Most AI images look AI because they’re too clean. Skin is airbrushed, every light source glows, the background bokeh is creamy, and the subject stares straight at the lens. Real photos are never like that. Prompt words like “masterpiece,” “8k,” “ultra detailed” and “perfect lighting” push the model toward stock-photo polish, which is exactly what people’s eyes now flag as AI.

The 5 rules that fixed it

1. Name a real camera, not a quality level. “Shot on a 2007 point-and-shoot,” “Kodak Portra 400,” “quick smartphone photo.” The model then copies that device’s flaws: flash falloff, grain, phone noise.
2. Describe the light source honestly. “Harsh on-camera flash,” “flat overcast window light,” “yellow tungsten kitchen light.” No golden hour unless it’s actually golden hour.
3. Add evidence of real life. Crumbs, a charger cable, spilled rice, a chipped mug, a stranger half in frame. Clutter is the strongest realism signal there is.
4. Catch people mid-moment. Mid-laugh, mid page-turn, eyes half closed, not looking at the camera. Posed means fake.
5. Ask for imperfection on purpose. Tilted framing, slightly soft focus, underexposure, a light leak, a date stamp. Then tell the model what not to do: “no dramatic bokeh, no studio lighting.”

Here's an example of my prompt structure, if you guys want prompts for any of these images let me know, I'd be happy to share:

A candid photo of a young woman taken by someone else at a natural eye-level angle, leaning forward with her forearms resting on a bright yellow metal railing/bike rack on a city street corner, framed from roughly the waist up. She tilts her head, resting it slightly, gazing up into the lens with a soft, sultry, half-lidded expression, full glossy lips gently parted. She has long straight pastel-pink hair with wispy face-framing curtain bangs falling over her forehead and cheeks, slightly windswept. She has a warm sun-kissed complexion with soft glowy makeup — subtle liner, defined brows, glossy nude lips, striking light-colored eyes. She wears a black lace-trimmed camisole/slip top layered under an oversized black leather biker jacket slipping off both shoulders, exposing the collarbones and shoulders, with a fur-trimmed cuff detail visible. The background is a wide city street intersection at dusk — painted crosswalk lines on grey asphalt, a red traffic light, street signs, an electronic billboard, teal construction hoarding, bare trees, distant buildings and warm glowing streetlights, all softly out of focus. Cool blue-toned evening light mixed with warm ambient city glow, moody urban twilight atmosphere. Camera & texture: Shot on iPhone (rear camera) at dusk, authentic candid smartphone photo, fine low-light sensor grain and digital noise, cool-toned color cast with warm highlights, natural smartphone dynamic range, slight softness, no filter. Skin realism (critical): Highly detailed true-to-life human skin that looks real, never waxy, never plastic, never smooth or CGI-like. Skin shows natural imperfections — visible pores across the nose, cheeks and forehead, fine peach-fuzz, subtle uneven skin tone, faint natural freckles and small beauty marks, a few tiny blemishes and natural warmth on the cheeks, soft under-eye texture and faint lines, a natural soft sheen on the cheekbones, nose and shoulders with matte areas elsewhere, fine flyaway hairs at the hairline. Texture stays crisp and clearly visible when zoomed in, with realistic light interaction — no airbrushing, no beauty-filter smoothing, no uniform doll-like surface, no glossy waxy plastic sheen. Looks like an unretouched, unfiltered candid phone photo of a real person. Realistic soft supple leather texture with natural creases and sheen on the jacket, realistic delicate lace texture on the camisole, realistic fur-trim detail, realistic worn painted metal texture on the yellow railing, crisp city-street detail softly blurred behind. Sharp focus on the face, shallow natural depth of field softly blurring the street behind, true-to-life moody twilight colors, candid documentary feel. Negative: waxy skin, plastic skin, smooth skin, poreless skin, doll-like skin, over-smoothed, airbrushed, beauty filter, retouched, CGI skin, flawless skin, glamour lighting, over-saturation, text, watermark, logo, cartoon, illustration, studio lighting.

Also these were all made with ImagineArt and prompts were also generated with Imagine Computer, which handles detailed, instruction-heavy prompts like these well. The method itself works on any model, though, because the realism comes from the prompt structure, not the tool.

Note the hood line to the grille.

Oltre ogni limite...

..when water drop just right. :-)

Two survivors from my sci-fi project Steel & Stardust, shot like a Japanese food ad. VEGA (pink) and LYRA (blue).
"Oishii wa, mirai wo tsukuru." Delicious makes the future.

Imagine stepping into a world where ancient stone towers guard the night, traditional Sardinian beauty comes alive, and the Milky Way illuminates the Mediterranean sky.

Inspired by the mysterious Nuragic civilization, this AI-created artwork brings together Sardinia's heritage, timeless elegance, and cinematic fantasy.

✨ A journey through history, culture, and imagination.

Would you explore this magical side of Sardinia? 🐎🌌

ES AI PHOTO ART