Creating contentBeginner · about 15 minFree · no signup
Control lighting, framing and style with image shortcodes
Twelve categories — framing, lens, light, colour, film stock, medium, era. Not what the picture is of; how it should look. Paste once, then type a code.
By Alan Brown · Works with ChatGPT
250 more codes for the same trick: teach ChatGPT the mapping once, then steer the entire look of an image with a couple of words. These ones are about craft rather than subject — how it's framed, lit, graded and made.
- 🖼 Framing & composition (24) — /negative space, /worms eye, /framed within, /tight crop.
- 📷 Camera & lens (24) — /anamorphic, /tilt shift, /shallow depth, /long exposure.
- 💡 Lighting (26) — /rembrandt, /god rays, /practical lights, /two tone light.
- 🎨 Colour & grade (22) — /teal and orange, /bleach bypass, /split tone, /single accent.
- 🎞 Film, print & process (22) — /cinestill, /riso print, /cyanotype, /light leak.
- 🖌 Art movements & media (26) — /gouache, /linocut, /paper cut, /concept art.
- 🕰 Era & period (18) — /bauhaus, /y2k, /soviet poster, /swiss style.
- 🧱 Texture & surface (18) — /patina, /frosted glass, /oil slick, /brushed metal.
- 🌫 Weather, time & atmosphere (20) — /heat haze, /storm light, /pre dawn, /blizzard.
- 🧍 People, pose & expression (20) — /candid, /environmental portrait, /hands only, /obscured.
- 🗺 World & setting (18) — /liminal space, /lived in room, /ruins, /miniature set.
- 📐 Output & technical (12) — /story 9x16, /text safe, /tileable, /transparent bg.
Context & limitations
About the "more". 22 of these 250 names also appear on the 270-code product sheet or the 280-code food one — /watercolour, /polaroid, /bauhaus and the like — because a code shouldn't change meaning depending on which sheet you happened to paste. The other 228 are new. Paste all three and nothing collides.
What makes this sheet different from the other two: those codes mostly say WHAT the picture is — a magazine cover, a billboard, a flat lay. These say how it should LOOK, so they stack onto any subject at all, including anything from the other sheets. /hero angle /kodachrome /god rays is three sheets in one line.
The two at the very bottom save the most time and are the least exciting. /keep everything means change only the thing I named and hold the rest, which is the difference between an edit and a fresh roll of the dice. /describe first makes it write the full prompt and stop, so you can fix the brief before spending a generation on it.
Do this yourself
FRAMING & COMPOSITION
/extreme wide — subject tiny in a vast frame /wide shot — full body with room to breathe /medium shot — waist up, conversational distance /close up — head and shoulders fill the frame /extreme close up — a single feature fills the frame /macro — closer than the eye can focus, texture level /over the shoulder — framed past someone's shoulder /pov — first person, as if through my own eyes /dutch angle — camera tilted off horizontal /worms eye — from ground level looking up /birds eye — high above looking down /overhead — perfectly above, flat and square /low angle — below the eye line, subject looms /high angle — above the eye line, subject diminished /centred — dead-centre symmetry /rule of thirds — subject on a third line /golden spiral — composed along a spiral /negative space — mostly empty, subject small and offset /tight crop — cropped hard, edges cutting the subject /full bleed — subject running off every edge /framed within — shot through a doorway, window or arch /leading lines — lines pulling the eye to the subject /foreground blur — something out of focus across the front /split frame — two halves, two statesCAMERA & LENS
/wide lens — 24mm, expansive with edge stretch /nifty fifty — 50mm, close to how the eye sees it /portrait lens — 85mm, flattering compression /telephoto — 200mm, flattened distance, tight background /fisheye — extreme barrel distortion, curved horizon /tilt shift — selective plane of focus, miniature effect /anamorphic — 2.39:1 with horizontal flare /shallow depth — f/1.4, background dissolved /deep focus — f/16, sharp front to back /bokeh balls — round out-of-focus highlights behind /lens flare — sun streaking across the glass /chromatic fringe — colour fringing on high-contrast edges /vignette — corners falling into shadow /motion blur — subject smeared by movement /panning shot — sharp subject, streaked background /long exposure — light trails and smooth water /freeze frame — 1/4000s, every droplet stopped /double exposure — two images overlaid in one frame /handheld — slight tilt and imperfection, human /tripod locked — perfectly level and still /drone — high aerial, landscape receding /security cam — grainy fixed overhead with timestamp /microscope — cellular scale, scientific /x ray — internal structure, translucentLIGHTING
