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Prompting guide

How to prompt Chroma

Chroma prompt guide: how to prompt Chroma with one caption-style paragraph, use its negative prompt, tune steps and guidance, and copy Chroma prompt examples.

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Quick start

Your first great Chroma prompt

Everything a beginner needs in one minute: what to know first, the rules that matter most, a template to fill in, and prompts to copy.

What to know first

Chroma reads one plain paragraph written like a photo caption: the subject and how it is styled, then the light and color, then the background, then a closing line about the finish. It follows a real negative prompt, and its Steps and Guidance Scale are yours to tune. It takes no uploads or Characters, and the aspect ratio is a setting.

The rules that matter most

  1. Write a caption, not a tag list

    Full sentences in one paragraph: "A macro photograph of a beetle on a fern leaf." Chroma reads prose natively.

  2. Follow the caption order

    Subject and styling first, then the light and color, then the background, then a sentence on the finish. Each sentence gets one job.

  3. Name the medium and the palette

    A linocut print, a 1970s film photograph, a retro travel poster; for graphic work, the exact colors: teal, cream, and coral.

  4. Use the Negative Prompt

    Chroma follows it. List what keeps showing up that you do not want: out of focus, smudged, watermark, extra people.

  5. Draft fast, finish slow

    Lower the Steps while you try wordings with a fixed Seed, then raise them for the final render.

Fill in this template

Replace each part in square brackets with your own idea, and leave out a part you do not need.

Template
[Medium] of [subject and styling]. The image uses [light and color]. The background is [background]. [Finish].
The template, filled in
An overhead food photograph of a bowl of miso ramen with a soft-boiled egg, nori, and spring onions. The image uses soft daylight from a window on the right and warm, earthy colors. The background is a dark wooden table with chopsticks and a small dish of chili oil. The photo is sharp and appetizing. It looks professionally done.
  • [Medium] What kind of picture: an overhead food photograph, a gouache illustration, a high-fashion close-up portrait.
  • [subject and styling] Who or what, and how it looks: a bowl of miso ramen with a soft-boiled egg, nori, and spring onions.
  • [light and color] The light and the color treatment: soft daylight from a window on the right and warm, earthy colors.
  • [background] What is behind the subject: a dark wooden table with chopsticks and a small dish of chili oil.
  • [Finish] One or two sentences on quality: The photo is sharp and appetizing. It looks professionally done.

Prompts to start from

  • A color-split fashion portrait

    A high-fashion close-up portrait of a blonde woman in clear sunglasses. The image uses a bold teal and red color split for dramatic lighting. The background is a simple teal-green. The photo is sharp and well-composed, designed for viewing with anaglyph 3D glasses. It looks professionally done.

    Why it works: Chroma's own model-card example, in its caption order. Pair it with the Negative Prompt low quality, ugly, unfinished, out of focus, deformed, blurry, smudged.

  • A two-ink linocut print

    A linocut print of a gray heron standing in tall reeds, its neck curved into an S. The image uses only two inks, black and rust red, on cream paper, with bold carved lines and visible paper grain. The background is a low sun drawn as concentric rings. The print is crisp and balanced, with generous empty space.

    Why it works: The medium, the exact inks, and the texture define a niche style, one of the kinds of image Chroma was trained to cover.

  • Imaginative concept art

    Concept art of a desert caravan of long-legged mechanical camels crossing salt flats at dusk, riders in pale wrapped cloth on their backs. The image uses a warm orange sky fading to violet, long blue shadows, and dust lit from behind. The background is a line of distant mesas under the first stars. The painting is detailed and atmospheric, with a clear silhouette for every camel.

    Why it works: An invented scene stays readable when each sentence builds one layer: the subject, the light, the background, the finish.

  • A period film photograph

    A 1970s film photograph of two teenagers sitting on the hood of a station wagon at a drive-in theater, sharing a paper bag of popcorn. The image uses warm faded colors, soft grain, and the glow of the movie screen on their faces. The background is rows of parked cars under a deep blue twilight sky. The photo feels candid and nostalgic.

    Why it works: The decade, the qualities of the film, and the light source on the faces build the period look better than the word vintage alone.

Advanced

Advanced Chroma prompting

Techniques for more control once the basics work.

The caption paragraph

Chroma's model card shows one example prompt, and it is a short caption in a fixed order: the subject and its styling, then the light and color, then the background, then statements about the finish. Following that order gives each sentence one job and keeps details from tangling.

