If you’re looking for a detailed comparison of Firefly vs Midjourney vs DALL-E, this article is for you.
Over recent years, AI models have improved greatly in terms of capabilities. Now, you can create images so realistic you’d find it hard to tell if they’re generated with AI or clicked with a camera.
Whether it’s realistic photography, graphics, or art, these tools have made it easier than ever to generate images in a breeze.
In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at the differences, strengths, and weaknesses of three of the most popular AI models: Adobe Firefly, MidJourney, and DALL-E.
So, let’s get started.
Overview of Adobe Firefly, Midjourney & DA
In the fast-evolving world of generative AI models, things change very quickly, and it’s difficult to stay up to date with the latest advancements.
You’ll find new functionality and features added every couple of weeks that alter the definition of the model in terms of its capabilities.
For that reason, it’s important we first understand the basics of these top AI models, what they are, and how they function.
All three AI tools work based on a textual input called a prompt, where the user provides a description in words that AI uses to generate the image.
Even though prompts are words-based, some AI tools require certain commands to control things such as aspect ratio, image quality, and more.
What is Adobe Firefly?
Firefly is the latest generative AI model from Adobe that helps you craft high-quality images with ease.
It’s designed to cater to various visual content requirements of creators and businesses.
It shines in certain imaging areas where it produces highly accurate and usable results. We’ll discuss its strengths in depth in the next sections.
Read more in our detailed guide to Adobe Firefly.
What is Midjourney?
Midjourney is one of the most popular AI tools for generating images of all kinds.
Whether you want to create realistic photos, graphic designs, or even line art, this model produces some of the best results.
It can only be accessed via its Discord server or by inviting the Midjourney bot to your own server.
Despite its operation through Discord, which some users might find less convenient, it’s appreciated for its high-quality image generation and is often considered the best model for image generation.
You can check out our detailed guide on Midjourney to learn more about its capabilities.
What is DALL-E?
DALL-E is an image generation model by Open AI, the AI behemoth organization that owns ChatGPT.
This model is known for its exceptional capability of rendering text descriptions into images with high accuracy.
The latest version of DALL-E 3, launched in October 2023, boasts improved prompt understanding and text integration, making it a powerful tool for visualizing various design concepts and ideas.
Adobe Firefly vs MidJourney vs DALL-E
All three models – Firefly, MidJourney, and DALL-E – have their own strengths in different image generation tasks.
You may find one performing better at realistic photos and another model doing a great job with art images.
AI expert Chase Lean tested these models on a variety of prompts and image types and compared the results.
Here’s how these tools stack up against each other in various categories.
Realistic Photos
Credit: Chase Lean
Generating realistic photos of people is one of the biggest breakthroughs in history.
All the models have been tested with the same prompt mentioned below.
Winner: Adobe Firefly
Prompt: A close-up candid shot of a happy young woman wearing a blue scarf on a vacation in Santorini, white buildings and blue domes.
Adobe Firefly
Firefly generated the photo with a lot of details, which are visible in the skin, hair, and clothing. The resolution of the image is higher compared to the other two, Midjourney and DALL-E.
The background in the Firefly’s output is much more prominent and realistic.
Midjourney
The result from Midjourney has a lovely soft light throughout the photo; however, the details are smooth and not realistic.
The photo looks like an over-processed portrait that has been smoothed out in Photoshop.
The face overall looks realistic with good symmetry and features. Even though the clothing lacks texture, the scarf rendered the print nearly accurately, even in the folds.
DALL-E
This model lagged behind in many areas in realistic photo generation. The photo it produced looks painterly and lacks details in skin, hair, and clothing.
The lighting seems unnatural, and the skin is ultra-smooth, which looks unrealistic.
DALL-E performed the worst among all three models in this category.
Product Photos
Credit: Chase Lean
Product photography is another category where AI models shine and produce usable images.
Let’s take a look at how each model performs in this category.
Winner: All
Prompt: A bottle of perfume on a clean backdrop, surrounded by fragrant white flowers, product photography, minimalistic, natural light.
Adobe Firefly
Firefly does a great job of generating realistic studio lighting in product photos.
It handled the contrast very well in the above image and reduced the background illumination, similar to what we see in actual product photos.
Midjourney
This model also produced photos very similar to what you’ll find in most product photos of perfume bottles.