/golden hour — low warm sun, long shadows /blue hour — deep blue twilight, artificial lights on /high noon — hard overhead sun, short black shadows /overcast — flat soft grey, no shadow edges /backlit — light behind, subject edged in glow /rim light — thin bright outline against the dark /silhouette — subject fully dark against a bright ground /rembrandt — one side lit, small triangle on the cheek /split light — half the face lit, half in shadow /butterfly light — light straight on, small shadow under the nose /loop light — soft key just off axis /hard light — single bare source, crisp shadow edges /soft box — big diffused source, gentle falloff /window light — daylight through a single window /candlelight — small warm flickering source /firelight — orange glow from below /neon — coloured tube light, magenta and cyan /practical lights — lamps and signs inside the frame doing the work /god rays — visible shafts of light through dust or trees /underlight — lit from below, unsettling /top light — harsh light from directly overhead /bounce fill — soft light returned into the shadows /gel wash — one saturated colour across the whole scene /two tone light — warm key one side, cool the other /spotlight — single pool of light, everything else black /available light — nothing added, whatever's already thereCOLOUR & GRADE
/monochrome — a single hue throughout /black and white — no colour, tone only /high key — bright, airy, almost no shadow /low key — dark, dominated by shadow /teal and orange — blockbuster complementary grade /pastel — desaturated soft tints /neon palette — electric saturated colour on black /earth tones — ochre, clay, moss, sand /jewel tones — deep emerald, sapphire, ruby /muted — desaturated, restrained, quiet /oversaturated — colour pushed past natural /duotone — two colours only, mapped to light and dark /split tone — warm highlights, cool shadows /sepia — warm brown wash /faded — lifted blacks, washed contrast /crushed blacks — deep contrast, no shadow detail /bleach bypass — high contrast, drained colour /cross processed — shifted, unnatural colour casts /infrared — foliage white, sky black /single accent — greyscale with one colour left in /warm cast — everything pushed amber /cool cast — everything pushed blueFILM, PRINT & PROCESS
/35mm film — visible grain, natural colour /medium format — large negative, extraordinary detail /large format — sheet film, shallow plane, tack sharp /polaroid — instant film, white border, soft corners /kodachrome — rich mid-century slide film colour /portra — soft warm skin tones /ektachrome — cool clean slide film /cinestill — halated red glow around light sources /tri x — punchy black and white grain /hp5 — classic documentary black and white /expired film — colour shifts and blotches /light leak — orange streak burning in from an edge /halftone — printed dot pattern /riso print — misregistered layers, fluorescent inks /screen print — flat inks, slight offset, visible texture /letterpress — type impressed into thick paper /newsprint — coarse dots on cheap grey paper /cyanotype — blueprint-blue photogram /daguerreotype — mirrored silver plate, earliest photography /tintype — wet plate, dark and scratched /xerox — degraded photocopy, high contrast /scanned print — dust, scratches and paper textureART MOVEMENTS & MEDIA
/oil painting — visible brushwork and impasto /watercolour — bleeding washes and paper grain /gouache — flat opaque matte paint /ink wash — brush and black ink, tonal /pen and ink — cross-hatched line drawing /pencil sketch — graphite with construction lines showing /charcoal — smudged black on toothy paper /soft pastel — chalk, powdery edges /linocut — carved block print, bold and rough /woodblock — flat colour and outline, ukiyo-e /etching — fine engraved lines /collage — cut paper and torn edges assembled /vector flat — clean shapes, no gradients /isometric — 30-degree axonometric, no perspective /low poly — faceted geometry /claymation — plasticine with fingerprints in it /paper cut — layered cut paper with soft shadows /stained glass — leaded segments of coloured glass /mosaic — small tesserae with visible grout /embroidery — stitched thread on fabric /pixel art — visible pixels, limited palette /blueprint — white line on technical blue /technical illustration — exploded parts with leader lines /comic panel — inked with halftone shading /storyboard — rough frame with arrows and notes /concept art — painterly production designERA & PERIOD
