What are the most common prompt mistakes that make AI product photos look fake?

Quick Answer

The most common mistakes are conflicting lighting descriptions (e.g., "sunset" background with "studio flash" on the product), improper perspective (floating products), and excessive adjective use ("ultra-realistic," "8k," "masterpiece"). These confuse the AI. Nightjar mitigates this by using Style Extraction—instead of using words to describe a look, you upload a reference photo, and Nightjar copies the actual physics of that photo (lights/shadows) to your product.

The "Word Salad" Mistake

Users often think more words = better image.

Bad Prompt: "Amazing shoes, cool background, 8k, Unreal Engine, cinematic lighting, blue sky, mountains, splash, water."

Result: A chaotic image where the lighting doesn't match the background.

3 Fixes for Realism

• Match the Shadows: If your product photo was taken with soft light, don't ask for a hard sunlight background. The shadows won't match, and the brain will instantly flag it as fake.
• Perspective Lock: Don't put a product shot from a "bird's eye view" onto a background shot from "eye level." Nightjar's "Overhead / Bird's Eye" style ensures the generated background matches the camera angle of your uploaded product.
• Less is More: Focus the prompt on the environment, not the quality settings. The tool should handle the quality.