Text to image and image to image can produce similar-looking outputs, but they solve different starting problems. The simplest way to choose is to ask whether an existing picture contains something the result must preserve.
Use text to image when the scene exists mainly as an idea. Use image to image when a reference already contains useful identity, composition, shape, color, or product information.
Start with text when the visual is still open
A text-to-image workflow gives the model a written visual brief. It is useful when you need to explore a new campaign direction, product setting, illustration, environment, character, or storyboard frame without committing to an existing composition.
A practical prompt can follow this order:
- Name the main subject.
- Place it in a specific setting.
- Define composition and viewpoint.
- Describe light, material, and atmosphere.
- Add only the constraints that affect the result.
For example, “a reusable stainless-steel bottle on a pale stone plinth, three-quarter product view, soft morning side light, restrained blue-gray palette, clean negative space on the right” is easier to evaluate than a long list of unrelated style adjectives.
Text to image is the better starting point when changing the whole scene is acceptable. If the first result is close, revise one important variable at a time: camera distance, background, light, material, or palette.
Start with a reference when something must remain recognizable
Image to image uses a source picture as visual evidence. The prompt still matters because the reference does not explain which details are essential and which may change.
Divide the instruction into three parts:
- Preserve: the person, product silhouette, pose, layout, palette, or another defining feature.
- Change: the setting, lighting, material treatment, crop, atmosphere, or illustration direction.
- Review: the details that would make the result unusable if they drifted.
For a product image, those review points may include packaging geometry, logo placement, label text, color, and proportions. For a portrait, inspect identity, expression, hands, hairline, and accessories.
Image to image is not a guarantee of exact copying. Different models interpret references differently. After you select a model, the generator shows the reference images and settings it supports.
Use both workflows as a sequence
The two modes can form one useful creative loop:
- Generate several broad concepts from text.
- Select the composition that best fits the brief.
- Use that image as a reference for a more controlled variation.
- Compare the new result with the original brief, not only with the previous image.
This sequence is useful for campaign exploration, character development, editorial illustration, and previsualization. It separates open-ended invention from controlled refinement.
A quick decision checklist
Choose text to image if:
- you do not have a useful source image;
- the model may invent the subject and composition;
- you want to compare several visual directions;
- replacing most of the scene is acceptable.
Choose image to image if:
- a person, object, layout, or palette should remain recognizable;
- the source composition is already useful;
- you need a variation rather than a completely new concept;
- you can clearly state what to preserve and what to change.
Review cost and controls before generating
Model availability, supported reference images, output settings, and credit requirements can differ. In Genify, select the workflow and model first, then review the available settings and estimated credit cost before submission. Free daily credits can be used to test supported workflows, while submitted tasks and completed results appear in Workspace.
The right workflow is not the one with the longer feature list. It is the one that gives the model the evidence your result actually needs.
