Producing images of a specimen includes introducing a specimen into a specimen chamber of a particle-beam device, selecting a specific position on the surface of the specimen, supplying a contrast-agent precursor on the specific position, providing a particle beam and/or a light beam, guiding the particle beam and/or the light beam onto the specific position, applying a contrast-agent layer to the specific position as a result of the interaction of the particle beam and/or the light beam with the contrast-agent precursor, leaving the contrast-agent layer on the surface of the specimen for a predetermined amount of time. During the predetermined amount of time, a first part of the contrast-agent layer diffuses into the specimen and a second part of the contrast-agent layer remains on the surface of the specimen. The specimen is imaged using an optical device and/or a particle-optical device and/or using the particle beam.