Midjourney has established the lighting angle accurately, rendering the falloff perfectly.
It also captured the effect of a shallow depth of field in the photo by blurring the flowers in the background.
DALL-E
DALL-E takes a different approach when it comes to lighting for this photo.
You can see a shadow in the photo hinting at a comparatively harder, angled light coming off from the left side.
The illumination and shadows are well-captured both on the background, flowers, and the top metallic part of the perfume bottle.
Interior Design Photos
Credit: Chase Lean
Whether you’re looking for interior design inspiration or creating some reference images for your interior makeover, AI can help you with realistic photography.
Let’s see how the different models stack up in this area.
Winner: Midjourney
Prompt: A bedroom with large windows and modern furniture, gray and gold, luxurious, mid-century modern style.
Adobe Firefly
Here, Firefly has done a decent job of rendering almost realistic elements in the photo.
There are enough details in the bedsheet, floor, carpet, and wall embellishments.
The trees outside the windows are a nice addition that was not part of the prompt.
Overall, the photo looks like the kind of 3D rendering that many interior designers use in their work.
Midjourney
Midjourney has produced the best result in this scenario. The details are present in all areas of the photo.
You’ll find ample texture on the walls, fabric, and wooden embellishments, as well as a natural play of light throughout the room.
The trees outside are sharp, which indicates a deeper depth of field is used, which is often the case with interior photography.
Overall, this is the best among all three photos and looks comparatively more realistic.
DALL-E
Here, the details are softer compared to the other two, which gives the photo a dreamy look.
You can see the soft glow on everything that is lit by the sunlight coming through the large windows.
The photo looks somewhat processed and a bit unnatural if you look at it closely.
Images with Text
Credit: Chase Lean
Generating text accurately in an image is the acid test for any model because of it’s one of the most challenging tasks for an AI.
Let’s see which model did the best here.
Winner: DALL-E
Prompt: Custom sticker design on an isolated white background with the words “Rachel” written in an elegant font decorated by watercolor butterflies, daisies, and soft paste hues.
Adobe Firefly
The most important part of this task – to generate text accurately – was where this model failed.
The word “Rachel” is not clearly rendered in the image. Instead, the text takes an illegible form – it’s a mix of shapes and letters but is unreadable.
It also failed to create the design on an isolated white background.
Midjourney
The result from this model is not as per the prompt as it failed on many levels.
Most importantly, it couldn’t produce the text as instructed. The letters are more meaningless gibberish.
Other elements like butterflies and daisies were almost as described in the prompt: made with watercolor and pastel hues.
DALL-E
This model is the clear winner in this category as it has followed the prompt better than the others.
The text “Rachel” was rendered in a readable and elegant font, as mentioned in the description.
It also produced an isolated white background that is essential for stickers and is also mentioned in the prompt.
Of all three models, DALL E very closely recreated the pastel hues and watercolor butterflies and daisies.
Landscape Photos
Credit: Chase Lean
Landscape photography is another area where generative AI models shine.
However, getting the lighting accurate is one of the challenges that many models still struggle with.
Let’s see how they performed on this test.
Winner: Midjourney
Prompt: An aerial drone shot of the breathtaking landscape of the Bora Bora islands, with sparkling waters under the sun.
Adobe Firefly
Firefly is often a great model to work with photography tasks as it understands the nuances of lighting and shadows.
In this case, it generated an overall great image, taking into account the side lighting that creates a flare on the top left of the photo.
The shadows of the rocks are correctly generated, giving the photo a realistic look and feel.
Midjourney
For this test, Midjourney produced the best result as it’s realistic but, at the same time, a better-composed photo.
The sun is within the frame and positioned right above a high peak, which is accurately rendered as a bright, overexposed spot in the sky.
There are a lot of details in the trees with the sun reflecting in the water and a near-accurate representation of shadows caused by front-lighting.
DALL-E
Compared to the results from the other two models, this lags behind in many ways.
Overall, the image looks beautiful and serene. However, the flaws can be seen when you take a closer look.
The most prominent is the rays of light coming through the hills, which is not realistic as the sun is too high in the sky.
Details in the mountains on the right side of the image lack detail and look inaccurately illuminated.
This image reminds me of the early days of Midjourney and other generative AI tools.
Closeup Portraits
Credit: Chase Lean
Creating portraits with AI is fascinating as it’s an imagined face that looks like a real person.
