QWE AI Academy You want images from text. Two routes: describe what you want to ChatGPT and let it build the prompt for you, or write directly to the API with full control. Most beginners pick ChatGPT because it’s conversational – you iterate in plain English. API users get precision but lose the hand-holding.
ChatGPT rewrites your prompts behind the scenes. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need. Other times it adds details you didn’t ask for. The API gives you what you type, no translation layer. Which matters more to you: ease or control?
Getting Access: Three Paths, Different Trade-offs
Access method determines your experience more than the model itself.
ChatGPT Plus: $20/month as of 2025, includes DALL-E 3 with no per-image charges. You get the conversational interface where you describe what you want and refine through dialogue. The catch: 50 messages every 3 hours as of early 2025, and image generations count toward that limit. Generate 10 images, refine each twice? You’re done. Wait three hours.
API Access: Pay per image. Standard 1024×1024 costs $0.040, larger sizes $0.080, HD quality jumps to $0.080-$0.120 (as of 2025). No monthly fee. No arbitrary message caps. You write code, send prompts, get images back – perfect for automation or high-volume work. Terrible if you just want to experiment casually.
Bing Image Creator: Free. Powered by DALL-E 3 via Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI. You need a Microsoft account and some patience – generation slows after your initial daily quota. Quality matches ChatGPT’s output because it’s the same model underneath.
Start with Bing if you’re testing. Move to ChatGPT Plus once you know you’ll use it regularly. Touch the API only when you need programmatic control.
Your First Generation: What Actually Happens
Let’s generate an image. I’m using ChatGPT Plus – the interface most beginners will see.
- Open ChatGPT, select GPT-4 from the model dropdown
- Type: “Create an image of a cat wearing a steampunk hat sitting on a velvet cushion”
- Wait 15-30 seconds
- You get an image
What just happened? ChatGPT automatically rewrote your prompt into a much more detailed description before sending it to DALL-E 3. Click the small info icon above the image – you’ll see the actual prompt used. Mine expanded from one sentence to a full paragraph specifying lighting, materials, composition, everything.
This auto-enhancement is why DALL-E 3 feels easier than Midjourney. You don’t need complex prompt engineering – ChatGPT handles that translation. The downside? Less control. Sometimes it adds elements you didn’t want.
Pro tip: If you want to see what DALL-E 3 does with your EXACT words, use the API. ChatGPT’s rewriting can’t be disabled, but the API accepts prompts as-is.
Resolution and Quality Settings
DALL-E 3 generates three resolutions: 1024×1024 (square), 1024×1792 (portrait), or 1792×1024 (landscape). That’s it. No 4K, no custom sizes.
Quality setting? Standard is default; HD brings better detail and prompt adherence at roughly 2x the cost and 10 extra seconds per generation. For most use cases, standard is fine. HD shines when composition complexity matters or you need texture fidelity.
| Setting | API Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Standard 1024×1024 | $0.040 | Social media, drafts, iteration |
| Standard wide | $0.080 | Banners, headers, landscape concepts |
| HD 1024×1024 | $0.080 | Print materials, detailed subjects |
| HD wide | $0.120 | Marketing hero images, final outputs |
ChatGPT defaults to standard. The API gives you the quality parameter.
Common Pitfalls: What Actually Breaks
Negative prompts backfire.Telling DALL-E 3 NOT to include something causes it to fixate on that element. Ask for “a city street with no cars” and you’ll get more cars. The model doesn’t understand exclusion – it reads “cars” and weights that concept higher. Describe what you DO want: “a pedestrian-only cobblestone plaza.”
Text spelling is still broken.DALL-E 3 produces spelling errors in generated text, though far better than DALL-E 2. Keep text to one or two words max. “OPEN” on a shop sign? Works. “GRAND OPENING SALE”? Expect garbled letters. If it fails on the first try, regenerate a few times – sometimes it clicks.
Background corruption in complex scenes.Foreground subjects render cleanly, but backgrounds with many objects often show anatomical errors or weird distortions. A person in focus looks great. The crowd behind them? Extra limbs, melted faces. Simplify your scene or accept the weirdness.
The Message Cap Nobody Warns You About
ChatGPT Plus advertises “unlimited” access. You get 40-50 messages every 3 hours as of early 2025, and each image generation counts as a message. Generate 10 images, refine each twice – you’re done for the next three hours. No warning. No counter. You just hit the limit and get blocked.
Prompt Strategies That Work
DALL-E 3’s strength: understanding natural language. But structure still helps.
Start with subject and setting: “A red fox in a snowy forest clearing.”
