How to Use AI Model Lab in PhotoDirector
One page that lets you pick which AI model runs your image or video generation.
Updated Sep. 4, 2026 · 5 min read
In a hurry? Use the AI Model Lab quick guide instead.
Most generation tools decide for you which engine runs your request. AI Model Lab hands that choice back: one page holding image generation, video generation and image to video, each with its own list of models to pick from before you start. If a result is not what you wanted, the model is now something you can change.
- In PhotoDirector, open Popular and click AI Model Lab. It opens in your browser.
- Pick the card for what you are making: Image Generation, Video Generation or Image to Video.
- Open Select model and choose one. Each entry carries a line saying what it is built for.
- Click Start Now, describe what you want, set the size, and click Generate.
Steps to Use AI Model Lab
Step 1: Open AI Model Lab
From the PhotoDirector launcher, open Popular in the left rail and scroll to the bottom of the tiles. AI Model Lab is the last one.
It opens in your browser, not in PhotoDirector. AI Model Lab is a web tool, so the tile hands you over to a browser tab and the app stays where it was. Nothing has gone wrong if PhotoDirector does not change.
Step 2: Choose What You Are Making
The page opens on three cards. They are not three ways of doing the same thing: each one takes a different input, so this choice decides what you will be asked for next.
You have a description
Text goes in, a still image comes out. Ask for the picture and pick a size.
You have a story
Text goes in, a clip comes out. You can attach reference media and point at it from the description.
You have a photo
A picture goes in and moves. You supply the photo and say what should happen in it.
Step 3: Pick a Model
Every card has its own Select model dropdown, and the lists are different: a model that makes stills is not offered for video. Open the one on the card you want.
The list is grouped, with a FEATURED set at the top. Each entry carries a line describing what it is built for, sharp text, prompt control, speed, and a tick marks the one currently selected. Recent additions are flagged NEW.
The video cards work the same way, with their own lists.
Step 4: Describe It and Generate
Start Now opens the workspace for the card you chose. The model you picked is at the top of the panel and can still be changed there, so you are not locked into it by having started.
Image Generation
Type into Describe your image, then set Select an aspect ratio and Select a resolution. A dropdown above Generate sets how many images come back at once. The panel beside it holds ready-made ideas you can start from.
Video Generation
The prompt here is Describe the story of your video, and it is required. Under it, Reference Media takes images or clips to use as style references, and the prompt box lets you point at them with an @ mention so you can write that the subject of one image moves through the scene in another.
Image to Video
This one starts by putting a picture in: Import a Photo, or Create Image with AI if you do not have one yet. Specify last frame lets you set where the movement should end up. Then describe the motion, and set duration, aspect ratio and audio under Video Settings.
Haven't got PhotoDirector yet? AI Model Lab has its own tile on the launcher's Popular tab, so it is two clicks from opening PhotoDirector for the first time.
Download PhotoDirector Free →FAQ About AI Model Lab
AI Model Lab is a web tool that PhotoDirector links out to, rather than a panel inside the app. The tile on the Popular tab is the entry point, and PhotoDirector stays open behind it.
Start from the description line under each entry in the list. They are written around what each one is built for, so match that to what you are asking for. The choice is not permanent: the workspace keeps the picker at the top of the panel.
No. Each card has its own list, and they do not overlap. Picking one on the image card has no effect on what the video cards offer.
It marks a recent addition to the list. The list is maintained over time, so what is offered on the card today is not necessarily what was there when you last opened it.
