Imagine you could make your ideas visible
Imagine you're working on a blog post and need a fitting header image. In the past, you would have hired a graphic designer, spent hours searching stock photo databases for the perfect image, or just used whatever you could find that vaguely fit. Now imagine instead that you type a few sentences into a text field, hit "Generate," and within seconds receive a unique image that perfectly matches your topic. No stock photo that already appears on a thousand other websites. No expensive design commission. An image that never existed anywhere in the world before.
Sounds like science fiction? It's not. It's reality, and it's been accessible to everyone since late 2022. Image AIs like Midjourney, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion have sparked a revolution that is at least as significant as the introduction of ChatGPT. Millions of people create images with AI every day, and you don't need drawing talent, Photoshop skills, or a big budget to join them.
In this article, you'll learn how image AIs work, which tools are available, what they cost, and how to create your first AI-generated image today. And don't worry: we're starting from the very beginning.
Welcome to Module 7: AI for Images and Visual Content
With this article, you're starting an entirely new chapter of our blog series "Mastering AI - Ready for the Future." In the previous modules, you learned how to work with text AIs, how to write better prompts, how AI helps in professional and everyday life, and how freelancers can benefit. All of that focused primarily on text and language. Now we're shifting perspective completely.
Module 7 is all about visual content. You'll learn how to create images with AI, how to write image prompts, how to edit photos, and how to use visual content for various purposes. Whether for social media, your website, presentations, or creative projects: after this module, you'll be able to produce impressive visual content without ever having held a paintbrush.
And with that, something important changes in the prompt generator at optiprompt.io: from now on, you'll switch from the "LLM" category to the Images category. Because image prompts follow entirely different rules than text prompts, and the prompt generator is prepared for that. But more on that later.
This first article in Module 7 lays the foundation. It gives you the basic understanding you need to hit the ground running in the following articles. Let's get started.
How do image AIs work? A simple explanation
Before you generate your first image, it helps to understand what's happening behind the scenes. Don't worry, we'll keep it simple and skip the technical jargon.
Think of an image AI as an artist who has studied billions of images. It has memorized every detail: what a sunset looks like, how light reflects on water, how shadows fall, what colors an autumn forest has. When you now tell it "Paint me a sunset over the ocean with a lonely boat," it combines all of its accumulated knowledge to create a brand new image that has never existed before.
Technically speaking, here's what happens: the AI was trained on millions or even billions of image-text pairs. Each image had a description. The AI learned which visual patterns correspond to which words. "Sunset" means warm colors, a low horizon, long light. "Ocean" means water, waves, vastness. "Boat" means a certain shape on the water. The AI combines all of these learned patterns into a completely new image.
The actual generation process in most modern image AIs is based on a concept called "diffusion." Sounds complicated? Here's an analogy I find particularly helpful: imagine you have a finished photograph and gradually sprinkle more and more noise over it until nothing remains but a chaotic jumble of pixels. The AI now learns the reverse path. It starts with the noise and removes the chaos step by step until a clear image emerges. Your text prompt gives it direction, telling it which way to "clean up" the noise.
You don't need to understand this in detail for practical everyday use. But it explains a few important things. First, why image AIs sometimes produce strange results. If your prompt is unclear, the AI doesn't know which direction to "clean up" in, and the result becomes accordingly blurry or unexpected. Second, why every generated image is unique. Even if you enter the same prompt twice, you'll get two different images because the starting point (the noise) is different each time.
The most important lesson for beginners: the clearer and more precise your prompt, the better the image. This applies to image AIs just as much as to text AIs, only the kind of clarity needed is different. But we'll get to that shortly.
Midjourney, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion: An overview
There are now dozens of image AIs on the market. Three of them have established themselves as the most important, and each has its own strengths and quirks. Let's take a look at the big three so you know what you're dealing with.
Midjourney is widely considered the favorite for artistic and aesthetically stunning images. The results often look like professional artworks, illustrations, or movie scenes. Midjourney is operated through the chat platform Discord, which can feel a bit unusual at first. You type your prompt into a chat channel, and the AI delivers four image variants for you to choose from. There's now also a dedicated web interface that makes getting started easier. Midjourney is paid only, with no permanent free tier. The quality, however, is outstanding, especially for landscapes, portraits, and fantastical scenes. When you see an image that leaves you speechless, there's a good chance Midjourney was behind it.
