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Best AI Image Generator

The new Adobe Firefly update makes creating images with AI even easier and more
intuitive. Now you can generate pictures from text, expand images beyond their borders,
add or remove objects, and apply style prompts - all in just 3 clicks. Perfect for creatives who
want fast, high-quality results without switching between apps.

It all started with a simple idea - what if we made a high-fashion model picture using only AI by typing a description and letting the AI image generation software do the work? It seemed like a big challenge, maybe even impossible, but AI tools are improving daily, so together with my Fixthephoto’s colleagues I wanted to see what these tools could do.

I wrote a detailed prompt: a stylish model in a black outfit, dramatic studio lighting, soft shadows, and a blurry background.

I wanted to try and generate an AI picture that looked just like a real professional photo. My colleagues, Eva and Tetiana, helped out. We each tried different AI tools to see which one could make the most realistic image.

There are lots of AI picture generators out there, like the ones made by huge companies like Adobe, Meta, and Microsoft, so picking the best one wasn’t easy. Some AI tools were good at setting up the picture but bad at details. Others made super-detailed images that didn’t look real.

The question was which AI could generate a fashion photo that looked like it belonged on the cover of Vogue?

The AI Watermark Problem: Who Owns the Image?

AI-generated pictures are everywhere, but there’s a big question: who owns them? If you type a description and AI makes a picture, is it yours, or does it belong to the company that created the AI image generator? The rules aren’t clear yet, and this is causing problems for artists, designers, and content creators.

ai watermark problem

Some AI companies claim the pictures belong to the user, but others keep some rights or add hidden watermarks to track AI-generated images. This can be a problem for professionals who want full control over their work.

Imagine spending a long time perfecting an AI picture, only to find out the AI company still has rights to it, or worse, the image gets flagged as AI-made and removed from a website.

Since AI tools are changing fast, people need to be careful. Before using AI pictures for work, it’s smart to check the terms. No one wants to lose ownership of their creations or accidentally use an image that could cause legal trouble.

1. Freepik

I tested Freepik’s AI image generator for our fashion photo experiment, and it surprised me in a good way. The model it created had a natural pose, realistic skin, and cool studio lighting just like I asked. Some AI tools for designers make faces too smooth, but Freepik kept important details sharp, like the eyes and fabric.

It wasn’t perfect, though. Some parts, especially around the hair, looked a little blurry and fake. But since Freepik is mostly made for stock-style images, it did a great job at making quick, stylish pictures without much effort.

freepik ai for image generation

The result I got in Freepik

Main Freepik features:

  • Easy search with filters
  • Gallery for ideas
  • Amazing free AI images
  • Works in different languages
  • Active on social media

Pricing options:

  • Free: 20 images/day
  • Premium: $15.00 month

2. Dall-E 3

I tested DALL·E 3, and it did a great job. The AI art generator made a fashion model portrait with smooth lighting, realistic shadows, and no weird distortions. The model’s face looked natural, and even tiny details (like fabric folds and makeup) were done well.

Eva tried the same prompt in a different style, using dramatic lighting, and got similar results. But we both noticed one small issue: DALL·E 3 sometimes makes skin look too smooth, almost like an airbrushed photo. You can fix this later with editing, but it’s something to keep in mind.

dall-e 3 ai for image generation
The result I got in DALL·E 3

Main Dall-E 3 features:

  • Understands prompts really well
  • Integration with ChatGPT
  • New artistic styles
  • Improved rendering of details
  • Easy to use

Pricing options:

  • Free
  • Plus: $20.00 month

3. Ideogram

I wasn’t sure if Ideogram could make a realistic fashion portrait since it’s mostly known for text and graphic design. But I was impressed! The model’s outfit looked polished, and the lighting made the picture look professional.

However, some details weren’t perfect. The face looked a little flat, making it seem more like a CG image. While the AI picture generator avoided mistakes (like extra fingers), the hair still looked too smooth and slightly fake. It’s great for stylish AI portraits but not a full replacement for real fashion photoshoots yet.

ideogram ai for image generation

The result I got in Ideogram

Main Ideogram features:

  • Lets you remix images
  • Can add text to pictures
  • Upscaling capabilities
  • Private mode
  • Magic prompt

Pricing options:

  • Free: 10 slow credits / week
  • Plus: $16.00 month

4. Adobe Firefly

Adobe Firefly has quickly become one of the most powerful and versatile AI platforms for creators. Unlike other tools that simply generate images, Firefly offers a full creative suite that includes image generation, audio tools, and even recently updated AI-powered video creation - all in one place.

