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Prompting guide

How to prompt SDXL Plus

SDXL Plus prompt guide: how to prompt SDXL Plus for clean faces and hands, when to use the Face Prompt and Hands Prompt, and SDXL Plus prompt examples.

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Quick start

Your first great SDXL Plus 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

SDXL Plus is Mage's SDXL pipeline: the same photoreal checkpoint as plain SDXL, then a high-resolution second pass and an automatic repair of every face and hand. Prompt it the SDXL way, in short phrases separated by commas with the subject first, and spend your words on people. The repair passes keep faces and hands clean, even small ones.

The rules that matter most

  1. Write short phrases, person first

    The person, their face and hair, their hands, the pose, the framing, the setting, the light. Stay under about 60 words at the default Prompt Behavior.

  2. Describe the face you want

    Age, features, expression: weathered face, laugh lines, gentle smile. The face repair redraws it in detail from your words.

  3. Give the hands a job

    both hands kneading dough, fingers on the bowstring. A clear action gives the hand repair something specific to draw.

  4. Add a photo cue

    35mm film photo, 85mm portrait, natural light. The checkpoint is tuned for photographs.

  5. Use the Negative Prompt

    What you never want: blurry, cartoon, extra fingers, deformed. The repair passes read it too.

Fill in this template

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

Template
[person], [face and hair], [hands and what they hold], [pose], [framing and lens], [setting], [light], [photo or art style]
The template, filled in
an elderly woman, silver braids, deep laugh lines, warm brown eyes, both hands kneading bread dough, leaning over a flour-dusted table, medium close-up, 85mm, rustic farmhouse kitchen, soft window light from the left, 35mm film photo
  • [person] Who, with the count: an elderly woman, two climbers.
  • [face and hair] silver braids, deep laugh lines, warm brown eyes.
  • [hands and what they hold] both hands kneading bread dough.
  • [pose] leaning over a flour-dusted table.
  • [framing and lens] medium close-up, 85mm.
  • [setting] rustic farmhouse kitchen.
  • [light] soft window light from the left.
  • [photo or art style] 35mm film photo, or highly detailed fantasy art.

Prompts to start from

  • A potter at the wheel

    a young potter shaping a tall vase on a spinning wheel, both hands wet with gray clay, focused expression, curly hair tied back, medium shot, sunlit studio, dust in the air, 35mm film photo

    Why it works: The hands have a precise job and the face an expression, so both repair passes have a clear target.

  • A group around a fire

    four friends laughing around a campfire at night, faces lit warm orange, one playing an acoustic guitar, wide shot, pine forest behind, sparks rising, candid photo

    Why it works: Small faces in a wide shot are where plain SDXL struggles most. SDXL Plus finds each face and redraws it.

  • A full-body fashion shot

    full body photo of a tall man in a long camel overcoat and white sneakers, walking across a zebra crossing, confident expression, overcast city street, 50mm, editorial fashion photography

    Why it works: In a full-body shot the face is small. The face repair keeps it sharp, so the prompt can spend its words on the outfit.

  • Fantasy character art

    portrait of an elven archer drawing a longbow, pointed ears, green eyes, braided copper hair, leather bracers, fingers on the bowstring, misty forest, dramatic side light, highly detailed fantasy art

    Why it works: Fingers on a bowstring are a hard case for any image model. With Hand Fix on, they get a second pass up close.

Advanced

Advanced SDXL Plus prompting

Techniques for more control once the basics work.

What the extra passes do

SDXL Plus first makes the image as plain SDXL would, then runs it again at a higher resolution (Hires) for finer detail, then finds every face (Face Fix) and every hand (Hand Fix) and redraws each one up close. That is why it takes longer, and why it shines with people.

All three passes are on by default. Turn Face Fix off for faces that should not look human, such as masks, statues, robots, or cartoon mascots: the repair can pull them toward a real face.

  • Hires Strength sets how much the second pass may change: higher adds more new detail, lower stays truer to the first image.
  • Face Strength and Hands Strength do the same for the repairs. Lower them when a face drifts away from the person in your starting picture.
  • For landscapes, animals, and objects with no people, plain SDXL gives a similar result faster.

