Leonardo AI: Build an Image Brief and Reference Checklist

A useful image-generation brief explains what the finished visual must communicate, where it will appear and what it must preserve. Before comparing a Leonarda AI, distinguish the creative task from the account and credit conditions. This helps you choose a suitable workflow without expecting a plan name alone to guarantee accurate or publishable images.

Write the visual requirements first

Describe the subject, setting, composition and intended mood in plain language. Include the destination: a website banner, product illustration or social post. Note where text or interface elements must sit so the generated composition leaves useful space for them.

Separate essential requirements from optional styling. If a real product must be represented accurately, identify which shapes, colours and details cannot change. Avoid describing a factual product image as accurate before it has been compared with the actual product. A clear review brief is more valuable than a long string of fashionable visual adjectives.

Choose settings for the actual task

Leonardo's generation guide describes its current image creation options. Check the model, dimensions and available controls in your account. Do not assume an old tutorial's menu or a particular setting is present for every model.

Record the prompt and settings for useful experiments. Change one major element at a time so you can recognise which instruction affected the result. Check the current credit or token estimate before making a large batch, and confirm the plan's actual allowances rather than treating an advertised quantity as a guarantee of final approved images.

Use references responsibly

Choose source images you are entitled to upload and explain what each reference contributes. One may establish composition, another a permitted product detail or colour direction. Leonardo's reference guidance explains that available reference controls depend on the creation workflow.

Keep the original references separate from generated output and preserve the brief with each selected result. Do not upload private photographs, client secrets or another person's identifying material merely because a reference button is available. If approval is required for the material, resolve that before generating variations rather than after an image has been circulated. When several colleagues review variations, label the chosen image with a version identifier and keep rejected drafts separate. Otherwise a low-resolution preview or an earlier incorrect result can be mistaken for the approved asset during final website or document production.

Inspect and hand over the selected image

Review anatomy, product details, lettering, edges and unintended background objects at the final display size. Ask whether the image communicates the intended message and whether a viewer could misunderstand it as a real photograph. Correct misleading details before publication.

Use the Review AI Output Before Using It in Business Documents and Canva Brand Kit: Organise Logos, Colours and Working Files for final approval and file organisation. Check the current usage conditions for the actual output and plan. Keep an approved export, editable working materials and a concise generation record so future revisions begin from a known, reviewed result.