DALL-E is the image AI from OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT. The latest version, DALL-E 3, is integrated directly into ChatGPT, making it extremely easy to use. You simply type "Create an image of..." in your ChatGPT conversation and get the result right in the chat. DALL-E is particularly good at following instructions precisely. If you say "a red apple on a blue plate in front of a white wall," you get exactly that. This text faithfulness is a major strength, especially for beginners, because you get what you describe. DALL-E 3 is included in the paid ChatGPT Plus subscription and also offers limited free image generations.
Stable Diffusion is the open-source champion among image AIs. This means the source code is publicly available, and anyone can download the software for free and run it on their own computer. This makes Stable Diffusion the most flexible option of all. You have full control over the model, can customize it, train your own styles, and aren't dependent on a subscription. The downside: setting it up on your own computer requires some technical knowledge and a powerful graphics card. However, there are also web-based interfaces like Automatic1111 or ComfyUI that make getting started much easier. Stable Diffusion is the choice for anyone who wants maximum freedom and control.
Which image AI is right for you? That depends on your needs. Here's a quick orientation:
- For the easiest start: DALL-E via ChatGPT. You don't need to install anything extra and can start immediately.
- For the most aesthetically impressive results: Midjourney. If you need visually stunning images and are willing to pay for a subscription.
- For maximum control and flexibility: Stable Diffusion. If you're technically inclined (or want to be) and want full control.
- For occasional use at no cost: DALL-E in the free ChatGPT version or the Bing Image Creator are more than enough to get started.
Throughout this module, you'll get to know all three better and discover which one best suits you and your projects. For now, I recommend starting with DALL-E via ChatGPT, because the barrier to entry is lowest there.
The fundamental difference from text prompts
If you've been following this series, you're by now quite comfortable writing prompts for text AIs. You know how to assign roles, provide context, and formulate clear instructions. With image prompts, however, entirely different rules apply, and this difference is so fundamental that it deserves its own section.
With a text prompt, you typically write one or more paragraphs. You explain to the AI who it should be, what you need, who the result is for, and what tone it should be written in. This works because text AIs are trained to process natural language in conversational form.
With an image prompt, things are completely different. Image AIs don't process prompts as conversations but rather as a kind of description list. The shorter and more precise your description, the better. Instead of long sentences, you often work with keywords separated by commas.
Here's a comparison that makes the difference clear:
Typical text prompt: "You are an experienced nutritionist. Create a weekly meal plan for healthy meals. The meals should be easy to prepare and take no more than 30 minutes. Consider that I eat vegetarian and have a budget of 50 euros per week."
Typical image prompt: "Sunset over the ocean, golden light, single sailboat on the horizon, calm water, dramatic clouds, photorealistic, 4K, golden hour"
See the difference? With the text prompt, you explain in detail, provide context, and define a role. With the image prompt, you describe the desired result in compact, descriptive terms. You don't tell the image AI what to do. You tell it what you want to see.
Another important difference: with image prompts, style specifications play a central role. You can add terms like "photorealistic," "oil painting," "watercolor," "cartoon," "minimalist," or "surreal" to control the visual style. With text prompts, this visual dimension simply doesn't exist.
Technical parameters are also common in image prompts. Terms like "4K," "8K," "bokeh effect," "wide angle," "macro," or "bird's eye view" influence how the image is technically rendered. It's comparable to camera settings, except you specify them in words instead of turning dials.
And then there's word order. With text prompts, it doesn't really matter whether you provide context at the beginning or end. With image prompts, however, terms at the beginning of the prompt typically carry more weight than terms at the end. If you write "sunset, ocean, boat," the focus is on the sunset. If you write "boat, ocean, sunset," the boat will be more prominent.
The good news: you don't have to master all of this right away. In the next article, "Writing Image Prompts - The Art of Description," we'll dive deep into practice and you'll learn step by step how to craft perfect image prompts. For today, it's enough to know this: image prompts work fundamentally differently from text prompts, and you can shift your thinking when you switch from text to images.
