What it is
A regular prompt tells the model what to do. A negative prompt tells it what not to do. For example:
- prompt: «portrait of a woman in a café, soft window light»;
- negative prompt: «blurry, extra fingers, text, watermark».
The model tries to steer the result away from what is listed.
Where it exists
| Situation | How to write exclusions |
|---|---|
| The service has a separate «negative prompt» field | a short comma-separated list in that field |
| There is no separate field | short phrases at the end of the main prompt: «no text, no watermark» |
| Editing models (Nano Banana Pro) | through «keep» and «do not change»: «do not change the face», «keep the product unchanged» |
| Video models with sound (Veo, Kling, Seedance) | for sound: «no music», «no speech» |
Whether there is a field depends on the model and the service. KADR (kadr-ai.ru) has no separate field: write the exclusions in the main prompt, it works almost the same.
Rules
- 3 to 7 items. A long list weakens the main prompt.
- Specific words: blurry, extra fingers, watermark, not «bad quality».
- No contradictions: do not write «no people» in a prompt with a person in the frame.
- Main prompt first. If the result is already good, you do not need a negative one.
- Not everything is cured by an exclusion. Bad hands are often easier to hide from the frame: why AI draws bad hands.
Ready lists
Portrait:
blurry, extra fingers, distorted face, plastic skin, oversaturated, watermark
Product photo:
text, watermark, logo, extra objects, distorted shape, reflections on the label
Landscape:
people, cars, text, watermark, oversaturated sky
Video:
camera shake, flickering, morphing, distorted faces, text on screen
Sound in video (in the main prompt):
No music. No speech.
Image without lettering:
no text, no letters, no captions, no watermark
Photo editing (Nano Banana Pro):
Do not change the face, hair or clothing. Do not add any objects or people. Do not smooth the skin.
Common mistakes
- A 30-word list just in case. The model loses focus on the main thing.
- «Ugly, bad, worst quality». Vague words do almost nothing.
- An exclusion instead of a description. «No dark background» works worse than «light beige background» in the main prompt. It is better to say what you need than what you do not.
- Expecting a miracle. A negative prompt lowers the chance of a problem but does not guarantee it will not happen.
The term in the glossary: AI generation glossary. General prompt rules: how to write video prompts.
In short
A negative prompt is a short list of what should not be there: blurry, extra fingers, text, watermark. If the service has no separate field, write the exclusions at the end of the main prompt, use «do not change» for photo editing and «no music» for sound. 3 to 7 specific items work better than long lists.