I tested Firefly to enhance an AI-generated portrait, and the results were great. Instead of starting from scratch, I used Generative Fill, Content-Aware Editing, and Style Reference to improve textures, lighting, and facial details to make it look real. Firefly understood fabric textures better than most tools I’ve tested below. 

adobe photoshop ai for image generation

The result I got in Adobe Firefly

Main Adobe Firefly features:

  • 3D modeling and editing
  • Retouching tools
  • Integration with Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Content-aware fill
  • Adjustment layers

Pricing options:

  • 30-day free trial
  • Subscription: $22.99 month

5. Midjourney

Midjourney made a cool portrait with high contrast and theatrical lighting, giving it a professional cinematic look. The model’s face looked perfect, with flawless skin and dramatic shadows, making it great for editorial pictures, but not very realistic.

Tetiana also tried Midjourney for a vintage-style fashion picture and had the same feedback - it’s amazing for making artistic images. Still, the result doesn’t always look like a real photo that I had in Freepik. If you want a cool, creative effect, this AI for image generation is awesome, but if you need an image that looks real, you might need to retouch it in Photoshop.

midjourney ai for image generation

The result I got in Midjourney

Main Midjourney features:

  • Zooms in on pictures with amazing quality
  • Edit and improve imported pictures
  • Creates four image variants for each prompt
  • Turns text into pictures
  • Fast results

Pricing options:

  • Basic Plan: $10 per month
  • Standard Plan: $30 per month
  • Pro Plan: $60 per month

6. Generated Photos

I tried an AI tool called Generated Photos to make a high-fashion portrait, but the result wasn’t great. The model’s face looked too stiff like they weren’t posing. The skin looked natural, but the eyes felt too perfect, almost fake. The lighting was nice and clear, but it didn’t have the dramatic feel of a real studio photo.

This AI picture generator is good for business headshots or marketing projects, but not for fashion photography. It’s more like a stock photo tool than something for creativity.

generated photos ai for image generation

The result I got in Generated Photos

Main Generated Photos features:

  • Hyperrealistic full-body photos of diverse people
  • Lots of outfits & poses
  • Compatible with real faces
  • Lets you adjust details
  • 50+ poses from professional to casual

Pricing options:

  • Free Plan: $0
  • Monthly Plan: $19.99 per month
  • Yearly Plan: $199 per month

7. Typeface

Typeface is mostly made for branding and graphic design, not realistic photos, but I wanted to see if it could make good ads from AI images.

The AI model it generated looked modern and stylish, but it didn’t look as real as images from other AI tools like DALL·E 3 or Freepik. However, Typeface was good at making the results ready for marketing.

I used it to create social media ads for FixThePhoto, and it helped me finish my work twice as fast. It had user-friendly tools to quickly change image sizes and layouts to fit different ad formats, so I didn’t have to do all that work myself.

typeface ai for image generation

The result I got in Typeface

Main Typeface features:

  • Creates personalized images
  • Offers multiple versions of a picture
  • Simplified product photos
  • Has built-in editing tools
  • Various download formats

Pricing options:

  • Free trial
  • Reach out to the Typeface team for detailed pricing

8. Astria

Astria is an AI picture generation software that lets you have more control over how your images turn out. I used it to make the fashion portrait, and I liked how I could change the lighting and colors to customize the look. The image looked stylish but, like many AI tools, the skin looked a little too smooth, and the whole image had a slightly computer-generated look.

If you want to customize your AI portraits, Astria is a good option. But if you want the image to look real, you’ll need to edit it a bit afterward.

astria ai for image generation

The result I got in Astria

Main Astria features:

  • Lets you customize images
  • Easy-to-use API
  • High-quality fine-tuning
  • Fast image creation
  • Collaboration tools

Pricing options:

  • AI model: $1.50 fine-tune
  • 8 Images: $0.10 prompt
  • Video: $0.40 100 frames

9. Flux 1

Flux 1 is a newer AI tool, so I wanted to see how well it could generate a high-fashion portrait. The results were actually really good. The lighting was dynamic, and the composition looked trendy, like from a magazine. The outfit looked sharp, and the face had clear details instead of looking smooth like in some AI images.