Free and paid options compared
One of the most common questions I get asked: "What does it cost?" The good news up front: you can start generating images with AI today, immediately and for free. The question is really about how much you need and what quality you expect.
Free options:
- DALL-E via ChatGPT (free version): OpenAI offers a limited number of free image generations per day. For initial experiments and occasional use, this is perfectly sufficient.
- Bing Image Creator: Microsoft's free image generator uses DALL-E behind the scenes and delivers solid results. You just need a Microsoft account and you're ready to go.
- Stable Diffusion locally: If you own a powerful graphics card (at least 8 GB VRAM), you can run Stable Diffusion for free on your own computer. Once set up, there are no ongoing costs, and you can generate unlimited images.
- Web-based alternatives: Platforms like Leonardo.ai, Playground AI, or SeaArt offer free quotas. Quality varies, but they're excellent for trying things out and learning.
Paid options:
- Midjourney: Starting at about $10 per month. This gets you a certain number of generations and access to the latest models. For professional use, there are higher tiers with more quota and faster processing.
- ChatGPT Plus with DALL-E 3: For $20 per month, you get the better text model along with extensive access to DALL-E 3. If you already use ChatGPT for text tasks, this is an excellent all-in-one package.
- Stable Diffusion cloud services: If you don't have a powerful graphics card, you can use Stable Diffusion via cloud services like RunPod or Vast.ai. Costs are typically just a few cents per image, which is very affordable.
My tip for getting started: start free. Use the free quotas from DALL-E, the Bing Image Creator, or a web-based alternative. Try things out, experiment, make mistakes. Only when you notice that you're regularly generating images and need more quality or control does a paid subscription make sense. For most users, the free version is perfectly sufficient for the first weeks or even months.
An important note about usage rights: with most image AIs, you're allowed to use generated images commercially as long as you have a paid subscription. Free versions sometimes come with restrictions. Read the terms of service for each tool before using an AI-generated image for business purposes. Better to check once too often than once too few.
The Images category in the prompt generator
If you already know the prompt generator at optiprompt.io, you've probably been using the "LLM" category so far. That one focuses on text prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and similar language models. Now it's time for something new: the Images category.
When you select the "Images" category in the prompt generator, several things change. The generated prompts are no longer designed for natural language and conversational form but for the compact, descriptive structure that image AIs need. The prompt generator automatically accounts for the specifics of image prompts: style specifications, technical parameters, composition hints, and the correct ordering of terms.
Why does this matter? Because the order and weighting of terms plays a significant role in image prompts. Terms at the beginning of the prompt typically have more influence on the result than terms at the end. The prompt generator knows this and structures your input accordingly, so you get better results from the start.
The "Images" category offers you three variants again, just as you know from the LLM category:
- Structured variant: A detailed image prompt with clear structure and many descriptive elements. Ideal when you have a very specific image in mind and want to get as close to your vision as possible. The prompt includes specifications for subject, style, lighting, perspective, and technical details.
- Compact variant: A short, focused prompt with the most important elements. Good for quick results and when you want to give the AI some creative freedom. Less is sometimes more here.
- Creative variant: A prompt that deliberately introduces unusual perspectives, surprising style elements, and artistic liberties. Perfect when you want to be surprised and are looking for inspiration. This variant often produces the most unexpected and interesting results.
A practical tip: try all three variants for every subject at first. You'll quickly develop a feel for which variant works best for which purpose. And you'll see that the difference between an average and an outstanding image prompt is just as large as the difference between a vague and a precise text prompt. The prompt generator is your tool for being on the right side from the start.
Common beginner mistakes and how to avoid them
Before you dive into the exercise, let me show you a few typical pitfalls that almost everyone encounters at the beginning. If you know about them, you'll save yourself frustration and get to good results faster.
Mistake 1: Descriptions that are too vague. "A beautiful image" or "a landscape" gives an image AI too little to work with. It needs concrete details: which landscape? What time of day? What mood? What style? The more relevant details you provide, the better the result. "A misty mountain landscape at sunrise in the style of an oil painting" is far better than "a mountain landscape."
