The Prompts Need to Be Prompting

Part 1: Maybe You Just Need the Right Words

If you've read my introduction to How I Use AI at 55, you already know what sent me down this rabbit hole.

I kept seeing AI graphics that were completely different images, yet something about them looked familiar.

The style was similar. The effect was similar. The actual image was different.

And I wanted to know: What are people putting in their prompts to make AI understand that particular look?

That's when I started paying closer attention to the words.

Who Is This For?

This series is especially for women 50+ who are learning AI, starting or restarting a business, creating content, building a brand—or simply trying to understand what all this AI stuff can actually do.

I'm learning right along with you.

And one thing I'm discovering is that we don't necessarily need a 500-word prompt every time.

Sometimes we need a better vocabulary.

What Did I Notice?

While watching AI tutorials, YouTube videos, and looking at different graphics, I started hearing terms like:

Double exposure.
Cinematic lighting.
Bokeh.
Editorial portrait.
Golden hour.
Shallow depth of field.

Wait a minute.

Those aren't secret AI codes. 😂

Many of them are existing photography, filmmaking, art, and design terms. But when we use those words in an AI image prompt, they can give AI a much clearer idea of the visual we're trying to create.

That's when it clicked for me:

Sometimes I wasn't bad at prompting. I just didn't know what the picture in my head was called.

Why Does This Matter?

Think about trying to describe bokeh when you don't know the word bokeh.

You might say:

"Make the background blurry, but put those pretty little blurry lights behind her..."

😂 I know I'm not the only one!

But once you learn the word, you can simply include:

"bokeh background"

Now you've given AI a recognized visual direction without explaining the whole thing.

That's what I call short-word prompting.

You're not replacing the rest of your prompt. You're giving it stronger directions.

Try a Focus Word

I've also started experimenting with what I call a focus word—putting the important visual effect or phrase in quotation marks.

For example:

"Cinematic lighting" — stylish Black woman 50+ driving a luxury SUV through the city at night, colorful reflections, confident lifestyle photography.

Or:

"Golden hour" — fashionable Black woman 50+ walking two Frenchies through a beautiful neighborhood at sunset.

The scene changes, but that short visual phrase helps establish the look.

And What's With the Slash?

Another thing I've been noticing is creators using a slash to visually separate the main instruction or effect from the rest of a prompt.

For example:

/double exposure — HERVybe Publishing logo blended with a modern city skyline and creative studio imagery

Or:

/cinematic composite — stylish woman 50+ hosting a podcast interview, dramatic studio lighting, editorial photography

Here's the important part: the slash itself isn't a universal magic AI command. Different AI tools interpret formatting differently.

What I find useful about it is the organization.

It gives me a simple way to think:

Effect first → description second.

And that's easier for me to remember.

Where and When Can I Use This?

Anywhere I'm creating visual content—blog graphics, social media posts, YouTube thumbnails, product concepts, advertising ideas, brand visuals, or just experimenting.

And I use these terms when my regular description isn't quite producing the picture I can already see in my head.

Instead of making the prompt longer and longer, I can stop and ask:

Do I need more words—or do I need the right word?

That's the goal of this series.

I'm building my AI vocabulary one term at a time, testing what those words actually do, and sharing what I learn so somebody else doesn't have to feel like they need to spend thousands of dollars just to begin understanding AI.

I'm learning at 55.

And if something I discover helps one other person create what they were trying to create, that's valuable to me.

Coming in Part 2

Next, we're getting into the fun stuff:

Short Visual Commands Worth Knowing.

We'll look at terms such as double exposure, cinematic composite, layered portrait, flat lay, editorial portrait, bokeh, golden hour, hero shot, lifestyle photography, and more—what they mean and what kind of result you can expect when you add them to a prompt.

Because sometimes the vision is already there.

You just need to know what to call it.

Learn it. Earn it. Live it.

HERVybe Publishing 💜🩷✨