Why Do AI Photos Look Fake? A Practical Photo Generator Workflow

Why does an AI photo look convincing as a thumbnail, then fall apart when you open it? A mug may float above its shadow. Every surface may have the same glossy finish. A room may contain beautiful objects that could not fit together.

Adding “photorealistic, 8K, masterpiece” does not tell the model how to resolve those contradictions. Start with a simpler scene and describe observable relationships: where the light comes from, what touches the table, and which surfaces should reflect it.

First, decide whether you need a photograph of something specific

If you are imagining a reading corner for a campaign, text-to-image is a reasonable starting point. If you sell a particular chair, a text description can produce a different chair. Use a reference edit when the actual object's shape matters.

Open AI Image Generator for an invented scene. For an existing item, use AI Image Editor and upload its photo. These are entry points into DrawNew's creator; review the selected model and mode when you arrive.

Rebuild one ordinary scene before adding drama

Imagine you need an image for a coffee newsletter. The brief “luxury cinematic coffee photo with dramatic light” leaves the camera, materials, and composition undecided. Try this more constrained starting point in text mode:

A photographic still life of one off-white ceramic mug on an oak table beside a window. Soft daylight comes from the left. The mug rests on the table with a short contact shadow beneath its base. A gently blurred plain wall in the background. Eye-level camera, matte ceramic with a small natural highlight, no lettering, no extra cups.

This is a suggested brief, not a documented test result. Its value is that you can identify what failed. If the mug looks metallic, revise the material sentence. If it floats, revise the contact and shadow instructions. You now have something more useful than “make it more realistic.”

In DrawNew's creator, choose GPT Image 2, text mode, and a ratio that fits your newsletter. Check the estimate before generating. Save the prompt and settings with the first candidate so later comparisons are meaningful.

Diagnose the image in this order

What looks wrong	What to examine	Next change to try
The object floats	Contact with the surface and shadow direction	Specify where the base rests and simplify lighting
Everything looks plastic	Whether skin, wood, and ceramic share one finish	Give each important material its own texture
The room feels impossible	Perspective and object scale	Remove competing objects; keep one camera position
The image feels like stock wallpaper	Whether there is a clear subject and purpose	Name the focal object and reserve space for the actual layout

Avoid fixing tiny texture issues while the perspective is still wrong. A larger output makes those errors easier to see; it does not prove that the scene is more accurate.

Compare a second model without rewriting the brief

Once the scene is understandable, try the same prompt with Nano Banana 2, using a similar supported ratio and size. Judge the relationship between light, materials, and geometry, rather than choosing whichever thumbnail is more saturated.

Keep the comparison small and review credits before each request. Our model comparison worksheet explains how to record usable results instead of choosing a winner from one lucky image.

Turn the accepted scene into an asset

Place the result into your intended layout before producing more variations. Does the headline cover the mug? Does the crop remove its handle? If so, return to composition rather than sharpening. The aspect-ratio guide walks through that decision.

For a real person, move to the headshot workflow; for a real menu item, use the food photo workflow. Both start from a reference because “believable” and “accurately represents this subject” are different requirements.