Why do AI images look fake?

Default prompts tend to produce a polished, advertising-like look. Describing ordinary conditions helps: "overcast daylight", "a little clutter on the table", "natural skin texture", "shot on a phone". So does naming a specific setting rather than a generic one.

Physical mistakes give images away fastest: shadows going the wrong way, reflections that don't match, extra fingers, text that turns into shapes. OpenAI's image guide lists text rendering, consistency and precise composition as known limits of its models.

A reference photo of a real place, material or light is often the quickest way to pull a result toward realism.

In ImageQuarry, you can add a reference image for the light or texture you want and ask for one specific change at a time, such as "make the skin less smooth", then compare the new version with the last.