Add mood or lighting: “…at golden hour, soft warm light filtering through trees.”
Specify style if needed: “…watercolor painting style, loose brushstrokes.”
Subject → Context → Style. You don’t need 200-word essays like Midjourney demands. More detail improves output, but DALL-E 3 handles conversational prompts better than any other generator.
Real example:
“A cozy reading nook by a rain-streaked window, warm lamp glow, stack of old books, steaming mug of tea, moody and intimate, photographic style”
That prompt works. It’s specific enough to guide the model but loose enough to let it fill gaps intelligently. Compare to Midjourney where you’d need parameters, aspect ratios, style weights – DALL-E 3 skips that complexity.
Performance: Where It Wins and Loses
DALL-E 3 isn’t the prettiest image generator. It generates technically proficient images but often lacks the artistic flair and visual appeal of Midjourney. Side-by-side tests consistently show Midjourney producing more striking compositions with better color and light.
Where DALL-E 3 wins: text rendering and ease of use. It handles in-image text better than competitors (still imperfect, but better). And the ChatGPT integration removes friction – no Discord bots, no parameter syntax, just conversation.
Generation speed: 15-30 seconds for standard, 25-40 for HD. Not fast, not slow. Midjourney’s new Draft Mode is quicker. But DALL-E 3’s speed is consistent – you’re not competing for server priority like some other platforms.
Copyright and Safety Filters
DALL-E 3 refuses to generate images of public figures by name and declines violent, adult, or hateful content. The filters are aggressive. Even innocuous prompts can trigger blocks if the system misinterprets your intent.
This is a feature for businesses worried about compliance. It’s a limitation if you need creative flexibility. No workaround – the safety layer is baked in.
Ownership is clean: you own the images you create, no permission needed to use commercially. Just don’t generate copyrighted characters or logos – that’s on you to avoid.
When NOT to Use DALL-E 3
Sometimes it’s the wrong tool.
Skip it for:
- Maximum aesthetic quality – Midjourney produces more visually striking images with better photorealism and artistic composition
- Art with text longer than 2 words – Ideogram 2.0 now leads in text accuracy (as of 2024-2025)
- Granular style control – Midjourney offers parameters DALL-E 3 can’t match
- Character consistency across images – DALL-E 3 can’t ingest reference images (yet)
- Local/self-hosted generation for privacy – DALL-E 3 is cloud-only
DALL-E 3 excels at quick iterations, text-heavy designs, and scenarios where conversational refinement beats parameter tweaking. High-end marketing visuals or fine art? You’ll likely need to supplement with other tools.
Next Steps
Generate 20 images. Vary subjects, styles, complexity. Watch where it struggles. Notice which prompts get rewritten heavily by ChatGPT (check that info panel every time).
Then try the same prompts in Bing Image Creator to see how free access compares. If you’re serious about image generation, test against Midjourney or Flux to understand the trade-offs. DALL-E 3 is one tool in a growing space – knowing when to use it matters as much as knowing how.
Start with something simple. A single object, clear lighting, defined style. Get that right, then add complexity. Most prompt failures come from trying to cram too many elements into one generation. Build up instead of starting big.
FAQ
Can I use DALL-E 3 for free?
Yes. Bing Image Creator with a Microsoft account. Slower after your daily quota, same model.
Why does DALL-E 3 ignore parts of my prompt?
Two reasons. First, ChatGPT rewrites your prompt before generation – check the info panel to see what was actually sent. Second, complex multi-element prompts can overwhelm the model, causing it to drop details. I once asked for “a library with red walls, green carpet, blue chairs, and yellow lamps” – got red walls and… gray everything else. Too many color instructions at once. Simplify or break into multiple generations. For color-heavy scenes, specify just 1-2 key colors and let the model handle the rest.
How do I stop DALL-E 3 from adding things I didn’t ask for?
You can’t fully prevent it in ChatGPT – the auto-enhancement adds context. Be more specific in your original prompt to constrain what gets added. Or use the API where prompts aren’t rewritten. If ChatGPT adds unwanted elements, explicitly tell it “remove the X” in your next message – it’ll regenerate with that constraint (though it might add something else instead). The model interprets omissions as invitations to fill space. If you say “a room with a table,” it’ll add chairs, lamps, windows – whatever makes the scene feel complete. Counter this by describing the empty space: “a minimalist room with only a table, white walls, no furniture.” Specificity about what ISN’T there helps, but never use “no X” or “without Y” – that triggers the negative prompt fixation issue mentioned earlier.