Parameters and Technical Controls By the end of this lesson, students should be able to: The –ar parameter. The Matching aspect ratio to use case. Common use cases: Aspect ratio and composition. The aspect ratio chosen affects the composition generated – a square image composes differently than a widescreen image for the same subject. Include framing guidance in the prompt that works with the intended aspect ratio: "portrait framing, vertical composition" for 9:16; "wide establishing shot, horizontal composition" for 16:9. Pan and Zoom for dimension extension. Pan (extend the canvas in a direction) and Zoom Out (expand the view outward) functions extend image dimensions beyond the original generation – useful for creating wider compositions from a good image base without full regeneration. Available on upscaled images through the interface controls. Enroll to continue this lesson. The preview above shows the lesson objectives and opening lesson content. Enroll to view the full lesson, complete the practice work, and take the lesson quiz.
Lesson 1: Aspect Ratio and Dimension Controls
Lesson Objectives
Lesson Content
--ar (aspect ratio) parameter specifies the width-to-height ratio of the generated image. Format: --ar width:height (e.g., --ar 16:9 for widescreen, --ar 9:16 for vertical video/portrait, --ar 1:1 for square, --ar 4:3 for standard). This parameter is added to the end of the prompt, after all descriptive text.--ar 1:1 for square social media posts; --ar 9:16 for Instagram Stories, TikTok, YouTube Shorts (vertical); --ar 16:9 for YouTube thumbnails, presentations, landscape; --ar 4:5 for Instagram portrait feed posts; --ar 3:2 for standard photography; --ar 21:9 for cinematic widescreen. Always set the aspect ratio before generating production images to avoid cropping or padding issues in downstream use.
