ChatGPT
Crimson Shadow Portrait
Written for ChatGPT. Results and reference-photo support may differ across models.
The complete prompt
Use the uploaded user photo as the **ONLY source of the main subject’s identity**. Preserve the user’s exact recognizable identity with maximum fidelity: facial structure, face shape, proportions, forehead, hairline, eyebrows, natural eye shape and spacing, nose, lips, cheeks, cheekbones, jawline, chin, skin tone, natural skin texture, facial hair if present, and all distinctive facial characteristics. **STRICT IDENTITY PRESERVATION:** do not replace, redesign, beautify, stylize, slim, age, de-age, masculinize, feminize, or reinterpret the user’s face. Do not copy the identity of the reference subject. The user photo determines **WHO THE PERSON IS**; the reference determines **HOW THAT person appears in the scene**. If the user and reference differ in gender or appearance, always preserve the user’s identity and natural gender presentation.
Recreate the reference image as a highly detailed **vertical 4:5 cinematic editorial portrait**. Show the user’s subject from approximately the upper chest/shoulders to slightly above the top of the hair, filling most of the frame. The subject is positioned centrally and faces almost directly toward the camera with a subtle natural downward head inclination and a composed, introspective, mysterious attitude. Reproduce the reference head position, neck angle, facial orientation, eye direction, and overall posture precisely. The face should remain the user’s recognizable face while adopting the reference subject’s exact visual behavior.
**EXPRESSION & GAZE:** completely replace the expression from the user’s source photo with the reference expression. Create a serious, calm, slightly brooding and emotionally restrained expression. The lips are relaxed and gently closed with a subtle natural tension, not smiling. The eyebrows remain naturally positioned according to the reference mood. The eyes are partially obscured by dark oval sunglasses, but maintain the reference’s forward-facing gaze direction and subtle downward/introspective attitude beneath the glasses. The sunglasses should sit naturally across the bridge of the user’s nose and follow the user’s facial anatomy without altering identity.
**HAIR & ACCESSORIES:** recreate the reference styling with thick, naturally tousled medium-length dark hair, parted loosely near the center with soft waves and strands falling naturally around the forehead and temples. Adapt the hairstyle to the user’s existing hairline, hair characteristics, and identity without changing who they are. Add small, narrow, rounded-oval black sunglasses with very dark lenses and a slim dark frame, positioned naturally on the face. If facial hair is present on the user, preserve its authentic pattern and texture while allowing the overall grooming to harmonize with the reference styling; never invent facial characteristics that contradict the user’s identity.
**CLOTHING:** subject wears a simple oversized or relaxed-fit black crew-neck sweater/shirt with a slightly textured knitted or fabric surface. The neckline sits naturally around the base of the neck. Clothing is almost entirely black with subtle tonal texture visible in the highlights. No logos, text, graphics, jewelry, or unnecessary accessories.
**BACKGROUND & COMPOSITION:** behind the subject is a large distressed circular red halo/disc centered approximately behind the head and upper shoulders. The circle is deep crimson/dark red with heavily weathered, grungy black speckling, scratches, rough paint texture, uneven edges, and distressed patches. It resembles an aged painted graphic or worn concrete stencil rather than a clean geometric circle. The outer background surrounding the red circle is almost completely black, charcoal, and very dark gray with rough gritty texture, subtle scratches, grain, dust, and irregular distressed marks. The red circle frames the head like a graphic halo while remaining partially hidden by the subject’s hair and shoulders. Keep the composition symmetrical, bold, minimal, and poster-like.
**LIGHTING:** use dramatic low-key studio lighting with strong directional illumination concentrated on the face and upper torso. The face is warmly illuminated with rich natural skin tones while the hair, sweater, and surrounding background fall into deep blacks. Create pronounced but realistic facial shadows around the cheeks, nose, jawline, and under the sunglasses. Add subtle warm highlights to the skin and hair strands. The red circular background should remain saturated and visibly textured without overpowering the face. Preserve deep blacks, high contrast, controlled highlights, and cinematic tonal separation.
**VISUAL STYLE:** photorealistic cinematic editorial photography blended with a sophisticated distressed fine-art/poster aesthetic. Extremely detailed skin texture, realistic pores, individual hair strands, authentic fabric texture, natural facial anatomy, realistic sunglasses reflections, subtle film grain, gritty analog texture, slightly desaturated shadows, rich blacks, deep crimson red, warm skin tones, and crisp micro-contrast. The image should feel like a premium dark fashion editorial portrait mixed with a vintage underground album-cover aesthetic, not a cartoon or illustration.
**CAMERA:** eye-level camera positioned close to the subject, approximately a medium close-up portrait perspective with an equivalent focal length around 70–85mm. Avoid wide-angle distortion. Keep facial proportions natural and realistic. Camera faces the subject almost straight-on with only the subtle head orientation visible in the reference. Shallow-to-moderate depth of field keeps the face, sunglasses, hair, and upper clothing highly detailed while the gritty background remains textured but slightly softer. Maintain the exact centered framing and visual balance of the reference.
**COLOR & FINISH:** dominant palette of black, charcoal, deep crimson red, and warm natural skin tones. Strong cinematic contrast, slightly crushed blacks, subtle warm highlights, fine photographic grain, distressed texture overlay, controlled sharpening, and premium editorial color grading. Do not introduce additional colors, objects, scenery, text, logos, typography, borders, or graphic elements.
**STRICT RECREATION RULE:** reproduce the reference image’s composition, subject scale, centered placement, head position, posture, expression, gaze direction, sunglasses, hairstyle concept, black clothing, red circular halo, distressed black background, lighting pattern, contrast, color palette, camera perspective, framing, and overall mood as closely as possible. The only fundamental substitution is the person’s identity: the final subject must unmistakably remain the person from the uploaded user photo. Do not allow the reference person’s facial identity to influence the result. Final output must look like the user naturally photographed in this exact reference concept, with a serious mysterious editorial presence and authentic photorealistic detail.Copy the complete prompt and use your own reference photos where requested.
Example image provided with this prompt. This prompt has not been tested by our site.


