AI Photo Prompting: How Photos Translate Better Than Apps
AI Photo Prompting: How Photos Translate Better Than Apps
This is the third post in my AI Photo Prompting series, where I share how taking photos and asking ChatGPT to analyse them often works better than writing detailed text prompts. After using photo prompting to cut my electricity bill by €140/month and buying a car with confidence, I wanted to share how it’s become my go-to solution for translation challenges.
Living in Spain with limited Spanish has taught me that traditional translation apps often miss context and nuance. Photo prompting with ChatGPT (which excels at text extraction from images) delivers more accurate, contextual translations. My approach is simple: photograph any text I need translated, upload to ChatGPT with “Translate” or a specific question, then discuss further if I need clarification.
This technique has saved me hundreds of euros by helping me avoid wrong purchases, understand safety warnings, and navigate complex Spanish bureaucracy. For example, if I use Google Translate to tell me what a duvet is in Spanish it returns “edredón.” In Zara Home in Spain, a duvet is “Relleno nórdico” and ChatGPT can tell me that. You can already see the benefits.
This aside from the fact that you could not only take a photo of a menu and get it translated, but once ChatGPT has the menu you can ask questions about the dishes, such as “is it vegan,” “what is a local dish,” “which dish has the most meat” and get further insights.
Recently I visited several castles in Castellón: Castell de Peniscola and Castell de l’Alcalatén amongst others. Perhaps because they are lesser known landmarks, or the simple fact I am in Spain, the information was available in Spanish and a local language, Valencian. I can understand bit of the Spanish but not enough to get a full picture.
So I quickly took my phone, would snap a shot of the information board and submit to ChatGPT with the instruction “Translate” and it would extract all the text and translate it. Then I could ask ChatGPT further questions about the text or the castle or the location and essentially create my own tour guide. In one of the castles I really delved into the crusades and cross compared with an English history book I was reading. All of that from just one photo.
I recently bought the board game Scotland Yard to play with my children. It was a favourite of mine when I was a kid, but I loosely remember the rules. When the game arrived everything was in Spanish. I took 6 photos, one of each page, and created a chat with the instruction to translate and to give me a summary of the rules. This was key as I didn’t want 6 pages of text. But then I could interrogate the text and ask questions about the rules to help my understanding. I also took photos of the game cards and pieces to identify which was which. Within minutes we were playing, which is really helpful when you have two excited and impatient kids around.
Often when I am out hiking I will see a sign, which might be something important. Last time I instantly translated a sign I found out the path went through a live hunting ground. I decided to turn back.
What Else This Works For
You can use this for anything – any text that you can photograph can be translated instantly:
Shopping and Safety
Pharmacy product labels (comparing ingredients to avoid inferior versions)
Food packaging (understanding ingredients to avoid additives or allergens)
Cleaning product warnings (ensuring products are safe for children)
Medical prescription instructions from Spanish doctors
Financial Decisions
Car specification sheets (understanding features and pricing)
Insurance documents (avoiding overpaying for unnecessary coverage)
Utility bills (decoding complex Spanish electricity tariffs)
Banking correspondence (understanding charges and terms)
Technical Setup
Router setup manuals when Spanish internet installation instructions are unclear
Appliance settings for optimal dishwasher/washing machine configurations
Product reviews on Spanish Amazon to make better purchase decisions
Official Documents
Car registration forms and bureaucracy
Parking restriction signs (avoiding fines)
Government letters for visa and residency paperwork
Property documents and contracts
Travel and Daily Life
Restaurant menus with cultural context
Hotel information and local regulations
Public transport schedules and pricing
Emergency instructions and contact information
This is a really simple and effective way to get quick and detailed results from AI in the real world. You don’t have to be technical to do this, and it’s incredibly powerful.
Photo prompting has transformed how I navigate daily life in Spain. What started as a practical solution for language barriers has become an essential tool for understanding context, culture, and safety in ways that typing into translation apps simply can’t match.
The same principle – show don’t tell – is how I help businesses implement AI solutions that actually work. Instead of complex prompting strategies, start with visual inputs and let AI build understanding naturally.
