AI Image Generation Basics
The difference between Midjourney, DALL-E, Leonardo, Ideogram, and Stable Diffusion — and when to use each.
Overview
Every image model has a personality. This guide gives you a 30-second decision tree so you stop wasting credits on the wrong tool.
Step by step
- 1
Pick by job, not by hype
Cinematic / branded visuals → Midjourney. Fast iteration inside ChatGPT → DALL·E. Editable / fine-tuned / product assets → Leonardo. Anything with text in the image → Ideogram. Full control + free → Stable Diffusion.
- 2
Learn one model deeply first
Most people get better results sticking to Midjourney for 3 months than hopping between 5 tools.
- 3
Build a style library
Save 10 --sref URLs (Midjourney) or 10 fine-tuned models (Leonardo) that match your brand.
- 4
Always upscale
Native output is small. Use the built-in upscaler before exporting.
- 5
Respect rights
Paid plans usually grant commercial rights. Free tiers often don't — read before publishing.
Tips
- Negative prompts (--no watermark, text, hands) save more re-rolls than any other trick.
- Generate 4, then iterate on the best one with --vary subtle.
- Compose your final image in Photoshop/Figma — AI for the parts, human for the layout.
Common mistakes
- • Using DALL·E for cinematic brand work — it's great but not Midjourney-good for that.
- • Asking for readable text from Midjourney instead of Ideogram.
- • Ignoring aspect ratio and getting a square when you needed a banner.