diff --git a/app.py b/app.py
index a10d3ec..a37e1ff 100644
--- a/app.py
+++ b/app.py
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@ import os
 import io
 import base64
 from dotenv import load_dotenv
-from fastapi import FastAPI, Form
+from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException
 from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse, StreamingResponse
+from pydantic import BaseModel
 from PIL import Image
 import moondream as md
 
@@ -17,44 +18,47 @@ model = md.vl(api_key=api_key)
 # FastAPI app
 app = FastAPI()
 
+# Utility to decode base64
 def decode_base64_image(base64_str: str) -> Image.Image:
     try:
-        image_data = base64.b64decode(base64_str.split(",")[-1])  # strip data URL prefix if present
+        image_data = base64.b64decode(base64_str.split(",")[-1])
         return Image.open(io.BytesIO(image_data))
     except Exception as e:
         raise ValueError("Invalid base64 image") from e
 
+# Request schemas
+class CaptionRequest(BaseModel):
+    base64_image: str
+    length: str = "short"
+
+class QueryRequest(BaseModel):
+    base64_image: str
+    question: str
+    stream: bool = False
+
 @app.post("/caption")
-async def generate_caption(
-    base64_image: str = Form(...),
-    length: str = Form("short")
-):
+async def generate_caption(payload: CaptionRequest):
     try:
-        img = decode_base64_image(base64_image)
-        response = model.caption(img, length=length)
-        return JSONResponse(content={"caption": response["caption"]})
+        img = decode_base64_image(payload.base64_image)
+        response = model.caption(img, length=payload.length)
+        return {"caption": response["caption"]}
     except Exception as e:
-        return JSONResponse(status_code=500, content={"error": str(e)})
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail=str(e))
 
 @app.post("/query")
-async def query_image(
-    base64_image: str = Form(...),
-    question: str = Form(...),
-    stream: bool = Form(False)
-):
+async def query_image(payload: QueryRequest):
     try:
-        img = decode_base64_image(base64_image)
+        img = decode_base64_image(payload.base64_image)
 
-        if stream:
+        if payload.stream:
             def generate():
-                result = model.query(img, question, stream=True)
+                result = model.query(img, payload.question, stream=True)
                 for chunk in result["chunk"]:
                     yield chunk
-
             return StreamingResponse(generate(), media_type="text/plain")
         else:
-            result = model.query(img, question)
-            return JSONResponse(content={"answer": result["answer"]})
+            result = model.query(img, payload.question)
+            return {"answer": result["answer"]}
 
     except Exception as e:
-        return JSONResponse(status_code=500, content={"error": str(e)})
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail=str(e))
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index b36e2a2..c1b2d1a 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -3,4 +3,5 @@ Pillow
 python-dotenv
 fastapi
 uvicorn
-python-multipart
\ No newline at end of file
+python-multipart
+pydantic
\ No newline at end of file