The Face Prompt and Hands Prompt

The face repair normally reads your main prompt. Fill in the Face Prompt and it reads that instead, for the face only; the Hands Prompt works the same way for the hands. Use them when the face or hands need detail the main prompt has no room for.

Because the Face Prompt replaces the main prompt for that pass, write it as a whole description of a face: who it is, the features, the expression, and the style. It also applies to every face in the picture, so leave it empty in a group shot where people should look different.

  • A good Face Prompt: "photo of a young woman's face, freckles, hazel eyes, natural skin texture, faint smile".
  • A good Hands Prompt: "photo of relaxed hands holding a white teacup, natural fingers".
  • The repairs share the main Negative Prompt, so a negative such as extra fingers, deformed helps them too.

A Face Prompt for a close portrait

photo of an old man's face, deep wrinkles, white stubble, pale blue eyes, kind expression, soft window light

Why it works: Only the face repair reads it, so the main prompt can stay short and spend its words on the scene. It names the person and the style, because it replaces the main prompt for that pass.

Prompt length and weights

The main prompt follows the SDXL rules. At the default Prompt Behavior, V1 (Legacy), only about the first 75 tokens, 50 to 60 words, are read; set it to V2 (Unlimited) for more. Put the person first, then the setting and style.

Weights work: (warm rim light:1.2) stresses a phrase, (phrase) adds a little, [phrase] takes a little away. Mage caps weights at 1.6, and one or two at 1.1 to 1.4 is plenty.

  • Write literal parentheses as \( and \), so they are not read as a weight.
  • Skip "perfect face, perfect hands, masterpiece". The repair passes do that job; your words should say what the face looks like and what the hands do.

Starting from an image

Upload a picture in the Image setting to start from its composition and colors. Prompt Strength sets the balance: higher follows the prompt more and the picture less. Describe the whole finished picture, not an edit.

The face and hand repairs still run on the result, so a low Prompt Strength with a prompt that matches the picture is a simple way to clean up a rough portrait.

Common mistakes

Avoid this, do this instead

  • Avoid: Quality words in place of a description.

    perfect face, perfect hands, masterpiece, woman painting

    Instead: What the face looks like and what the hands are doing.

    a woman painting at an easel, freckles, auburn bob, focused eyes, right hand holding a thin brush to the canvas, sunlit studio, 35mm film photo

  • Avoid: The face description at the end of a long prompt.

    Instead: The person and their face first, inside the first 60 words.

  • Avoid: One Face Prompt for a group of different people.

    Instead: An empty Face Prompt, so each face is repaired from the main prompt.

  • Avoid: Face Fix on a mask, statue, robot, or mascot.

    Instead: Face Fix off for faces that should not look human.

  • Avoid: Heavy weights on hands, such as (hands:2).

    Instead: A clear action for the hands, with Hand Fix on.

  • Avoid: Edit instructions with an uploaded picture.

    Instead: A description of the whole result.

FAQ

SDXL Plus prompting questions

What is the difference between SDXL Plus and SDXL?
They share the photoreal checkpoint and the prompt style. SDXL Plus adds a high-resolution second pass and an automatic repair of every face and hand, so it takes longer and does better with people.
Do I write prompts for SDXL Plus differently from SDXL?
Mostly not: short phrases, subject first, under about 60 words. Spend a little more of the prompt on faces and hands, and use the Face Prompt and Hands Prompt when they need more detail.
What does the Face Prompt do in SDXL Plus?
It replaces the main prompt for the face repair only. Write it as a full description of the face, including who it is and the style, and leave it empty when a picture has several different people.
How long can an SDXL Plus prompt be?
About 50 to 60 words at the default Prompt Behavior; the rest is dropped. Set Prompt Behavior to V2 (Unlimited) for longer prompts.
Can SDXL Plus write text?
No. It cannot render legible text. Add lettering afterwards, or use a model that writes text, such as Mango.
Why does SDXL Plus take longer than SDXL?
It makes the image, then runs a higher-resolution pass and redraws every face and hand. Turn off the passes you do not need, such as Hand Fix for a portrait with no hands in frame.

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