8 April 2025
Summary:
Prompt – Picture – Publish
Can your imagination gallop? With the text-to-image feature in ChatGPT, even your wildest ideas can take visual shape. In this post, you’ll learn how image generation from text works, how to write great prompts, and how to use this tool in Mobile Journalism – creatively, ethically and with humour. Whether you’re a journalist, content creator or just curious – this tool is for you. No art degree needed. Ready for a visual journey?
ChatGPT – the text-to-image generation feature
Give me an image of smiling glasses chatting with a comb in the morning. Add lots of warm colours and light – it’s morning after all. Image format 4:3.
Now prepare an image of an ant journalist in green glasses with a yellow microphone interviewing an elephant in orange swimming trunks by the sea. Format: 1:1.
What’s going on here? Is my imagination galloping too fast? Now I get it – it’s the new ChatGPT feature: text-to-image generation. My thoughts become visuals thanks to artificial intelligence. This tool allows me to be creative without graphic design skills. I create images that shock, amuse, and amaze viewers.
AI isn’t magic — it’s your creative partner.
In a world where words meet visuals, the text-to-image generation feature in ChatGPT acts as a bridge between imagination and visual reality. Just describe what you want to see, and the model will generate an image that matches your vision.
How does it work? Like magic – but powered by artificial intelligence. You type a textual prompt, and within moments you get a unique image combining your idea with the neural network’s knowledge of millions of graphics and styles. This tool is great for social media, blogs, books, presentations – it’s helpful in education and play.

ChatGPT can generate images in various styles: realistic, cartoon, comic, anime, watercolour, baroque, pixel art, futuristic, surreal, noir, vintage, graffiti, minimalist, and many more. It can even mix styles – just describe how they should be combined. Experiment – the same prompt in ‘baroque’ and ‘minimalist’ styles can create two entirely different worlds.
Using an image generator, you’re part director, part set designer, part child with crayons who just unlocked a magical world. In Mobile Journalism, this is a powerful tool – because you tell the story not just with words, but also with images. And as we know, a picture can say more than a thousand words.
Generated images are coherent and useful. You can refine them through natural conversation – the tool listens carefully to your instructions and focuses on details. It can also analyse user-uploaded images and learn from them, integrating their details into new illustrations.
You don’t need to know Photoshop or how to draw – all you need is an idea and a few words. ChatGPT will do the rest, turning what existed only in your mind into visual reality. The result? Surprising, engaging, and original illustrations.
Prompt – the magic spell for AI
A prompt is your order – like in a café. You ask for a cappuccino – you get a cappuccino. Spaghetti carbonara? Here you go. Sometimes the pasta needs more seasoning, or the coffee isn’t hot enough – but in general, you get what you asked for.
It’s the same with prompts. You write – you get.
Writing prompts, not only for images, has become a new creative and professional skill. Don Bosco Mobile Journalism encourages learning how to prompt effectively and communicate with chatbots.
Here’s an example of a poor prompt: “squirrel”.
Now a good one: “a smiling squirrel taking a selfie with a yellow iPhone 15 Pro, green grass in the background”.

A prompt is the creator’s new brush.
What’s the key? Details.
A prompt is like a painter’s brush – the more precise, the better the image. Prompting well is like learning to draw. At first it’s clumsy, but then – wow! You learn to request exactly what you imagined.
For example: “A carrot journalist interviewing a group of chatty fries in a fast-food restaurant”.

Writing prompts is a new language of creativity. You learn not only how to speak to AI but how to formulate your thoughts. It’s like conducting an interview – the better the question, the more interesting the answer.
Playing with AI also lets you develop your own visual style. Maybe your images will always use warm tones? Maybe your characters will wear quirky glasses or have a signature prop – like a yellow microphone or a blue umbrella?
Your style makes your content more „yours”.
Here is a checklist for creating good prompts:
- Use specific adjectives
- Add background and mood
- Include objects or actions
- Mention style (e.g. baroque, cartoon)
- Specify format or layout
- Control the colour palette
- Add time of day or season
- Mention facial expressions or emotions
- Set a composition or point of view
Image Generator in Mobile Journalism
In Mobile Journalism, speed, creativity and visual consistency matter. Whether you’re making promotional content, product visualisations, memes, blog illustrations, newsletters or podcast art – a text-to-image generator can be your design assistant at your fingertips.
Imagination + AI = Image
How can you use it in practice? When is text-to-image helpful in Mobile Journalism?
- Missing a photo for an event? Generate an illustration.
- Creating Instagram reels? Make a cover with ChatGPT.
- Need an image of a child from Africa but don’t have usage rights? Ask AI: “A smiling African child in close-up, full of joy, holding a blue watch as if inviting you to Africa.”

