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AI Image Prompts: A Checklist Before You Generate

June 19, 20265 minute read

A practical checklist for reviewing AI image prompts before spending credits or time on generation.

Science Museum Display preview

Featured template

Science Museum Display

Science Museum Display preview

Example 1

Science Museum Display

A realistic exhibit scene with educational objects and lighting.

Botanical Science Plate preview

Example 2

Botanical Science Plate

A precise natural-history illustration with specimen details.

Drone Top-Down Landscape preview

Example 3

Drone Top-Down Landscape

A graphic aerial landscape with natural geometry.

Exploded Tech Diagram preview

Example 4

Exploded Tech Diagram

A clean product visualization showing parts suspended in space.

Prompt snippet

Create a realistic science museum exhibit photograph featuring a suspended planetary model above a dark display table, with dramatic spotlights, glass reflections, visitors as soft silhouettes, clean educational design, and cinematic documentary composition.

01

Review the prompt before the model does

Many failed image generations are not model failures. They are unclear instructions. Before generating, check whether the prompt describes the subject, composition, setting, lighting, style, and intended use in a way that can survive interpretation.

A checklist helps because image prompts often grow in layers. You start with a subject, add style, add a camera angle, add lighting, then add constraints. Without review, those layers can conflict.

02

The core checklist

Ask these questions before generating: What is the main subject? Where is it placed? What should the viewer notice first? What is the setting? What lighting should shape the scene? What style or medium should guide the output? Are there any details that should be avoided?

Then check for contradictions. A prompt cannot easily be both candid and perfectly symmetrical, or both minimal and packed with props. If two directions compete, decide which one matters more.

03

Templates make the checklist reusable

A good template turns the checklist into a form. Slots capture the details that change, while the base prompt keeps the structure. Look controls give users a safe way to add style, palette, lighting, material, and medium without accidentally rewriting the entire prompt.

This is why Open Image Templates keeps the final prompt visible. Users can inspect the compiled instruction before generating, copy it into any tool, or generate directly when they are ready.