One small issue was the hair. Sometimes, the strands blended weirdly, making it look a little fake. It wasn’t a huge problem, but I had to fix it by retouching the image a bit.

flux 1 ai for image generation

The result I got in Flux-1

Main Flux 1 features:

  • Creates different styles of images
  • Improved human anatomy
  • Adjustable settings
  • Generates images quickly
  • Pays attention to small details

Pricing options:

  • Free
  • Pro (Unlimited): $19 per month
  • Teams: $15 per month, minimum 5 seats

10. Appy Pie Design

Appy Pie Design is an AI tool that helps you create designs quickly. But this tool is not the best for super high-quality images. I tried making a fashion portrait, and it looked okay, but not amazing.

From far away, the face, generated by this AI face generator, looked real, but when I zoomed in, the skin looked abnormal, and the lighting wasn’t perfect. It’s fine for people who just need AI pictures for school projects or ads, but it’s not as powerful for professional use.

appy pie design ai for image generation

The result I got in Appy Pie Design

Main Appy Pie Design features:

  • No copyright issues
  • Artistic filters
  • Background removal
  • High-quality rendering options
  • Real-time preview

Pricing options:

  • 1 month: $120.00 month

11. GenApe AI

GenApe AI did a pretty good job with the fashion portrait. One cool thing is that you can make small changes, like adjusting the face or lighting. The picture was clear, and the outfit looked nice, not fake and plastic-looking like some other AI-generated pictures. But sometimes, it made the skin look too smooth, like an airbrushed photo.

genape ai ai for image generation

The result I got in GenApe AI

Main GenApe AI features:

  • Chinese/English interface
  • Five styles at once
  • Instant background removal
  • Fixes blurry pictures
  • Bilingual interface

Pricing options:

  • Teams: $17 per month
  • Creator: $19 per month

12. Narrato AI

Narrato AI is mostly for writing and making marketing content, so I wasn’t expecting it to be great at creating pictures. I gave it a try and the picture it made was okay, but it wasn't detailed enough to look realistic and professional. From far away, the model's face looked real, but up close, the skin was too smooth, and the shadows weren’t perfect.

What makes Narrato AI useful is how well it works with marketing tools. It was easy to put the image into ad templates, so if you need quick pictures for ads or social media, it’s a good option. However, if you want super realistic photography, it might not be the best choice.

narrato ai ai for image generation

The result I got in Narrato AI

Main Narrato AI features:

  • Various orientation options (portrait, landscape, square)
  • High-speed generation
  • Image-to-text
  • High-quality generation
  • CC images & GIFs

Pricing options:

  • Pro - $36 per month (4 user seats)
  • Business - $96 per month (4 user seats)
  • Custom plan with custom pricing

13. ProductScope AI

ProductScope AI is mainly for product pictures, but I wanted to see how well it could generate a picture of a person. The results were okay: some parts looked great, like the lighting and outfit details, but the face didn’t look 100% real. It was kind of CGI-like, and some shadows didn’t look natural.

One nice thing about this AI image generator is how easy it is to customize the results. I could switch backgrounds, change the clothes, and adjust the lighting in just a few seconds.

productscope ai ai for image generation

The result I got in ProductScope AI

Main ProductScope AI features:

  • Studio photoshoot tool
  • AI-powered listing optimizer
  • Easy-to-use background remover
  • Image upscaler
  • A "magic eraser" to remove things from pictures

Pricing options:

  • Free
  • Studio Starter: $14 per month
  • Studio PRO: $39 per month

14. ComfyUI Web

ComfyUI Web produced a high-resolution image with sharp detail and smooth lighting, and the customizable workflow enabled simple adjustment of the image generating process. Since it was web-based, I didn’t need to install anything nor use powerful hardware.

