Reference Images: Generate From Your Own Photo, Not Just a Prompt

Text-to-image generation starts from nothing but a description. Reference images start from something real: a photo you already have, or a companion's existing shot, that the model edits rather than reinvents. If you've ever generated ten variations trying to nail one specific face or one specific outfit, this is the feature that replaces that with "start from this picture instead."

What actually changes

Add at least one reference image to a generation and the request runs on Fellowi's edit model instead of the standard text-to-image path - your prompt now describes what to change or extend about the reference, not what to invent from a blank canvas. You can supply up to 10 reference images in a single generation, drawn from your own uploads, a companion's photo set, or a mix of both.

What it's actually good for

The obvious use is consistency - keeping the same face, the same outfit, or the same character recognizable across multiple generations instead of the model reinventing them each time from a text description alone. It's also the more direct route when what you want isn't a brand-new scene but a change to one you already have: a different setting, a different style, a small edit, starting from a real photo instead of describing every detail of it from scratch in a prompt.

What it costs

Reference images are a small add-on to the generation's normal price, per image, on top of the usual Standard or High cost - current per-image and per-reference pricing is always accurate on the API Console and the product facts page, which both pull straight from what checkout actually charges rather than a number typed into an article. Failed generations are refunded automatically and in full, the same rule that covers every Fellowi Images generation.

Where your past uploads and results live

The studio's generation history keeps a record of what you've generated recently, so a reference image or a result you used last week doesn't have to be re-found or re-uploaded from scratch - it's right there to reuse. Like every generation, results and any reference images tied to them are kept for a limited retention window before deletion; the current retention period is listed on the product facts page.

Try it

Open Fellowi Images, attach a reference photo instead of starting from a blank prompt, and describe the change rather than the whole scene. If you're curious about the pricing model behind the coins themselves, we wrote about that in what AI image generation actually costs.