How to Use FLUX Outpainting on VdoBloom: Expand Any Photo for 12 Credits
A practical guide to FLUX Outpainting on VdoBloom — the per-side pixel sliders, the 2048 px ceiling, why it takes no prompt, the exact 12-credit cost, and when FLUX Erase or Kontext Pro is the better tool.
FLUX Outpainting is Black Forest Labs’ canvas-expansion model, and on VdoBloom it costs 12 credits per run — $0.60 at the Lite rate — to grow an image outward by up to 512 pixels on each of its four sides. The unusual part, and the thing that trips up most first-time users: it takes no prompt. The model is purely image-driven. You give it a photo and four numbers, it invents the surrounding scene from what it can already see, and any text you type is ignored.
What outpainting actually does — honestly
Outpainting is not cropping in reverse and it is not magic reconstruction. The model never saw what was outside your original frame. It looks at the edges of your photo — the run of a wall, the gradient of a sky, the grain of a table — and continues them plausibly. Continuation is the whole contract.
That means it excels when the extension is more of the same: sky above a landscape, floor below a portrait, wall beside a product. It struggles when the missing area would have contained something structured that the edges do not imply — a face half out of frame, readable signage, a hand that got cut off. Do not expect it to guess a person’s missing arm correctly. Expect it to give you convincing empty room.
Practical uses that work reliably:
- Turning a tight 4:3 photo into a wide banner by adding left and right room.
- Making headroom for a headline above a subject that sits too close to the top edge.
- Rescuing a shot where the composition is right but the crop is too tight for a platform’s safe area.
- Adding negative space around a product for packshot layouts.
Specs and exact cost
A credit is $0.05 on the Lite plan ($15 for 300 credits), which makes the arithmetic on this model straightforward — it is a single flat price with no resolution tiers.
| Spec | FLUX Outpainting |
|---|---|
| Developer | Black Forest Labs |
| Credit cost per run | 12 credits |
| Dollar cost per run | $0.60 at $0.05/credit |
| Source images | Exactly 1 |
| Prompt | Not used — the model is image-driven only |
| Expansion per side | 0 to 512 px, in steps of 16 px |
| Default per side | 64 px |
| Hard ceiling | Final dimension (source + opposite sides) must be 2048 px or less |
| Minimum valid run | At least one side above 0 px |
| Default aspect ratio in the editor | 1:1 |
| User rating | 4.2 |
Two constraints do real damage if you ignore them. First, the 2048 px ceiling is on the final dimension, not the amount you add — a 1800 px wide source can only take about 248 px of horizontal expansion in total before it breaks the limit, so use small values on large photos. Second, leaving all four sliders at zero is not a no-op; the run is rejected, because at least one direction must be above zero.
The exact steps
- Go to the image editor and select FLUX Outpainting from the model picker. It sits in the Flux Edit family alongside FLUX Erase.
- Upload one source image. The model accepts a single image — there is no mask to draw and no second input.
- Use the Expand Canvas (px per side) controls. Four sliders — Top, Right, Bottom, Left — each running 0 to 512 px in 16 px steps, each defaulting to 64 px.
- Zero out the sides you do not want to grow. If you are only widening, set Top and Bottom to 0 and push Left and Right. Asymmetric values are fine and often better: 0 px top, 256 px bottom moves your subject up in the frame.
- Check your arithmetic against 2048 px. Source width plus Left plus Right, and source height plus Top plus Bottom, both need to stay under it.
- Skip the prompt box. Anything you type there is passed along and discarded. Composition comes entirely from the slider values.
- Generate. 12 credits are charged for the run.
Getting better results
Expand in stages. Two runs of 256 px usually beat one run of 512 px, because each pass has a freshly generated, coherent edge to continue from. The cost is 24 credits instead of 12 — worth it when the first big pass comes back mushy.
Give it easy edges. Sky, water, plain walls, wood grain, bokeh backgrounds all extend beautifully. Crowds, text, architecture with strong perspective lines, and repeating patterns are where seams show.
Do not outpaint into the subject. If a person is cropped at the shoulder, the model will invent an arm, and it will be the wrong arm. Extend away from the subject, not through it.
Chain it with an instruction editor. Outpaint first to get the canvas, then run the result through Flux Kontext Pro at 7 credits to adjust what landed in the new space. That two-step — 19 credits, $0.95 — is the closest thing to directed outpainting the platform offers, since Outpainting itself accepts no direction.
If the photo shows a real, identifiable person, make sure you have that person’s consent before expanding and publishing the image.
When to use something else
| Goal | Right model | Credits | Takes a prompt? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add canvas outside the existing frame | FLUX Outpainting | 12 | No |
| Remove an object inside the frame with a mask | FLUX Erase | 10 | Yes (source + mask image) |
| Change something in the frame by instruction | Flux Kontext Pro | 7 | Yes |
| Control what appears in the new space | Outpaint, then Kontext Pro | 19 total | On the second pass |
| Reframe beyond 2048 px final size | Outpaint in stages, or re-generate at the target ratio | 24+ | Varies |
The decision is simple: inside the frame is Erase or Kontext, outside the frame is Outpainting. Nothing else on the platform grows a canvas the way this model does.
New accounts get 10 free credits with no card, which is not quite enough for a 12-credit outpaint — the smallest top-up is a $2.49 pack of 75 credits, and packs never expire. Paid plans also remove the watermark and add commercial rights. See pricing for the full breakdown.
Frequently asked questions
Why does FLUX Outpainting ignore my prompt?
Because the model is purely image-driven by design. It infers the extension from the pixels at the edges of your source image. The prompt field is accepted for API compatibility but has no effect on the result.
How much can I expand an image?
Up to 512 px per side, in 16 px steps, subject to a hard ceiling: the final dimension — source plus both opposite sides — must be 2048 px or less. Large source photos therefore take smaller expansions.
What does one run cost?
12 credits, or $0.60 at the Lite plan rate of $0.05 per credit. There are no resolution tiers.
Can I expand only one side?
Yes. Set the other three sliders to 0. At least one side must be above 0 px or the run is rejected.
What if the extension looks blurry or seamed?
Halve the expansion and run it twice. Each pass continues a freshly coherent edge, which produces cleaner results than one large jump, at the cost of a second 12-credit charge.
Do I need to upload a mask like FLUX Erase?
No. Erase needs a source image plus a mask image marking what to remove. Outpainting takes a single source image and four pixel values.
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