When I tried to make slight adjustments to her facial expressions, the output was unpredictable. The best way was to iterate on the output numerous times.

comfyui web ai for image generation

The result I got in ComfyUI Web

Main ComfyUI Web features:

  • Free & unlimited usage
  • Frictionless collaboration
  • Face and skin refinement
  • Customizable templates
  • Face and skin refinement
  • Automatic background removal

Pricing options:

  • Free

15. Unreal Person

Unreal Person is made to create super realistic AI people, so I expected good results, and it mostly did a great job. The face had clear details, the lighting looked nice, and the skin colors looked natural. The eyes also had life in them, which is great because some AI faces look kind of empty.

However, what we weren't happy about was that sometimes, the faces weren’t perfectly even. In a few images, the features didn’t line up quite right, making them look a little off.

unreal person ai for image generation

The result I got in Unreal Person

Main Unreal Person features:

  • Unique and original creations
  • Free and accessible
  • Creates high-quality images
  • Fast generation time
  • Can connect with other creative tools

Pricing options:

  • Free

16. Leap

Leap generated a cool fashion portrait. The model’s face looked realistic, and the lighting made the image look like a page from a magazine. One of the best things about Leap is how well it handles textures. Clothes looked clear and detailed, and skin looked smooth but still natural.

However, this AI image generation software had trouble with complex prompts. When I tried to change small things like facial features, it didn’t always get them right. Leap works best when you let it do its thing and then edit little details later.

leap ai for image generation

The result I got in Leap

Main Leap features:

  • Text-to-image generation
  • Images produced are in 4K resolution
  • Integration with marketing tools
  • Quick processing time
  • Has a mobile app

Pricing options:

  • Free
  • Individual Plan: $14 per month
  • Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing

17. Dream Generator AI

Dream Generator AI generated a bold and artistic fashion picture. Instead of looking 100% real, it felt more like an artwork. The lighting was cool and looked like something from a movie, which made the picture feel dramatic. This makes it great for unique and stylish images, but not the best for realistic photos.

Also, sometimes, the AI made tiny mistakes, like faces being slightly uneven or hands looking a little strange. If you want a completely realistic look, you might need to edit the picture after.

dream generator ai ai for image generation

The result I got in Dream Generator AI

Main Dream Generator AI features:

  • Can remove backgrounds
  • User-friendly
  • Customizable styles
  • Fast processing
  • Has an inspiration gallery to give you ideas

Pricing options:

  • Free trial
  • 199 Credits - $1.99 per month
  • 399 Credits - $3.99 per month

How We Tested AI Image Generators

To compare different AI image creators, our FixThePhoto team tested them using the same descriptions to see which one would create the best pictures.

We used a fair process for testing: we typed the same description into each AI tool, checked how good the results were, and gave them scores based on how real they looked, how well they followed the description, and how detailed they were. The test prompt was: a stylish model in a black outfit, dramatic studio lighting, soft shadows, and a blurry background.

Some AI tools, like DALL·E 3 and Freepik, created realistic pictures with only a few fixes needed. But others had problems, like hair that looked fake, skin that was too smooth, and hands that often looked weird.

We also tested how fast and easy each tool was to use. Ideogram was great for adding text and artistic designs but wasn’t as good at creating realistic images. Photoshop’s AI was best for improving AI-generated images instead of creating them from scratch, making it the top choice for professionals who want to edit their work.

Overall, AI image generators are getting better, yet none of them are perfect. Some produced great pictures right away, while others needed a lot of editing. Our team found that AI is a powerful tool, but human creativity is still needed to produce images.

Eva Williams

Writer & Gear Reviewer

Eva Williams is a talented family photographer and software expert who is in charge of mobile software and apps testing and overviewing in the FixThePhoto team. Eva earned her Bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts from NYU and work 5+ years assisting some of the city’s popular wedding photographers. She doesn't trust Google search results and always tests everything herself, especially, much-hyped programs and apps.

Read Eva's full bio

Tetiana Kostylieva

Photo & Video Insights Blogger

Tetiana Kostylieva is the content creator, who takes photos and videos for almost all FixThePhoto blog articles. Her career started in 2013 as a caricature artist at events. Now, she leads our editorial team, testing new ideas and ensuring the content is helpful and engaging. She likes vintage cameras and, in all articles, she always compares them with modern ones showing that it isn’t obligatory to invest in brand-new equipment to produce amazing results.

Read Tetiana's full bio

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