Mistake 2: Scenes that are too complex. At the other end of the spectrum is the attempt to pack too much into a single image. "Three people sitting at a table, one reading a book, another writing a letter, the third looking out the window, outside it's winter and a dog is playing in the snow" overwhelms most image AIs. Start simple and increase complexity gradually.
Mistake 3: Human hands and text. Image AIs have well-known weaknesses when it comes to depicting hands and written text. Fingers sometimes appear too many or too few, and letters on signs often look like gibberish. This improves with each generation but isn't perfect yet. If your image contains hands or text, check the result carefully.
Mistake 4: No style specification. Without a style specification, the AI chooses its own style, which often looks generic and unremarkable. A simple "photorealistic," "illustration," or "watercolor" at the end of your prompt can make the difference between a mediocre and a stunning image.
Mistake 5: Giving up after the first attempt. Image generation is an iterative process. Your first result will rarely be perfect. But that's exactly the point: you adjust your prompt, generate again, refine further. Each iteration brings you closer to your desired image. Don't give up after the first try. Instead, treat every attempt as a learning step.
The beauty of AI image generation: you can't break anything. Every experiment is free (or costs only fractions of a cent), and every failed attempt teaches you something about how the AI works. It's like playing with a painting program, except the AI holds the brush and you're the creative mind.
Your exercise: Generating a first image - Sunset over the ocean
Now it's time to get practical. In this exercise, you'll create your first AI-generated image. We'll use a universal subject that's perfect for getting started: a sunset over the ocean. For this, we'll use the prompt generator at optiprompt.io with the Images category and try all three variants.
Here's how to proceed:
Step 1: Open the prompt generator. Go to optiprompt.io and select the Images category. This is important: from this module onward, we're no longer working with the LLM category but with the Images category. You'll immediately notice that the interface has changed slightly to accommodate the specifics of image prompts.
Step 2: Describe your subject. Enter a simple description into the input field, for example: "A sunset over the ocean with warm colors and a small sailboat on the horizon." Keep it simple for now. We'll increase complexity step by step in the coming articles.
Step 3: Generate all three variants. Try the structured, compact, and creative variants one after another. Read through each generated prompt and pay attention to the differences. You'll see that the structured variant contains significantly more detail, the compact variant focuses on the essentials, and the creative variant introduces surprising elements.
Step 4: Generate the images. Copy each of the three prompts and paste them into the image AI of your choice. If you haven't used one yet, I recommend the Bing Image Creator (free, no sign-up required) or DALL-E via ChatGPT for getting started. Generate an image with each of the three prompts.
Step 5: Compare the results. Place the three images side by side and compare them. Which one do you like best? Which prompt delivered the result closest to your vision? Which variant surprised you positively? Are there elements in one image that you miss in another?
Step 6: Keep experimenting. Change small details in your input and observe what happens. What changes when you add "dramatic clouds"? Or specify "minimalist" as the style? Or "watercolor" instead of "photorealistic"? Try at least three different variations and observe how the results change.
You'll quickly notice: even small changes in the description can completely transform the result. A single word can make the difference between an average and a breathtaking image. That's exactly what makes image prompts so fascinating, and exactly why it's worth learning the art of image prompting.
Conclusion: Your journey into the world of visual AI starts now
You now know how image AIs fundamentally work: they learned from billions of images and can create new, unique visuals based on your text description. You know the three major tools, Midjourney, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion, and understand which one is best suited for which purpose. You understand the fundamental difference between text prompts and image prompts. And you've been introduced to the "Images" category in the prompt generator, which will accompany you throughout this entire module.
Most importantly: you've created your first AI-generated image. That's a real milestone, even if it might not look perfect yet. Because as with everything: practice makes perfect. And the good news is that you don't need drawing talent for this. You just need the right words.
In the next article, "Writing Image Prompts - The Art of Description," we'll dive deep into practice. You'll learn how to formulate your image prompts so that the AI creates exactly the image you envision. We'll explore composition, lighting moods, style specifications, and advanced techniques that will take your results to an entirely new level.
Until then: experiment. Generate images. Try different prompts and different tools. The more you try out, the better you'll understand how image AIs "think" and what they need to deliver outstanding results. You can't break anything, and every attempt moves you forward. Welcome to the world of visual AI. It's going to be exciting.