Skip to content
Log inSign up free

Prompting guide

How to prompt Z-Image

Z-Image prompt guide: how to write dense, concrete Z-Image prompts for photoreal images and exact English or Chinese text, with copyable examples.

Try Z-ImageZ-Image model page

Rainy street photo
Made with Z-ImageRainy street photo

Quick start

Your first great Z-Image 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

Z-Image is a fast photoreal model that follows dense, concrete description: what is in the frame, how many, what it is made of, and where the light comes from. It writes English and Chinese text well when every word is in double quotes. Leave out mood poetry and tags like "8K" or "masterpiece", and put what matters first: Z-Image reads roughly the first 350 words.

The rules that matter most

  1. Lock the core first

    Start with the subject, the count, the action, and any colors or words that must appear. Everything else is built around them.

  2. Concrete, not poetic

    Write what is visibly in the frame. Metaphors ("a symphony of light") and tags ("8K, masterpiece, best quality") add nothing.

  3. Pack detail into short clauses

    "Red hanfu, intricate gold embroidery. High bun, gold phoenix headdress, red flowers." Short phrases carry a lot of detail.

  4. Put every word on the image in double quotes

    A chalkboard reads "Soup of the Day: Miso". Give its place, its size, and its lettering.

  5. Change the prompt, not just the seed

    Z-Image varies little from seed to seed. For a different take, change the pose, the angle, the light, or the setting.

Fill in this template

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

Template
[Subject, count, and action] in [setting]. [Clothing, materials, and props, in short clauses]. [Words on the image, in double quotes, with place and lettering]. [Light]. [Framing and focus].
The template, filled in
A street vendor in a gray apron flips three skewers of chicken over a charcoal grill in a night market in Chengdu. Rolled sleeves, a towel over one shoulder, smoke rising, glowing coals. A red banner above the stall reads "夜市烧烤" in bold white brush characters, with "GRILL" in small yellow capitals below it. Warm light from bare bulbs strung over the stall, a blue dusk sky behind. Medium shot at eye level, his face and hands in sharp focus.
  • [Subject, count, and action] Who, how many, doing what: a street vendor in a gray apron flips three skewers over a charcoal grill.
  • [setting] Where and when: a night market in Chengdu.
  • [Clothing, materials, and props, in short clauses] Visible detail, briefly: rolled sleeves, a towel over one shoulder, smoke rising, glowing coals.
  • [Words on the image, in double quotes, with place and lettering] Every string word for word: a red banner above the stall reads "夜市烧烤" in bold white brush characters. Leave this out when there is no text.
  • [Light] Where it comes from: warm light from bare bulbs strung over the stall, a blue dusk sky behind.
  • [Framing and focus] The shot and what is sharp: medium shot at eye level, his face and hands in sharp focus.

Prompts to start from

  • A fashion portrait with text in the scene

    Photo of a stylish young woman with short black hair standing confidently in front of a bright cartoon mural. She wears an all-black outfit: a puffed bomber jacket with a ruffled collar, cargo shorts, fishnet tights, and chunky black boots, with a gold chain at her waist. The mural has four comic panels: one reads "GRAND STAGE" with sneakers and a soda bottle, one shows green sneakers and a slice of pizza, one reads "HARAJUKU st" with floating shoes, and one shows a blue mouse on a skateboard with the text "Takeshita WELCOME". Bright yellow, teal, orange, pink, and green; speech bubbles and halftone patterns. Daylight evenly lights the scene; white tiled pavement underfoot. Full-body portrait, centered composition, slightly tilted stance, direct eye contact with the camera. High detail, sharp focus.

    Why it works: Every garment, every panel, and every string is spelled out, then the light, the ground, and the framing. A 4:5 aspect ratio suits it.

  • Dense detail in short clauses

    Young woman in red hanfu, intricate gold embroidery. Neat makeup, red floral forehead mark. Elaborate high bun, gold phoenix headdress, red flowers, beads. Holds a round folding fan painted with a lady, trees, and a bird. A small neon lightning-bolt lamp glows bright yellow above her extended left palm. Soft-lit outdoor night background, silhouetted tiered pagoda, blurred colorful lights in the distance.

    Why it works: Short clauses pack a lot of costume and setting into few words, and each detail is something you can see. Try 2:3.

  • A menu, worked out first

    A printed menu card for a small ramen bar, cream paper with a thin black border. At the top, the title "KUMO RAMEN" in bold black brush lettering. Below, three items in a clean serif font, each with its price aligned right: "Shoyu Ramen 14", "Miso Ramen 15", "Spicy Tantanmen 16". At the bottom, small gray text: "Open 5pm – late". A single ink illustration of a steaming bowl sits beside the title. The card lies on a dark walnut counter, soft overhead light, top-down view.

    Why it works: The dishes and prices were decided before the prompt was written, and every line is quoted with its font and place, so Z-Image only has to draw it.

  • A sign in two languages

    A small tea house entrance on a quiet stone lane in the rain. A dark wooden signboard above the door reads "清茶馆" in gold carved characters, with "QING TEA HOUSE" in small gold capitals below it. Paper lanterns glow on either side of the door; a bamboo umbrella leans by the step. The wet stones reflect the lantern light. Medium shot at eye level, the sign in sharp focus.

    Why it works: Both strings are quoted, with their material and size, which is how Z-Image keeps Chinese and English lettering exact.

Advanced

Advanced Z-Image prompting

Techniques for more control once the basics work.