However, when you’re creating close-ups, the details in the face become more important.
Below is the comparison of how Firefly, Midjourney, and DALL E stacked up in the close-up portraits category.
Winner: Adobe Firefly
Prompt: Extreme close-up shot of an old man with long gray hair and head covered in wrinkles; focused expression looking at camera.
Adobe Firefly
Firefly has produced the most realistic details in the face, eyes, and hair of the old man.
The face looks real, and the lighting is captured well in the image. However, you can see shadow pockets and bright highlights in places, which is not ideal for such photos.
Even though the image is best among all three models, it’s not the ideal output you’d expect when generating close-up portraits.
Midjourney
This model does a great job of creating details in the face and hair of the old man.
The face appears to be lit by a soft light angled on the side, which creates a gradual falloff.
However, the photo looks more like a still from a fantasy game and not a real portrait.
DALL-E
Among all three, DALL-E performs the worst in this test with a painterly image.
The photo lacks detail in all areas; the skin looks porcelain-smooth, the hair lacks texture, and the eyes are like deep-black glass, which is unusual for an old man.
The photo reminds me of a fantasy game from the early 2000s when computer graphics were still evolving.
Vector Graphics
Credit: Chase Lean
If you’re a designer, you must have considered using AI to generate vector graphics for your work – and rightly so because most models do a great job at this task. However, each has its own style.
Let’s take a look at how the results varied with each model.
Winner: All
Prompt: Simple flat vector illustration of a woman sitting at the desk with her laptop with a puppy, isolated on a white background.
Adobe Firefly
The illustration generated by Firefly is the best among all in terms of style and expression.
The woman in the illustration has a smile on her face, a blush on her cheeks, and a prominent hairstyle, which makes this image most attractive.
The dog is multicolored and has prominent features that are lacking in other models.
However, this image shows a happy woman working, which might not be useful if you’re looking for a neutral image to use in your design project.
Midjourney
Midjourney created a vector that would confuse most people, whether a designer made this or AI.
It’s something similar to what you will find in vector and design websites.
Unlike Firefly, this illustration uses a two-dimensional approach to design.
One thing to note here is that the animal generated in the image looks more like a cat than a dog. However, the addition of plants on the desk is a nice touch.
Surprisingly, all three models used a blue and yellow complementary color scheme even though nothing about it was mentioned in the prompt.
DALL-E
One of the differences between others and DALL-E’s output is the inclusion of full body and ground.
The previous two illustrations were focused on the activity on the desk, whereas this one shows the whole model with a dog sitting on the ground.
Overall, this illustration looks more 3D compared to the one created by Midjourney.
Similar to the other two, this one also uses a yellow, blue, and red color palette.
Pixel Art
Credit: Chase Lean
You must’ve seen pixel art in the video games from the early ’90s when computer graphics were still in the nascent stage.
In this test, we looked at how each model understands the prompt and creates pixel art.
Winner: DALL-E
Prompt: Chibi pixel art, game asset for an rpg game on a white background featuring the armor of a dragon sorcerer wielding the power of fire surrounded by a matching item set.
Adobe Firefly
Firefly perceived the character differently compared to the other two models.
It visualized a dragon carrying a fire torch in hand, whereas the other two featured a boy holding a sword-like weapon.
The art it has created resembles pixel art; however, in places, it uses high-quality graphics.
Overall, it has done a decent job of understanding the prompt and visualizing.
Midjourney
Midjourney failed at creating pixel art. Instead, it generated a 3D character holding a fire torch with a dragon behind.
The core requirement of this test was to create pixel art, which wasn’t fulfilled by this model.
However, understanding the rest of the description, it didn’t wander off the context too much.
DALL-E
This model shines here as it created the most accurate result that looks straight out of a game from the ’90s.
The pixel art is maintained throughout the image, including fire, weapons, and the main character.
DALL-E understood the prompt correctly and generated the best output of all.
Wildlife Photos
Credit: Chase Lean
Wildlife is unpredictable, and photographing it takes a lot of patience and skill. However, with these generative models, you can create wildlife images with a few simple prompts.
Let’s see how the AI models fare in this category.
Winner: Midjourney
Prompt: A macro wildlife photo of a green frog in a rainforest pond, highly detailed, eye-level shot.
Adobe Firefly
Firefly did a good job in this area, rendering the details of the frog accurately with a near-accurate background blur that is often seen in such wildlife shots.
