Photography words that make AI images look like real photos

"Photorealistic, ultra detailed, 8K." If that's how your prompts end, you've probably noticed it doesn't make images look like photos. It makes them look like very sharp renders.

Those words are about resolution. A photo is a set of decisions: which lens, where the light comes from, where the camera is, and what's slightly wrong. Give an image model those decisions and the plastic look mostly goes away.

Here's the vocabulary I use, with examples pulled from real prompts in the Promptclay photography prompts collection.

Lens

• 35mm: you're in the scene. Street, travel, "my friend took this".
• 50mm: roughly what your eye sees. Neutral and safe.
• 85mm: the portrait lens. Flattering faces, soft background.
• Telephoto: compresses distance and gives the "shot from across the street" look.

The Moody Editorial Interior Portrait prompt starts with "Portrait shot on 85mm f/1.4". The train platform street photo uses a 35mm lens at eye level, which is why so much of the station makes it into the frame.

Example image from the Candid street photography on a train platform prompt page (Nano Banana Pro).

Aperture

Low f-numbers (f/1.4 to f/2.8) mean shallow depth of field: sharp subject, blurry background. Higher ones (f/5.6 to f/8) keep the whole scene in focus. "Shallow depth of field" plus "sharp focus on the eyes" covers most portraits. Street photography goes the other way. One decisive-moment prompt on the site sets f/8 and puts "shallow depth of field" in its negative prompt.

Shutter

Fast shutter freezes, slow shutter blurs. Perfectly frozen everything is a quiet AI tell, so a bit of blur helps. "Subtle motion blur on background only" is a line from a street photography template on Promptclay, and I reuse it constantly.

Light (the big one)

"Good lighting" means nothing to a model. Name the source and the direction: window light from the left, overcast daylight, golden hour sun behind them, direct flash.

The moody interior prompt does this really well:

Warm amber low-key interior light from background pendant lamp, subject's face lit partially by cool window light, two-source mood, chiaroscuro balance.

Example image from the Moody Editorial Interior Portrait prompt page (GPT Image 2).

Warm lamp behind, cool window light on the face. Two named sources, each with a job. That's how real interiors are lit, and it's why this image doesn't look like a studio render.

Camera position

Eye level, slightly above, low angle, or better, a specific spot: "shot from the end of the table so everyone is in frame" (from a Christmas dinner prompt on the site). For pets and kids, "shot at the dog's eye level" is the single biggest upgrade, since real photos from standing height look down on them.

Flaws on purpose

• "ISO 400 film grain in shadow areas"
• "slight halation on highlights" (the glow around bright lights on film)
• "slightly imperfect framing like a real family photo"
• "candid", "caught mid-moment", "documentary style"
• "visible pores", "photographic texture not CG render smoothness"

An avoid list

End with three or four things you keep seeing and don't want. The moody prompt uses "Avoid: AI-smooth skin, bright lighting, overly stylized retouching." Other good ones: "HDR", "plastic skin", "studio lighting", "perfect symmetry".

Putting it together

My fill-in version:

Real photograph of [subject doing one specific thing], [where].
Shot on a [35mm / 50mm / 85mm] lens at [f/1.8 / f/8], [camera position].
[Light source and direction], [time of day or weather].
[One texture detail: subtle film grain / slight motion blur in the background / imperfect framing].
Natural skin texture, candid, not posed.
Avoid: smooth skin, HDR, studio lighting.

Filled in:

Real photograph of a man reading a paperback at a café window table, in a quiet European street café.
Shot on an 85mm lens at f/1.8, eye level from across the table.
Soft overcast daylight from the window on his left, rainy afternoon.
Subtle film grain, slight motion blur on a passer-by outside.
Natural skin texture, candid, not posed.
Avoid: smooth skin, HDR, studio lighting.

You won't need every line every time. A lens, a light source and one flaw usually beat "photorealistic, 8K" on their own.

If you'd rather start from complete prompts, the photography prompts collection on Promptclay groups them by style, each with its example image. Free to copy.