I don't have the words for photography

I’m walking through London in autumn. Sunlight is still plenty, and leaves are undergoing that lovely change that makes lampposts and buildings appear prettier than they are. A frame catches my attention. Time slows. I want to preserve this moment, but I realise none of my cameras will do justice to what I see.

The first thing I bought with my first Bain salary was a Nikon camera. I still have it, occasionally take it out, but I’ve never upgraded. I’m not technical with photography. I don’t know the vocabulary - the styles, the settings, the language that separates someone who captures images from someone who makes photographs.

So when I see people prompting image generators with “Victorian blah blah style, shallow depth of field, golden hour lighting,” I feel locked out of a conversation. I don’t seem to have the words for it.

Then I realised: these models were trained on labelled images. The vocabulary already exists - I just needed to see it.

Inspired by one of Claire Vo’s “How I AI” videos, I built this tool: cherryprompt.abhirathsharma.com

Browse images, see their style classifications, collect the ones that match what you’re imagining. It’s a visual dictionary for the language these AI models already speak.

Below are some images I generated using prompts from this tool. They won’t slow down time or stop you mid-walk. But they might help you translate the frame in your head into something you can actually ask for.

Prompt: A Delivery person on a 2 wheeler in Bangalore, India Contrast & Tonal Range - High Contrast: high contrast, crushed blacks, dramatic tonal separation\n\nMotion & Sharpness - Motion Blur: slight motion blur, panning blur, dynamic streaks\n\nLighting Architecture - Hard Directional Light: hard directional light, sharp shadows, high contrast

Prompt: A photo, a person, in Annecy, France Color Palette & Temperature - Cool Tones (6000-8000K): cool color temperature, blue and cyan tones, 7000K shade\n\nDepth of Field & Focus - Shallow DOF (f/1.2-1.8): shot at f/1.4, extremely shallow depth of field, creamy bokeh background\n\nTexture & Grain - Soft Focus / Dreamy: soft focus, dreamy, subtle glow, fine grain

Somewhere on the west coast of India Color Palette & Temperature - Warm Tones (2700-4000K): warm color temperature, amber and orange tones, 3200K tungsten\n\nComposition & Framing - Rule of Thirds: rule of thirds composition, subject on intersection point\n\nComposition & Framing - Leading Lines: leading lines composition, strong perspective, draws eye to subject

Prompt: Create an image of a car Lighting Architecture - Soft Diffused Light: soft diffused window light, even illumination, gentle shadows\n\nPhotographic Era / Style - 1990s Grunge: 1990s grunge aesthetic, on camera flash, raw\n\nColor Grading / Post - Faded Matte Film: faded film look, matte finish, lifted blacks

Prompt: Photo of a man Weather & Environment - Fog / Haze: shot in thick fog, atmospheric haze\n\nTexture & Grain - Heavy Film Grain: heavy film grain, Tri-X aesthetic, gritty texture\n\nLens Focal Length - Normal (50mm): 50mm normal lens, natural perspective

Prompt: A lamppost in the evening on a street in London, Lighting Architecture: hard directional light, sharp shadows, high contrast, Color Grading / Post: bleach bypass, desaturated yet high contrast

Prompt: Photo of a lady Lighting Architecture - Soft Diffused Light: soft diffused window light, even illumination, gentle shadows\n\nPhotographic Era / Style - 1990s Grunge: 1990s grunge aesthetic, on camera flash, raw\n\nColor Grading / Post - Faded Matte Film: faded film look, matte finish, lifted blacks

---