However, the reflection of the frog in the pond looks not quite right. Also, the image doesn’t look like it was captured at eye level, a detail that was mentioned in the prompt.
Overall, the photo looks realistic except when you pay close attention to the details, like the reflection in the pond.
Midjourney
Midjourney generated the best output in this category as it understood the prompt well and visualized it correctly.
The image looks shot at eye level and creates realistic details in the frog’s body, eyes, and water.
The blur is realistic, as seen in wildlife photos taken with high-end camera lenses.
DALL-E
The output image here lags behind compared to the other two AIs.
The droplets look unrealistic on the body of the frog, and the position of the limbs is also awkward.
Coloring Pages
Credit: Chase Lean
Creating coloring pages with AI and printing them can be a great way to keep kids engaged.
However, do you wonder if any of these tools can create usable drawings?
Let’s check out the below comparison.
Winner: All
Prompt: Kid’s coloring book, a happy young girl holding a flower, cartoon, thick lines, black and white, white background.
Adobe Firefly
Even though the result is beautiful and something that would pique the interest of kids, Firefly hasn’t followed the prompt correctly.
There are things like blush spots on the cheeks of the character and yellow color in the flower, which makes the drawing unsuitable for coloring by kids.
Also, the lines in some parts of clothing, as well as hair, are too narrow.
Midjourney
Midjourney followed the prompt correctly and generated a full black-and-white drawing with ample space for coloring.
However, there are still some narrow and complex areas that would be difficult for kids to properly fill up.
Overall, the expression of the figure in the drawing is attractive and most likely be loved by kids.
DALL-E
DALL-E generated the best output in accordance with the prompt, including black and white, thick lines, and simple details.
The drawing is simple yet attractive, even though you’ll find a few flaws on close inspection.
For example, the eyebrows are positioned above the hair, and the figure appears to be missing feet.
Quick summary of comparison of Firefly, Midjourney & DALL-E
| Category | Adobe Firefly | Midjourney | DALL-E 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Realistic Images | Excellent in details and resolution | Artistic, softer imagery | Painterly, less detailed |
| Product Photos | Strong studio lighting effects | Good lighting, artistic | Unique lighting, shadow inconsistencies |
| Interior Designs | Realistic rendering | Attention to detail | Artistic, dreamy quality |
| Text Generation | Not accurately rendered | Not accurately rendered | Excellent text rendering |
| Landscape Photos | Lifelike, but common | Vibrant, stylized | Fantasy-like, detailed |
| Closeup Portraits | High detail and realism | Artistic, less realistic | Overemphasized features |
| Vector Graphics | Misses specific elements | Conventional vector style | Versatile, detailed |
| Pixel Art | Decent understanding | Failed to create pixel art | Accurate creation |
| Wildlife Photos | Realistic details | Best for realism | Beautiful but unreal |
| Coloring Pages | Attractive but complex | Simple, ideal for kids | Simple and thick lines |
Final Words
As we’ve seen in the comparison above, each AI model – Adobe Firefly, Midjourney, and DALL-E – excels in different aspects of image generation.
Adobe Firefly stands out for its realistic and high-resolution images, particularly in photorealistic and product photography.
Midjourney shines with its artistic flair, making it ideal for creative and stylized imagery.
DALL-E offers better text-in-image capabilities and excels in abstract concepts, often with unique artistic interpretations.
The choice between these tools depends on the specific requirements of the task at hand.
I hope you learned something new from this article. Let me know if you have any questions or feedback.
FAQ
What is AI Image Generation?
AI Image Generation refers to the use of artificial intelligence to create images, often from textual descriptions called prompts.
Can you use generative AI tools for professional and commercial image generation?
Yes, all three tools have applications in professional contexts and allow commercial usage of the output.
What are the limitations of Adobe Firefly, DALL-E, and Midjourney?
Limitations include inconsistency of output, occasional inaccuracies in rendering complex prompts, and varying results based on the specificity of the input.
How user-friendly are AI image generation tools for beginners?
While most AI tools are user-friendly, each has a learning curve. DALL-E is one of the most accessible for beginners.
Is there any cost of using AI tools like Midjourney, DALL-E, and Adobe Firefly?
Yes, each tool has different pricing models, ranging from subscription-based to pay-per-use schemes.