/victorian — 1890s, formal and ornate /belle epoque — 1900s European elegance /roaring twenties — art deco geometry and gold /thirties glamour — silver screen, sculpted light /wartime forties — utility, restraint, propaganda poster /mid century — 1950s optimism, atomic shapes /sixties pop — bold flat colour and op art /seventies — warm grain, brown and mustard /eighties — chrome, gradients, laser grids /nineties — grunge, snapshot flash, ransom type /y2k — glossy metallic, bubble shapes, blue and silver /early web — pixel gradients and bevelled buttons /2010s indie — muted filter, hand lettering, kraft paper /soviet poster — constructivist red and diagonal /bauhaus — primary shapes on a grid /swiss style — grid, sans serif, huge white space /psychedelic — melting type and vibrating colour /near future — plausible, about ten years outTEXTURE & SURFACE
/glossy — wet-look reflective finish /matte — no reflection, velvety /brushed metal — fine directional grain /hammered metal — dented artisan surface /frosted glass — translucent and diffused /clear glass — refractive with caustics /liquid metal — mercury, flowing chrome /marble — veined polished stone /concrete — raw board-marked cast /weathered wood — grey grain and splits /rusted — oxidised orange-brown crust /patina — aged green copper /velvet — deep pile, light-absorbing /knitted — chunky wool texture /holographic — iridescent rainbow shift /oil slick — shifting colour film on the surface /cracked — fine crazed fractures across the surface /dusty — settled dust and soft grimeWEATHER, TIME & ATMOSPHERE
/fog — thick atmosphere, depth fading out /mist — thin low haze at ground level /heavy rain — visible streaks and splashback /drizzle — a fine wet sheen on everything /snowfall — flakes falling, light muffled /blizzard — whiteout, near-zero visibility /storm light — dark sky with one bright break /heat haze — shimmering distorted air /dust storm — orange particulate air /humid — heavy air, condensation on surfaces /frost — ice crystals on every edge /puddles — wet ground doubling the scene /wind — hair, fabric and leaves in motion /smoke — drifting haze catching the light /steam — hot vapour rising /sunrise — cool air, the first warm light /sunset — sun on the horizon, sky burning /midnight — deep dark, artificial light only /pre dawn — pale grey before the sun /blown out noon — clipped highlights and heatPEOPLE, POSE & EXPRESSION
/candid — unaware, caught mid-moment /posed portrait — deliberate, looking at camera /three quarter — body angled, face toward the lens /profile — full side view /back to camera — facing away into the scene /hands only — just hands, doing something /mid action — caught in the middle of a movement /in conversation — two people mid-exchange /group shot — several people arranged naturally /environmental portrait — a person shown in their own space /working portrait — absorbed in their craft /laughing — genuine, unposed /thinking — quiet, inward, unsmiling /determined — set jaw, direct gaze /exhausted — visibly spent /joyful — open, expansive body language /contemplative — still, looking away /eye contact — direct, holding the viewer /reflected — seen in a mirror or a window /obscured — face partly hidden by object or shadowWORLD & SETTING
/city street — busy urban level, signage and people /rooftop — above the city, skyline behind /lived in room — an interior with someone's life in it /empty interior — architectural, unpeopled /industrial — factory floor, machinery, steel /laboratory — clinical white, instruments /library — shelves, warm lamps, quiet /market — stalls, produce, crowd /desert — dunes and hard light /forest — dense canopy, dappled floor /coastline — sea, rocks, salt air /mountain — altitude, thin clear air /underwater — filtered blue light and drifting particles /space — orbital, black sky and hard sun /underground — tunnels and artificial light /ruins — an overgrown abandoned structure /liminal space — an empty transitional place, unsettling /miniature set — a tiny built world, shallow focusOUTPUT & TECHNICAL
/square — 1:1 /portrait 4x5 — tall, print standard /story 9x16 — full-bleed vertical /widescreen 16x9 — landscape video frame /cinemascope 21x9 — ultra-wide letterbox /poster ratio — A-series proportion with a margin /tileable — a seamlessly repeating pattern /transparent bg — subject on a clean cut-out /text safe — composition leaving room for a headline /two versions — same brief, one bold and one restrained /keep everything — change only what I name, hold the rest /describe first — write the full prompt and wait before generatingThe legend defines reusable briefs, not built-in features. Use a tool with image generation or copy the expanded brief into one; inspect the result against the reference.
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