Capstone: Complete Image Project

From Brief to Final Image

🔄 Quick Recall: In the previous lesson, we covered commercial licensing, copyright considerations, and best practices for using AI images in business. Now let’s put the entire course together.

You have all the skills: prompt anatomy, style vocabulary, composition control, iteration workflows, platform expertise, and commercial awareness. This capstone simulates a real-world project that exercises every one of them.

The Creative Brief

Client: A sustainable coffee brand called “First Light Coffee” Project: Create a cohesive set of 5 images for their website and social media Brand personality: Warm, artisanal, environmentally conscious, premium but approachable Color palette: Earth tones, warm browns, forest greens, cream, golden accents Target audience: Environmentally conscious professionals, ages 28-45

Deliverables:

1. Hero image for website homepage
2. Product shot of coffee bag
3. Lifestyle image (person enjoying coffee)
4. Behind-the-scenes image (coffee sourcing/farming)
5. Social media post image

Step 1: Style Development

Before generating individual images, define the visual style that will be consistent across all five.

Style decision:

Based on the brief, choose a photographic style: warm editorial photography with natural lighting, soft earth tones, and shallow depth of field.

Core prompt fragment (used across all images):

warm editorial photography, natural morning light, earth tones with golden accents, shallow depth of field, organic and artisanal feel, premium quality, 8K

This fragment stays consistent. Only the subject and composition change per image.

✅ Quick Check: Why is it important to define a consistent style fragment before generating individual images?

Step 2: Prompt Development

Image 1: Homepage Hero

Steaming ceramic mug of coffee on a rustic wooden table, morning sunlight streaming through a window, fresh coffee beans scattered nearby, a small green plant in the background, warm editorial photography, natural morning light, earth tones with golden accents, shallow depth of field, organic and artisanal feel, 16:9 aspect ratio, hero image composition with space for text overlay on the left, 8K, award-winning food photography

Composition notes: 16:9 for hero format, subject positioned right third, negative space left for text overlay.

Image 2: Product Shot

Kraft paper coffee bag with minimalist design on a marble countertop, whole coffee beans artfully spilled beside it, soft diffused studio lighting from the left, clean background with subtle shadow, warm editorial photography, earth tones with golden accents, product photography, centered composition, sharp focus on the bag label, 4:3 aspect ratio, 8K

Composition notes: Centered product, clean background, standard product photography framing.

Image 3: Lifestyle

A woman in her mid-30s savoring a cup of coffee by a window in a cozy modern kitchen, eyes closed with a content expression, morning golden light on her face, wearing a simple earth-toned sweater, warm editorial photography, natural morning light, earth tones with golden accents, shallow depth of field with bokeh background, candid and authentic feel, medium shot, 3:2 aspect ratio, 8K

Composition notes: Natural, unposed feel, warm lighting on subject, lifestyle editorial style.

Image 4: Behind the Scenes

Coffee farmer's weathered hands holding freshly picked coffee cherries, lush green coffee plantation in the soft-focus background, morning mist rising, warm editorial photography, natural morning light, earth tones with golden accents, extreme close-up on hands and cherries, shallow depth of field, documentary photography feel, authentic and respectful, 3:2 aspect ratio, 8K

Composition notes: Close-up focus on hands and cherries, environmental bokeh tells the story.

Image 5: Social Media

Overhead flat lay of a coffee setup: ceramic mug, French press, scattered beans, a small succulent, and a linen napkin on a wooden surface, warm editorial photography, natural morning light from above, earth tones with golden accents, flat lay composition, 1:1 square aspect ratio, Instagram-worthy, clean and curated arrangement, 8K

Composition notes: Square format for Instagram, overhead angle, organized but natural arrangement.

Step 3: Iteration and Refinement

For each image, follow the iteration workflow:

1. Generate 4 variations of the initial prompt
2. Select the best overall composition
3. Identify one thing to improve per iteration
4. Iterate 3-5 times until satisfied

Common adjustments for this project:

• “Make the lighting warmer” if images feel cold
• “More negative space on the left” for the hero image text overlay
• Add “no text, no logos, no watermarks” as negative prompts
• Adjust depth of field if background is too sharp or too blurred

Step 4: Consistency Check

After generating all five images, view them together. Ask:

• Do they feel like they belong to the same brand?
• Is the color temperature consistent?
• Does the lighting quality match across images?
• Would they look cohesive on a website together?

If not, adjust the outliers. Often this means matching the warmth, saturation, or contrast to the strongest image in the set.

Step 5: Commercial Review

Before delivering to the client:

• Platform licensing allows commercial use for website and social media
• No recognizable brand elements or trademarked items in images
• Person in lifestyle image is AI-generated (no real person likeness issues)
• Images reviewed for bias and stereotyping
• All prompts and generation details documented
• Images edited/polished for final delivery
• Resolution appropriate for intended use (web: 72dpi, print: 300dpi)

Course Review

Key Takeaways

• Professional AI image work starts with a creative brief, not a random prompt
• Consistent style fragments across a set of images create brand cohesion
• Every image should follow the full prompt anatomy: subject, medium, style, lighting, color, composition, quality
• Iteration is not optional—plan for 5-15 generations per final image
• Commercial readiness requires legal review, not just visual quality
• The complete workflow is: Brief, Style Development, Prompt Writing, Generation, Iteration, Consistency Check, Commercial Review

Congratulations!

You’ve completed the AI Image Generation course. You now have skills that set you apart from the vast majority of AI image users:

• You can construct prompts that produce specific, intentional results
• You have a vocabulary of styles, movements, and aesthetics at your disposal
• You understand composition like a photographer and director
• You can iterate systematically instead of hoping for lucky generations
• You know each platform’s strengths and how to optimize for them
• You understand the commercial and legal landscape

Most people type vague descriptions and get vague results. You write structured, intentional prompts and get professional output. That’s a skill with real commercial value—for your own projects, your business, or as a service to others.

Start a project today. Pick a real use case—a social media post, a blog header, a product mockup—and apply the complete workflow from brief to final image.