Seedream 4.5 is now powering ImageGen, delivering sharper identity preservation, richer cinematic aesthetics, and more accurate prompt handling.
AI image generation continues to accelerate, and Bytedance’s latest release, Seedream 4.5, marks a major leap forward in both realism and control. Seedream 4.5 builds on the SD4 family, offering improved identity preservation, enhanced aesthetics, and significantly more accurate instruction following.
We’ve now upgraded Envato ImageGen to use Seedream 4.5 in workflows that involve a reference image. This means you’ll immediately see better results when enhancing photos, applying stylistic changes, or generating variations.
You don’t need to change your workflow; ImageGen automatically produces better results, alongside other models under the hood in ImageGen, such as Flux.2 and Nano Banana Pro.
Let’s unpack what’s new.
What is Seedream 4.5?
Seedream 4.5 is Bytedance’s newest evolution of the SD4 image model, designed to deliver:
- Stronger preservation of faces and subject identity
- More cinematic, aesthetically refined output
- Smarter interpretation of multi-step instructions
- Cleaner textures and better lighting control
The model’s improved ability to hold onto the details of the original image, while still applying creative direction, makes it one of the most powerful SD4-class upgrades to date.
How Seedream 4.5 enhances ImageGen
Seedream 4.5 improves ImageGen in three major ways, especially in reference-image workflows.
1. Better preservation of original images
Seedream 4.5 is significantly better at maintaining:
- Facial identity and expressions
- Lighting direction and color tone
- Hair detail
- Subject proportions
- Fine textures
This means your enhanced or restyled images no longer drift away from the original person or product.
2. More cinematic, aesthetic results
Seedream 4.5 delivers richer artistic qualities, including:
- Film-like lighting
- More natural shadows
- Balanced highlights
- Subtle color grading
- Stronger composition instincts
Images appear polished and intentional, making them especially useful for social visuals, branding, and editorial-style content.
3. Smarter instruction following
The model follows complex or multi-step prompts far more accurately. This includes:
- Workflow-style prompts (“brighten the image, keep the face the same, change the background”)
- Detailed stylistic requests
- Layered modifications
This means fewer retries and faster iteration, especially for precise creative direction.
How Envato subscribers benefit
Seedream 4.5 upgrades your workflow automatically, eliminating the need for extra switches, menus, or technical settings.
In other words, ImageGen simply improves, allowing your visuals to become more professional with less effort.
Seedream 4.5 FAQs
What is Seedream 4.5?
Seedream 4.5 is Bytedance’s upgraded SD4 image generation model, offering improved identity preservation, enhanced aesthetics, and more accurate handling of multi-step instructions.
How does Seedream 4.5 improve ImageGen?
It enhances reference-image workflows by preserving faces, lighting, color tone, and details more closely to the original image while improving overall visual quality.
Do subscribers need to activate Seedream 4.5?
No. The upgrade happens automatically. ImageGen uses Seedream 4.5 behind the scenes in applicable workflows.
Which images see the biggest improvement?
Portraits, product shots, lifestyle imagery, and any reference-image-based generation — especially when likeness and detail are important.
Is Seedream 4.5 better at following prompts?
Yes. It handles complex, multi-step, and nuanced instructions with far greater precision than SD4.
Does this improve aesthetic quality?
Absolutely. Seedream 4.5 produces more cinematic lighting, richer shadows, more refined color grading, and overall more visually appealing results.
Is ImageGen still fast with Seedream 4.5?
Yes. Performance remains efficient while delivering noticeably improved output quality.
