with the lens, the aperture and the light. An 85mm lens at f/2 with soft window light gives a classic portrait; a 24mm lens at f/8 keeps the place around you in view. Add color, grain and framing when you want a particular look.
Can I use these prompt words in other AI tools?
Yes. The words are plain English, so you can paste them into the prompt of any image model. On PicYep they are added to your prompt for you.
Can I save my own settings and add my own options?
Yes. Save up to 20 presets, add up to 8 options of your own to any setting, and add up to 6 settings of your own. Signed in, they are kept with your account; signed out, in this browser.
Does it cost anything?
Choosing settings and saving presets is free. Making a photo uses credits, the same as without camera settings; prices are on the pricing page.