Chroma learned from a broad mix of artistic, photographic, and niche styles, so a precise name for the medium, such as a linocut print, a Polaroid, or a gouache illustration, is the quickest route to a style.

  • Finish statements work: "The photo is sharp and well-composed." "It looks professionally done." One or two are enough.
  • Give a second subject its own sentence, with its place in the frame.
  • Parentheses are plain text here, not weights. To stress something, mention it earlier and describe it more.

A negative prompt that works

Chroma runs with real guidance, so the Negative Prompt does steer it. Left empty, Mage fills it with bad quality, worst quality. Chroma's own suggested negative is: low quality, ugly, unfinished, out of focus, deformed, disfigure, blurry, smudged, restricted palette, flat colors.

Match the negative to the look you want. That suggested list fights flat colors and a restricted palette, which is right for a photograph and wrong for a poster or a print. For graphic work, take those two out.

  • Use the negative for what keeps appearing: text, watermark, frame, border, extra people.
  • For a poster you will letter yourself, write "no text" in the prompt and text, letters in the Negative Prompt.

A flat graphic poster with a matching negative

A retro screen-printed poster of a red tram climbing a steep hill past pastel houses. The image uses flat shapes and a limited palette of red, mustard, and pale blue, with slight print misregistration. The background is a clear sky with one round white sun. No text.

Why it works: Run it with the Negative Prompt low quality, blurry, smudged, text, letters. It leaves out restricted palette and flat colors, so the negative does not fight the poster style.

Steps and guidance

Chroma leaves Steps and Guidance Scale in your hands, and Mage's defaults match the settings of the example on Chroma's model card. Lower the Steps for quick drafts and raise them for more detail on the final render.

Guidance Scale sets how strictly Chroma follows the prompt and the negative. Near the default, images stay natural; much higher, and the colors and contrast turn harsh. Raise it a little only when the image ignores part of your prompt.

  • Keep the Seed fixed while you compare wordings or settings, so the only change is the one you made.
  • Leave Prompt Enhance off. It appends random words to the prompt.

Text in the image

Chroma is not built for lettering. Keep any text to a word or two in double quotes, or ask for no text and add the lettering afterwards. For real typography, use GPT Image or Mango.

Common mistakes

Avoid this, do this instead

  • Avoid: A tag list with filler.

    woman, sunglasses, teal, red, portrait, 8k, masterpiece

    Instead: A caption paragraph in the subject, light, background order.

    A close-up portrait of a woman in clear sunglasses. The image uses a bold teal and red color split. The background is a simple teal-green. The photo is sharp and well-composed.

  • Avoid: A vague medium.

    A nice artistic picture of a heron.

    Instead: A precise one.

    A linocut print of a gray heron in tall reeds, in black and rust red ink on cream paper.

  • Avoid: The photographic negative on a flat graphic poster.

    Instead: restricted palette and flat colors taken out of the negative.

  • Avoid: Weights such as (sunglasses:1.4).

    Instead: Plain words, with the important part first.

  • Avoid: Full Steps on every draft.

    Instead: Fewer Steps while you explore, more for the keeper.

  • Avoid: A sentence of text on a sign.

    Instead: A word or two, or no text and lettering added afterwards.

FAQ

Chroma prompting questions

How long should a Chroma prompt be?
Three to six sentences: one for the subject, one for the light and color, one for the background, and one or two for the finish. A full paragraph works better than a short phrase.
Does Chroma support negative prompts?
Yes, Chroma follows the Negative Prompt. Left empty, Mage uses bad quality, worst quality. For photos, add low quality, out of focus, blurry, smudged; for graphic work, leave out flat colors and restricted palette.
What steps and guidance should I use for Chroma?
Start with Mage's defaults, which match Chroma's own example settings. Lower the Steps for drafts and raise them for the final, and keep the Guidance Scale near its default unless the image ignores your prompt.
Can Chroma write text in images?
Not reliably. Keep text to a word or two in quotes, or leave it out and add it afterwards. For posters and logos with lettering, use GPT Image or Mango.
Can I use a reference image with Chroma?
No. Chroma makes images from text only, with no uploads, Characters, or edits. For those, use Mango.
What styles is Chroma good at?
Photography, painting, graphic illustration, and niche print and craft styles. Name the medium precisely and describe the palette, and Chroma does the rest.

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