Work it out, then describe it

Z-Image draws what you describe; it does not work out content for you. When an image has to explain or design something, such as how a heat pump works or a menu for a ramen bar, decide the actual content first, then describe it as something visible.

Build the prompt in this order: lock the core (the subject, the count, the action, the colors, the text); work out any content the image must show; add composition, light and atmosphere, materials, a color scheme, and layers of space from the foreground to the background; then write every piece of text exactly.

  • Put the most important things first: Z-Image reads roughly the first 350 words and cuts the rest.
  • Prompts in English and in Chinese both work.

An explanation, drawn

A clean infographic poster titled "How a Heat Pump Heats Your Home" on a white background. An outdoor unit on the left and a cutaway house on the right, joined by two copper pipes. Four numbered steps with arrows: "1. The outdoor coil pulls heat from cold air", "2. The compressor squeezes the gas and makes it hot", "3. The indoor coil releases the heat into the room", "4. The expansion valve cools the fluid to start again". Blue arrows for the cold flow, orange arrows for the warm flow. Flat vector style, bold dark gray sans-serif headings, even spacing.

Why it works: The four steps were settled before the prompt was written, and each label is quoted, so the picture explains the right thing. A 3:2 aspect ratio gives the steps room.

Text in English and Chinese

Put every string the image should show inside double quotes, word for word: a chalkboard reads "Soup of the Day: Miso". For posters, menus, and app screens, describe all of the text, its font, and its layout. For signs, road signs, and screens, give the text, its position, its size, and what it is made of.

Text you make up while planning, such as chart labels or the steps of a process, follows the same rule. When the image needs no text, spend the words on visual detail instead.

  • Write Chinese text in Chinese characters inside the quotes; the rest of the prompt can stay in English.
  • Short strings come out most reliably. Split long copy into a headline and a few short lines.

Framing, light, and finish

Describe the shot and the light in plain, physical terms. A short closing line such as "High detail, sharp focus" is all the finish Z-Image needs.

WriteWhat it does
full-body portrait, centered compositionThe whole figure, in the middle of the frame.
direct eye contact with the cameraThe subject looks straight at the viewer.
medium shot from waist upA natural half-length crop.
overhead flat layObjects arranged on a surface and seen from straight above.
daylight evenly illuminates the sceneBright, flat light with soft shadows.
soft-lit outdoor night backgroundA dim, gentle night setting behind a lit subject.
neon glow from aboveColored light falling on the subject from overhead.
medium depth of field, face and upper body in sharp focusA sharp subject against a softly blurred background.
blurred colorful lights in the distanceSoft points of light behind the subject.
street-art aesthetic with halftone patternsComic-style dots and bold graphic color.

Variety and settings

Z-Image trades variety for quality: two seeds of the same prompt look alike. For real alternatives, change the pose, the camera angle, the light, or the setting in the words.

Keep Steps and Guidance Scale at their defaults, which this fast model is built for. At the default guidance the Negative Prompt has no effect, so describe what is there instead, and do not raise the guidance to force the prompt.

  • Leave Prompt Enhance off: it adds adjectives of its own, the kind of padding Z-Image does better without.
  • Generate several takes to find the shot, then finish the keeper on a slower model if it needs finer detail.

Common mistakes

Avoid this, do this instead

  • Avoid: A negative prompt to remove something.

    A beach at sunrise, no people, no umbrellas.

    Instead: A positive description of what is there.

    An empty beach at sunrise: smooth wet sand, low waves, a pink sky, nothing on the shore but a strand of seaweed.

  • Avoid: "8K, masterpiece, ultra-detailed".

    Instead: Concrete details: materials, light, layout.

  • Avoid: Poetic mood sentences.

    A dreamlike symphony of light dancing over a forgotten city.

    Instead: What is visibly in the frame.

    Late-afternoon sun slanting through the broken roof of an abandoned train station, dust in the beams, ivy over the iron columns, puddles on the tiled floor.

  • Avoid: Vague text: "a sign with a slogan".

    A café window with a sign with a slogan.

    Instead: The exact words in quotes, with their place and lettering.

    A café window with a hand-painted sign reading "Fresh bread daily" in white script across the glass.

  • Avoid: A higher guidance to force the prompt.

    Instead: The default settings and a more specific prompt.

  • Avoid: A new seed for a new idea.

    Instead: A new pose, angle, light, or setting, in the words.

FAQ

Z-Image prompting questions

How long should a Z-Image prompt be?
Dense rather than long: short, concrete clauses, with the most important things first. Z-Image reads roughly the first 350 words and cuts the rest.
Does Z-Image support negative prompts?
Not at its default settings: it runs with guidance off, where a negative prompt is never used. Describe what is there instead.
Can Z-Image write text in images?
Yes, in English and Chinese. Put every string in double quotes, word for word, with its place, size, and lettering.
Why do my Z-Image results all look alike?
Z-Image varies little from seed to seed. Change the pose, the angle, the light, or the setting in the prompt.
Can I write Z-Image prompts in Chinese?
Yes. Prompts in English and in Chinese both work.
Can Z-Image keep a character consistent?
It takes no Characters or reference images. Repeat the same detailed description word for word in every prompt, or use a model that takes Characters, such as Mango or Nano Banana, when a face must match.

Make your first image with Z-Image

New accounts get 300 free Gems, enough to try Z-Image. No install, no credit card.

Try Z-Image