A person, a room and a color palette can all guide the same image, but they contribute different information. With Seedream 5.5, use references to show the appearance you want and the prompt to explain how those references should work together. Decide which picture supplies the subject, which supplies the setting, and which influences only the style.
That small piece of preparation prevents a familiar problem: a reference meant to supply a blue palette also brings its people, furniture and camera angle into your scene. A clear assignment lets you ask for the useful part of an image while describing the result as a whole.
Before gathering references, the Seedream 5.5 guide to image creation and editing can help you choose the output you need.
Choose the information each picture supplies
Start in Dreamina image creation, choose Seedream 5.5 and add the images relevant to your brief. Refer to them consistently using their displayed order. Before describing a style, write one sentence assigning their roles.
One image may have two roles. A product photo might establish both the object and its material, while a second image supplies the setting. Use only references that answer a question in the brief. Several pictures of unrelated finished designs can make the intended composition harder to describe.
Write the composition before the decoration
A useful brief explains the kind of image, its main arrangement, and the relationship between elements. Here is an illustrative prompt for a portrait in an interior:
Use image 1 for the adult subject’s appearance and clothing. Use image 2 for the dining room and camera viewpoint. Seat the subject on the chair at the right side of the table, with both hands resting naturally in their lap. Keep the table surface visible. Use image 3 only for its warm cream and muted blue palette. Create a natural interior photograph with soft window light.
The role sentence tells the model where to find the subject. The next sentences explain placement, contact and lighting. The palette reference has a narrow job, so its contents do not have to appear in the new scene.
For a product visual, replace the identity instructions with concrete product features: the bottle silhouette, lid shape, label placement and material. Avoid asking the product to face an angle that none of your pictures shows clearly when an accurate depiction of that side is essential.
See how an annotated layout assigns roles
In this official example, the dining room provides the base composition. The person and vase are separate inputs, and colored annotations indicate where each belongs. Those annotations answer spatial questions that a list of nouns would leave open: which chair the person uses, where the flowers stand, and how the new elements relate to the table.
You can use the same reasoning without drawing annotations. Describe positions relative to recognizable objects, such as “on the far end of the table” or “seated in the right-hand chair.” For a complete composition walkthrough, follow the guide to combining subject and background references.
Resolve conflicting instructions before generating
If your subject photo has evening light and your scene reference has a bright window, say which lighting should govern the final image. A prompt such as “use the room’s soft daylight on the person, with shadows matching the table” gives the scene a common lighting direction.
If a layout reference contains a different product, explicitly assign it the layout role. The same distinction matters when you turn a product photo and approved benefits into a detail image. Describe where your own product sits and how large it should appear. If you want the scene from one image but the viewpoint from another, first check whether those demands describe a plausible space. Simplifying to one scene viewpoint often makes the brief clearer.
After generation, identify the kind of mismatch. The right person in the wrong seat is a placement issue. The right composition with the wrong colors is a palette issue. Revise the instruction responsible for that mismatch while restating the details you want to keep.
Common questions
Should the prompt describe everything visible in a reference?
Describe the details that determine success. A reference can carry many visible qualities, but the prompt should identify which ones matter to this task. For a distinctive product, name the shape and label features to retain. For a mood reference, specify light and palette while keeping the new scene’s own objects.
What if the references disagree about the subject?
Choose one as the identity or product reference. Use the others for narrower purposes, such as pose or scene. If two photographs show different versions of a product, select the version you actually need before composing the image.
Can I change the assignment in a later edit?
Yes. Write a self-contained request that identifies the new source and the element it should change. Keep the chosen scene, viewpoint and other subject details explicit. For a local correction to an otherwise useful result, use targeted multi-round editing so the next instruction has a defined scope.