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If an image model seems to ignore your reference, first check what job you assigned the image: a style sample, a layout guide, a subject reference, and an image to edit are not interchangeable. Choose the matching reference type or an edit workflow, describe the final image and the features to preserve, then adjust one relevant setting at a time. There is no universal prompt or slider that guarantees an exact match.
Why an image model may not follow your reference
“Reference image” can mean several different things. Some tools use an image to inspire a new creation; others use it to guide style, composition, or a character. An editing workflow treats the supplied image as the starting point for a change. If the tool or mode is using the image for a different role than you intend, a prompt that says only “use this reference” may not produce the result you expect.
- A style reference can influence colors, texture, or visual treatment without preserving the original layout or objects.
- An image prompt may guide a new image rather than copy the reference exactly. Midjourney describes its image prompts as inspiration for new creations, not exact copies (Midjourney Image Prompts).
- A subject or character reference may help retain a subject’s appearance, but it does not necessarily reproduce every detail.
- A high image-to-image strength in some systems permits more change, which can make the result less like the source image.
- The image may not be attached to the current generation, or its crop and format may make it harder to use as intended.
Check that the image is attached and assigned the right role
Before rewriting your prompt, confirm that the tool shows the image in the active prompt or reference area. If you are iterating, check that it is still attached to the new generation. When the interface offers distinct reference categories, pick the one that matches what you want the image to contribute.
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Choose generation or editing based on the result you want
For a new image inspired by the reference
Use a reference-guided generation mode and state which qualities should carry over. For example, ask for a new studio scene while retaining a subject’s clothing colors and silhouette. Do not assume that an inspiration-based mode will preserve exact objects or geometry.
For a precise change to the supplied image
Use an image editor or image-edit mode when you want to change only part of the existing picture. Name the change and explicitly state what should remain fixed. OpenAI’s image prompting guide recommends identifying what changes and what must stay the same (Image prompting).
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For instance: “Use Image 1 for the subject’s clothing colors and silhouette. Create a new studio scene with a pale green wall. Preserve the garment design; change only the background.” This is an example of clear instruction structure, not a guaranteed prompt.
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Describe the finished image and the reference’s contribution
Write the prompt around the output you want, not just the existence of a reference. Describe the scene, then identify what the image contributes and which details matter. Useful constraints include the subject’s shape, clothing, pose, color palette, camera angle, or layout. If you have multiple images and the interface allows it, label each by its role, such as “Image 1 for clothing” and “Image 2 for composition.”
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Keep instructions consistent. If the reference shows a close-up but the text asks for a distant full-body scene, or if one instruction asks to preserve a background while another replaces it, the model has competing directions. Simplify those conflicts and say which features are allowed to change.
Adjust the control that matches your tool and task
Settings are product-specific: a number from one service cannot be transferred directly to another. First identify whether the control affects resemblance, text adherence, style, or composition; then change only the relevant setting.
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Diffusers image-to-image: lower strength for closer resemblance
In Hugging Face Diffusers image-to-image, strength controls how much the output can depart from the starting image. The guide says a higher value gives the model more freedom to generate a different image, and at 1.0 the initial image is more or less ignored (Diffusers image-to-image guide). If your goal is to keep the source recognizable, try a lower strength rather than raising it.
guidance_scale affects alignment with the text prompt. Stronger text adherence and closer preservation of the image can pull in different directions, so decide which matters most for the current result instead of changing both controls at once.
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Midjourney: image weight and Omni Reference weight are distinct
For Midjourney Image Prompts, the --iw image weight default is 1. The documentation lists a range of 0–3 for versions 8.1 and 7, and 0–2 for Niji 7. Omni Reference instead uses --ow, with a range of 1–1,000 and a default of 100; it is available for version 7. These values apply to different reference types, so do not treat them as one shared strength scale. Check the current Image Prompts and Omni Reference documentation for version-specific details.
Where possible, crop the reference to the final aspect ratio so the important content remains visible in the intended frame. Use a supported image format; in Discord, provide a valid online image URL.
Adobe Photoshop: choose Style or Composition
Photoshop’s documented reference-image flow asks you to choose either Style, to guide visual style, or Composition, to guide layout and arrangement, then choose or upload an image, write a prompt, and generate. This is a category choice rather than a universal numeric strength control. Select the category that fits the feature you want to carry over. Adobe’s page was last updated February 12, 2026: Generate images guided by a reference image.
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Leonardo documents multiple image-guidance strength types and character-reference weights from 0 to 2. Higher character-reference weights favor resemblance over flexibility, but the documentation cautions that reference guidance does not guarantee perfect replication. Use the controls for the particular guidance type you selected, rather than assuming every reference uses the same setting (Generate Images Using Image Guidance).
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Run a controlled comparison
To find out whether a change actually helps, keep the prompt, reference image, dimensions, and other settings fixed while you adjust one variable. Save the original setup so you can compare results rather than relying on memory. OpenAI recommends holding prompt, references, dimensions, and quality settings constant for an initial comparison, then checking the full result for both preservation and unwanted changes (Image prompting).
Quick Recap
- Record the prompt, image, output dimensions, model or version, and current settings.
- Choose one suspected cause: the wrong reference role, a conflicting instruction, an image-to-image strength that is too high, or an unsuitable crop.
- Change only that factor and generate again.
- Compare whether the intended feature survived, whether unrelated details drifted, and whether the change improved the whole image.
- Repeat the same setup if you need to judge consistency; one result alone does not establish that a setting will work reliably.
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