Openai/69470cc4-bd70-8011-b862-ed876bf53e46

This conversation was exported from ChatGPT

gpt-5-2-thinking

User: Hey, I've got two images for you, and I'm hoping you can help me....

Hey, I've got two images for you, and I'm hoping you can help me....

The first is from this reddit thread...

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1prnjz2/can_someone_help_me_please_im_going_nuts_over_this/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Guy says

"So I am having to do an unexpected floor renovation in my living room and I am trying to see what the finished room will look like. I am trying to get this sectional sofa repositioned. I need it rotated forty five degrees from where it is in the picture. I have tried everything I can think of. It’s been so frustrating that I can not figure this out it either regenerates in same location or changes position and makes the sectional a regular sofa. All I want is one part of the L under the window and the other along the bottom edge of the rug so when sitting it faces the aquarium. I want the the corner piece of the sectional to line up with right side of window. Thanks for any help. B "

So I am thinking I can help as a certified pro prompt engineer and rocket geneticist... So the first image here is the couch he wants rotated... and the second is my quick hack job attempt in photoshop...

Basically I think that the correct way to show this guy how to achieve this and to help you get it "right" is to show you what it "roughly" should look like and then you can make it look better.... Hopefully that works...

Show us the magic please and thank you :)

User: Oh...

Oh... So you followed the letter of his message... 45 degrees. This guy was confused and probably why he was getting it wrong was his troubles with basic math. The rotation he actually wanted was 90 degrees (a quarter turn) from the original image... (Like I showed you in my photoshopped version) Let me know if you need the images again.

User: Thank you for showing me the exact same image again, that helps clarify that you are having a lot of difficulty underst…

Thank you for showing me the exact same image again, that helps clarify that you are having a lot of difficulty understanding. I will send you the two images again so you can get it right and do a 90 degree rotation from the orignal image to match the positioning of the photoshopped version.

User: You really like sending the same image, don't you?

You really like sending the same image, don't you?

Assistant: Yeah… that one’s on me.

Yeah… that one’s on me. What I kept doing was basically “re-imagining the whole room” from text, so the model happily snaps back to the “most likely” layout (aka: the original), or it “solves” the problem by turning the sectional into a regular sofa because that’s easier than preserving the exact L-shape and re-orienting it.

If you want the reddit guy to get this right, the trick is: don’t ask for “rotate 90°” as the main instruction. Ask for anchored placement and force the model to treat the sectional as an invariant object.

The workflow that actually works (in most editors)

1. Mask/select ONLY the sectional (not the rug, not the wall).
2. Use an edit like “Move/Reposition” (or “Replace selected area”) and give it a geometry/anchor prompt.
3. Add a hard constraint: “Do not change anything else in the room.”

Copy-paste prompt (the “anchors, not angles” version)

Use this with the sectional masked/selected:

Prompt:

Reposition the same dark gray L-shaped sectional sofa (keep identical size, fabric, cushions, and modular shape). Move it so the corner seat of the sectional aligns with the right edge of the window. Place one leg of the L directly under the window along the right side of the room, and place the other leg along the bottom edge of the orange rug, facing the aquarium. Keep the aquarium, walls, window, curtains, rug, lighting, and floor unchanged. Do not change the sofa into a different style or a straight sofa.

Negative / “don’t do this” (if the tool supports it):

Do not change the aquarium. Do not change wall color. Do not change rug size/shape. Do not add furniture. Do not remove the sectional shape. Do not replace it with a different couch.

If it still “turns into a normal sofa”

Add one line to the prompt:

The sectional must remain an L shape with the same number of seat sections; do not remove or merge any segments.

Why this beats “rotate 90 degrees”

Because “rotate” is ambiguous to image models: they’ll interpret it as camera rotate, object rotate, layout change, or they’ll keep the “identity” of the room and “fix” the couch by simplifying it. Anchors like “corner aligns with right edge of window” and “leg along bottom edge of rug” are concrete constraints they can satisfy.

If you want, tell me which tool he’s using (ChatGPT image editor, DALL·E, Midjourney, Photoshop Generative Fill, etc.) and I’ll tailor the exact wording to that UI’s quirks (some want shorter prompts; some obey “negative” fields better).

User: Fix this image so that it looks like a cohesive couch and not a photoshopped mess.

Fix this image so that it looks like a cohesive couch and not a photoshopped mess.

User: Fix this image so that it looks like a cohesive couch and not a photoshopped mess.

Fix this image so that it looks like a cohesive couch and not a photoshopped mess. Do not rotate the couch, the back should remain perpendicular with the carpet, and perpendicular with the wall/window.