10 cool prompts for creating realistic photos

Neural networks have long been able to draw “pretty pictures,” but truly realistic photos many only get them on the tenth try. The reason is simple: the model doesn’t read minds, she just honestly executes the text of the prompta, and if there is little detail, the result will look like digital art, not a camera shot.

In this article – 10 ready-made prompts for generating realistic photos, plus a separate prompt for a cover with a spectacular girl. Each example is accompanied by a description of the frame and is in the “photographic” style: light, optics, angle, atmosphere are specified, so that the neural network improvises less and imitates the real shooting more.

How to write photopromptsBefore the examples – a short checklist that will come in handy under any generator.

Clearly set story: who/what’s in the frame, what’s doing, where it is.Use “photographer’s language”: RAW photo, DSLR, 35mm, 85mm, depth of field, soft natural light, bokeh, cinematic lighting.Add quality: photorealistic, ultra realistic, 4K/8K, high dynamic range, detailed skin texture.Describe light and atmosphere: golden hour, soft shadows, ambient light, fog, rain, lens flare.If necessary, include age and general appearance type, but without unnecessary “objectification” – this will make the images safer to publish on an IT site.

All the prompts below are in English – most generators understand it best.

1. Developer at night behind the monitors

Frame idea.Realistic “night” setup in a home office: girl developer behind two or three monitors, light from the screens, cup of coffee, some mess on the desk. Great for articles about coding, freelancing, or burnout.

A realistic photo of a young female software developer working late at night in a dark room, only illuminated by multiple ultrawide monitors with code and graphs, soft blue screen light on her face, headphones around her neck, mug of coffee on a slightly messy desk, reflections on the glasses, shallow depth of field, shot on DSLR, 35mm lens, f/2.0, natural skin texture, ultra realistic, 4K, cinematic mood

2. Portrait of an AI researcher in the office

Frame idea.In the afternoon, large open-space, glass and concrete, whiteboard with formulas and neural networks behind her. A 30-35 year old woman, modern business casual, looking straight into the lens. A good illustration of AI startups and ML research.

A photorealistic portrait of a 35-year-old female AI researcher in a modern tech office, standing in front of a glass wall covered with diagrams and neural network sketches, natural daylight from large windows, soft shadows, neutral color grading, sharp focus on her eyes, blurred background, shot on Canon EOS R5, 50mm lens, f/2.2, ultra realistic, 8K, detailed skin texture, professional corporate photography style

3. Street portrait of an IT blogger

Frame idea.Young female tech blogger with smartphone and small camera, trendy urban street-style, daylight. Photo looks like a live shot from insta, suitable for texts about content creators and personal brand in techno niche.

A candid realistic street photo of a young female tech blogger walking in a modern city, holding a smartphone and a small mirrorless camera, casual stylish clothes, soft afternoon sunlight, natural colors, background with glass buildings slightly out of focus, subtle motion blur, shot on DSLR, 35mm lens, f/2.8, photorealistic, 4K, natural skin and hair, documentary photography style

4. Signor-developer’s office

Frame idea.Male 30-40 years old, signor/timelid, sitting at a desk, laptop, second monitor, mechanical keyboard, in the background – a rack of books and some “geek” decor. A good all-purpose illustrative shot for business materials.

A realistic photo of a 35-year-old male senior software engineer sitting at a wooden desk in a cozy home office, laptop and external monitor with dark theme code, mechanical keyboard, soft warm lamp light, bookshelf with tech books and a few geek figurines in the background, shallow depth of field, shot on DSLR, 50mm lens, f/1.8, ultra realistic, 4K, natural skin texture, calm focused expression

5. “Cyberpunk” night city

Frame idea.Without people, but maximally “oblozhechno”: wet asphalt, neon, signs, fog, drones/holograms at will. Use as a background for headlines, quotes or inserts.

A hyper-realistic night photo of a futuristic cyberpunk city street after rain, wet pavement reflecting colorful neon signs, light fog, distant silhouettes of people, cables and holographic ads above the street, cinematic lighting, high contrast, deep shadows, wide-angle shot, 24mm lens, 8K resolution, ultra realistic, subtle film grain, looks like a real long-exposure city photograph

6. Developer’s home workplace

Frame idea.Work desk with laptop, monitor, docking station, headphones, plant, lamp. No people, but a very “Instagram-like” shot, which is convenient to illustrate texts about remote work, productivity and setups.

A realistic photo of a minimalist home office desk setup for a software developer, laptop connected to an ultrawide monitor with code on the screen, mechanical keyboard, wireless mouse, headphones on a stand, small green plant, warm desk lamp, clean wooden desk, soft natural daylight from the side window, shallow depth of field, shot on DSLR, 35mm lens, f/2.8, 4K, ultra realistic, lifestyle photography style

7. Development team in a meeting room

Frame idea.Small team (2-3 people), discussing a project next to a big screen/TV with charts and graphs. A classic for articles about teamwork, Agile, product teams.

A realistic photo of a small mixed team of software developers (two men and one woman) in a modern meeting room standing around a table with laptops and looking at a large wall screen showing dashboards and diagrams, natural office daylight, glass walls, soft reflections, candid expressions, shot on DSLR, 35mm lens, f/2.8, photorealistic, 4K, corporate documentary photography style

8. A girl with a laptop in a cafe

Frame idea.A very universal subject: freelancing, digital nomads, “work from anywhere in the world”. Young woman with laptop, coffee, warm interior, bokeh of lights in the background.

A photorealistic photo of a young woman working on a laptop in a cozy coffee shop, cup of cappuccino on the table, warm ambient lighting, soft bokeh lights in the background, wooden table, casual clothes, natural makeup, gentle smile, shot on DSLR, 50mm lens, f/1.8, shallow depth of field, ultra realistic, 4K, lifestyle photography, natural skin texture

9. Server room and engineer

Frame idea.Male system administrator or data center engineer in a server room: backlit racks, neat light, some smoke/dust in the air for volume. Suitable for articles about infrastructure, security and DevOps.

A realistic photo of a male data center engineer walking between tall server racks with blue and green LED lights, holding a tablet, focused expression, subtle haze in the air for depth, cool-toned lighting, reflections on the floor, shot on DSLR, 24mm lens, f/2.8, 4K, ultra realistic, high contrast, looks like a real corporate data center photograph

10. Girl with VR/AR headset

Frame idea.Futuristic, yet quite life-like subject: woman in VR/AR helmet, light from the headset on her face, some neon/gradients around. Great illustration for texts about meta-universes, VR games or AR applications.

A photorealistic photo of a young woman wearing a modern VR/AR headset in a dark room, colorful glow from the headset reflecting on her face, subtle neon lights in the background, soft cinematic lighting, shallow depth of field, shot on DSLR, 85mm lens, f/1.8, ultra realistic, 4K, natural skin texture, slightly open mouth in a surprised expression

How to adapt prompts to your style

• Change age, gender, and type of characters while maintaining the structure: description → light → optics → quality.
• Add or remove tech brands: Canon, Sony, Leica, iPhone, etc., if the generator responds well to them.
• Fix successful formulations like ultra realistic, natural skin texture, shallow depth of field, cinematic lighting and reuse them as “modular blocks” for any new prompts.

If necessary, you can build your own mini-library of prompts for each section of itzine.ru: separate ones for gadgets, for portraits, for interfaces, for abstract background images. In this way, the neural network will become your permanent in-editorial “staff photographer” with predictable results.