Complete Prompt Engineering Guide: From Beginner to Expert

[Subject] + [Medium/Style] + [Lighting] + [Mood/Atmosphere] + [Technical Details]

Example:
"Portrait of a young woman" + "oil painting style" + "soft natural light" + 
"peaceful, serene mood" + "detailed brushwork, canvas texture"

Natural Light:
- "soft natural light"
- "golden hour"
- "overcast day"
- "dappled sunlight through trees"

Studio Light:
- "studio lighting"
- "softbox lighting"
- "beauty dish"
- "ring light"

Dramatic Light:
- "rim light"
- "backlit"
- "chiaroscuro"
- "low key lighting"
- "high key lighting"

High Quality:
"highly detailed", "intricate details", "sharp focus", "professional quality",
"masterpiece", "award-winning", "stunning", "breathtaking"

Texture & Material:
"smooth", "rough", "glossy", "matte", "metallic", "organic", "weathered"

Resolution:
"8K", "high resolution", "crisp", "crystal clear"

Photography Styles:
"editorial", "fashion photography", "documentary", "candid", "lifestyle",
"fine art photography", "commercial photography"

Art Movements:
"impressionist", "surrealist", "minimalist", "baroque", "art nouveau",
"pop art", "contemporary", "classical"

Modern Aesthetics:
"aesthetic", "vaporwave", "cottagecore", "dark academia", "cyberpunk",
"solarpunk", "indie sleaze", "clean girl aesthetic"

Color Palettes:
"warm tones", "cool tones", "muted colors", "vibrant colors", "pastel",
"monochromatic", "earth tones", "jewel tones"

Specific Effects:
"golden", "cyan undertones", "orange and teal", "desaturated",
"high contrast", "low contrast", "faded colors"

Midjourney:
"beautiful sunset::2 over mountains::1"  // sunset is twice as important

Stable Diffusion:
"(beautiful sunset:1.5) over mountains"  // 1.5x weight on sunset

General Approach:
Put important elements first in your prompt - AI typically gives more 
weight to earlier words.

Instead of:                    Try:
"no blur"                  →   "sharp focus, crisp details"
"no people"                →   "empty scene, solitary"
"not dark"                 →   "bright, well-lit"
"no watermark"             →   "clean image, professional quality"

Kodak Portra 400:
"shot on Kodak Portra 400, warm golden tones, natural skin tones, 
fine film grain, soft contrast"

Fuji Pro 400H:
"Fuji Pro 400H aesthetic, dreamy pastel colors, slight cyan cast, 
soft and creamy tones"

Kodak Ektar 100:
"Kodak Ektar 100, high saturation, vivid colors, fine grain, 
punchy contrast"

Fuji Velvia 50:
"Fuji Velvia 50, ultra-saturated colors, high contrast, 
dramatic landscape photography"

Framing:
"close-up portrait", "full body shot", "medium shot", "wide shot",
"extreme close-up", "bird's eye view", "worm's eye view"

Composition Rules:
"rule of thirds", "golden ratio", "centered composition", 
"symmetrical", "asymmetrical balance", "leading lines",
"frame within frame", "negative space"

Aspect Ratios:
"16:9 widescreen", "9:16 vertical", "1:1 square", "4:5 portrait",
"2.35:1 cinematic"

[Person description], [clothing/styling], [pose/expression],
[lighting type], [background], shot on [camera/film],
[mood], [technical details]

Example:
"Young woman with braided hair, wearing white summer dress, 
gentle smile looking at camera, soft golden hour light, 
flower field background, shot on Kodak Portra 400,
romantic dreamy mood, 85mm lens, shallow depth of field"

[Scene description], [time of day], [weather/atmosphere],
[lighting], [style], [composition], [mood]

Example:
"Dramatic coastal cliffs with crashing waves, sunset,
stormy clouds breaking, golden rim light on rocks,
fine art landscape photography, wide angle composition,
powerful and majestic mood"

[Product], [surface/background], [lighting setup],
[style], [mood], [additional props if any]

Example:
"Luxury perfume bottle, white marble surface,
soft diffused studio lighting with subtle shadows,
high-end commercial photography, elegant minimalist,
single green leaf accent"