- Need an image for a post about asking good journalism questions? Try: “A squirrel with a yellow microphone interviews a lion by the sea. The lion wears orange sunglasses and holds a green pen.”

- Running a blog about journalism and writing about having a healthy self-distance? Hint: “Four chickens playing poker in a henhouse.”

- When there’s no photo and the deadline looms – AI is your creative partner. Image generators let you illustrate abstract ideas, build visual brand characters, and express emotions and concepts that are impossible to photograph.
💡 Remember: Image generators won’t replace photojournalists – but in Mobile Journalism, speed, creativity and ethics are key – and AI can support all three.
AI image ethics
Imagination may gallop, but ethics are the reins you hold. Working with AI in journalism requires responsibility. A few key principles:
- Don’t generate images that could hurt, humiliate, or mislead. An elephant in swim trunks? Great. A politician in swim trunks? Maybe not.
- Always clarify that an image is AI-generated if it could be mistaken for a real photo – for example, on a news site.
- Don’t replace real-life photos in contexts where authenticity matters – such as funerals, protests, or emotional victories.
- Be mindful of stereotypes and clichés. If you ask for “an African child” and the generator shows only barefoot kids in savannahs – add diversity and context. You are the editor of your vision – don’t let AI decide what the world looks like.
- With AI, the human remains responsible for the message. AI-generated images can delight, amuse, and support – but only when created with empathy and awareness. Creativity + Responsibility = Good Journalism.
Truth matters more than pixels.
Fun facts
In the video below, you’ll find 12 images showing different emotions, all generated with ChatGPT. Below the video is a list of emotions and their prompts.
🟡 Joy
Prompt: “A smiling rabbit in a blue jumper bouncing on a trampoline with colourful balloons, summer morning in the background, lots of sunshine, children laughing nearby, flowers and butterflies all around.”
🔵 Sadness
Prompt: “An old umbrella lying alone on an empty, rainy street, evening light, puddle reflections, grey sky, melancholic noir film atmosphere.”
🔴 Anger
Prompt: “An angry toast with jam yelling at a coffee machine that only pours water, morning in the kitchen, lots of red, tense atmosphere, fluorescent lighting.”
🟤 Pride
Prompt: “A small dog in glasses stands on top of a giant stack of books, holding a diploma in its paw. Confetti falls from the sky, and in the background, other animals cheer and wave little flags. The atmosphere is victorious and joyful.”
⚫ Fear
Prompt: “Vertical 4:3 sepia-toned illustration in coloured pencil style. Two anthropomorphic clocks (a wristwatch and an alarm clock) sit on a wooden surface, both showing fear with expressive faces. The scene has a warm, vintage, emotional feel.”
⚫ Anxiety
Prompt: “A little robot with a torch peeks into a dark basement where something is rustling – dramatic lighting, metallic colours, a bit of fog, something red on the floor – maybe a small animal.”
🟠 Surprise
Prompt: “A cat in a suit opens an electricity bill envelope, eyes wide as saucers, popcorn exploding in the background. Birds in a tree behind are making shocked faces too: ‘Oooo!’.”
🟢 Calm
Prompt: “A turtle in a straw hat floating on a leaf-shaped lilo across a tranquil lake at sunset, beside it floats a steaming teacup, warm colours and silence.”
🟣 Gratitude
Prompt: “An elderly squirrel gives a young hedgehog a small nut wrapped in golden foil, in a sunset forest setting. A mug saying ‘thank you’ and a hot water bottle are nearby.”
🟡 Embarrassment
Prompt: “A small penguin with a pink backpack sits at a school desk while everyone looks – because it’s wearing slippers on its head instead of feet. Background: a classroom with a blackboard.”
🟠 Curiosity
Prompt: “A meerkat with its mouth agape stands in the desert holding the newest iPhone! In the background, a camel walks by with an even newer, prettier iPhone. They stare at each other in disbelief – one yellow, one lime green. Their expressions: pure amazement.”
🔵 Amazement
Prompt: “A small owl with huge glasses sits by candlelight in a dark forest, reading a book titled ‘Secrets of the Internet’. Glowing symbols like ‘www’, ‘@’, ‘#’ and ‘?!’ float above its head. The image is meant to express curiosity.”

Conclusion
Imagination isn’t a luxury – it’s the fuel of creativity. Combine it with AI tools, and you become not just a viewer, but the creator of new worlds. In Mobile Journalism, it’s a chance to speak to your audience using images, metaphors, humour and emotion. Experiment, have fun, learn – but always remember that at the centre is the human being. Because even if the image is generated by a machine, the heart of the message beats in you.
Develop your style. Be mindful. And don’t be afraid to gallop – just keep your compass of values in hand. Got an image idea? Type it into ChatGPT and create something no one’s ever seen before!
Want to learn? We’ll teach you! – Don Bosco Mobile Journalism – DBMoJo.
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