Seedream 4.0

Bytedance's best alternative to Nano Banana when you need superior photography, typography, and/or 4K resolution capabilities.

TL;DR

Balanced image generation and editing model with 4K resolution output. Excels at complex product photoshoots, sophisticated styling scenarios, static ads generation, and advanced image editing with multi-image input support.

Strengths for marketers

• Deep, balanced capabilities at an affordable cost: Can generate static ads, photos, illustrations, and more with consistent quality across different content types.

• Advanced multi-image editing: Supports complex editing operations (addition, deletion, replacement, modification) and multi-image inputs for combination, style transfer, and composite editing.

• Complex product staging: Manages sophisticated product arrangements with multiple items, advanced lighting scenarios, and professional-grade compositions that would typically require a professional photographer.

• 4K resolution capability: Generate ultra-high resolution images (up to 4K) perfect for premium digital marketing materials, large-format displays, print campaigns, and any project where image quality is critical.

Ideal use cases

• Premium product photography: Sophisticated product staging and professional-grade shoots for catalogs, e-commerce, and high-value marketing materials.

• Static ads: Professional advertising creatives that require high resolution and polished visual quality.

• Image editing and asset variations: Transform existing visuals by adding, removing, or modifying elements. Perfect for creating product variations, seasonal updates, or quick asset adaptations without starting from scratch.

• High-end fashion campaigns: Complex styling, lighting, and composition requirements for luxury brands and premium fashion marketing.

• Print-quality assets: Marketing materials requiring ultra-high resolution for billboards, magazine ads, packaging, and other print applications.

Weaknesses

• Quality limitations at lower resolutions: Facial features may lack detail and typography may look broken when using standard resolution settings.

• Long generation times (in 4K): High-resolution requires more generation time. Plan accordingly for time-sensitive projects.

How to use effectively

General tip — Use 4K: When your shot includes faces, typography, select custom AR with 4096x4096 resolution to ensure facial features are rendered with appropriate detail and quality.

New image from a prompt

• Use natural language describing subject + action + environment

• Include style, color, lighting, or composition details when aesthetics matter

• Wrap text that should appear in the image with double quotation marks

• Use precise technical terminology for diagrams and educational content

Example prompt: "A girl in a lavish dress walking under a parasol along a tree-lined path, in the style of a Monet oil painting"

Image editing

• Use clear, concise instructions specifying the exact element and desired change

  • Addition: Add new elements (e.g., "Add matching silver earrings and a necklace to the girl")

  • Deletion: Remove unwanted elements (e.g., "Remove the girl's hat")

  • Replacement: Swap objects (e.g., "Replace the bread man with a croissant man")

  • Modification: Transform elements (e.g., "Turn the three robots into transparent crystal, colored red, yellow and green")

• Explicitly mention what should remain unchanged to avoid unintended modifications

New image from multiple inputs

• Define the reference target from each image (character design, style, product features)

  • Combination: Merge elements from different images (dress the character from Image 1 with the outfit from Image 2)

  • Style transfer: Apply the visual style of one image to the content of another

  • Reference-based generation: Extract character design, artistic style, or product features to create new variations

• Clearly specify what to reference or edit from each image

• Describe the generated scene with detailed information about layout and specifics

Output samples

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Simple image

Product shots

Static ads

Simple image prompt

A woman walking on the street, black and white picture

Product shot prompt

A professional photo of a person’s leg, cropped at mid-calf, captured mid-stride, with the focus on a pristine white technical sneaker worn on the left foot. The sneaker is positioned on ancient cobblestones of a quiet Copenhagen side street, flanked by understated buildings with pale pastel facades in muted blues and cool greys. Photographed from a low angle, emphasizing the street texture and the sneaker’s form. A 35mm lens perspective creates a subtle wide-angle view. Shallow depth of field ensures a creamy, soft bokeh in the background, making the pastel facades gently blur. Crisp focus is maintained specifically on the intricate texture of the white technical sneaker and its distinct quick-lace system. The wearer’s leg is clad in black tapered pants, which provide a clean contrast, with neutral grey socks visible at the ankle. No other accessories are present. The composition is clean and minimalist, with the cobblestones forming subtle leading lines that guide the eye towards the shoe. Ample negative space surrounds the central subject, ideal for design integration. The overall color palette features cool greys, bright whites, and muted blues, maintaining a true-to-life material representation. No faces or other people are visible. Signage is minimal to non-existent. The image has subtle contrast and avoids heavy saturation, embodying understated Scandinavian simplicity. The lighting is soft, even, and natural overcast Nordic daylight, illuminating the scene gently from above, casting minimal shadows.

Static ads prompt

A lifestyle photograph of a charming and iconic Parisian street scene. The image should feature a classic Haussmannian building with wrought iron balconies and flowers, with a traditional café on the ground floor with striped awnings. The atmosphere is soft, dreamy, and authentic, captured in the warm, natural light of a late afternoon, creating an aspirational feel. The composition should leave ample clear space in the upper portion, such as a soft blue sky, for text overlay. Style: sophisticated travel photography, muted color palette, warm tones. Text Overlay Concept: “Paris, comme si vous y habitiez.” Typography: elegant modern serif, white, sentence-case. CTA: “Trouvez votre échange à Paris” inside a rounded, cream-colored button. Typography: clean sans-serif.

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Model specs

Inputs accepted

• Text

• Text + Multiple reference images

Output characteristics

Default Resolution: 1080p

Available Aspect Ratios:

• Auto

  • Driven by text prompt when used as text-to-image

  • Driven by reference image(s) when used as image-to-image

• 1:1 Square

• 1:1 Square HD (4K - 4096x4096)

• 3:4 Traditional

• 4:3 Classic

• 9:16 Social Story

• 16:9 Widescreen

• Custom