The Image Generator, Control by Control: What Every Button Actually Does

The first time I opened this, I typed a prompt, pressed the arrow, and had no idea what any of the other controls did or what they'd cost me.

So here's every control, what it does, and: the part nobody tells you, which ones change the price.

---

The prompt bar

Everything lives in one bar at the bottom. Left to right:

The image slot (far left)

Attach a reference image. This is what turns text-to-image into image-to-image: instead of describing something from nothing, you give it a starting picture.

Use it when you have a product, a person or a composition that must be kept rather than reinvented. Leave it empty when you're making something new.

The prompt field

Plain sentences. No special syntax, no weights, no brackets.

Describe the subject, then the setting, then the light. "A ceramic coffee cup on a pale oak table, morning light from a window on the left, shallow depth of field" beats "coffee cup, 8k, masterpiece, highly detailed": the second is cargo-culted from older tools and does very little here.

The model picker

The single most consequential control, because it sets both quality and price. On the platform right now it spans 2.5 credits (Flux Schnell) to 200 (GPT Image 2): an eighty-fold range.

While you're exploring, stay cheap. There's a whole guide to choosing, but the short version: draft on Flux Schnell, finish on whatever suits the job.

Aspect ratio

The shape: square, portrait, landscape, and the social ratios. Pick this before you generate, not after, reframing later costs another 20 credits through the resize tool, and cropping loses part of your picture.

• 9:16, Reels, Shorts, TikTok, stories
• 16:9, YouTube, presentations, web banners
• 1:1, feed posts, avatars, product tiles
• 3:4, posters and print

Resolution

1K, 2K, 4K depending on the model. This changes the price on models that offer it. Draft at the lowest, finish at the size you actually need.

Variation count

How many images per run. Straightforward but easy to overlook: four variations cost four times one. On a 2.5-credit model that's nothing. On a 125-credit model it's 500.

The cost, and the generate button

The number beside the arrow is the real cost, with your current settings already applied. It updates as you change model, resolution or count.

Reading it takes two seconds and is the single best habit on the platform.

---

The order to touch things in

1. Model first. It sets the price band everything else moves within.
2. Aspect ratio second. Cheaper to decide now than to fix later.
3. Resolution third. Low while drafting.
4. Prompt last, and iterate on it: the prompt is the thing you'll rewrite five times, so make the other three cheap first.

---

A first session that teaches you the most

Write one prompt. Run it on three models without changing a word.

Flux Schnell (2.5), Seedream 4.5 (20), Nano Banana Pro (75–125). Total: under 150 credits.

Put the three side by side. You'll learn more about what the model picker actually does than any comparison table can tell you, including which of them is good enough for your work, which is often not the expensive one.

---

Two things that trip people up

The prompt is not the only variable. If a result is wrong, people rewrite the prompt. Often the real fix is a reference image, a different aspect ratio, or a model that follows instructions more literally.

Regenerating is not editing. If an image is 90% right, don't roll again, you'll get a different image where the good parts have also changed. Use an editing model or a photo tool instead, for 10–20 credits.

---

Try it

Open the image generator, set the model to Flux Schnell, and make five variations of one idea for about 12 credits.

Then: choosing an image model and what everything costs.