The exact prompt I used to make my AI portrait
The photo of me in the redwoods on this site is AI-generated from real photos of me. This is the prompt that made it, word for word. Take it, it’s free.
Jump to the promptWhat you need
ChatGPT. I wrote and tested this in ChatGPT, and that’s where I’d start. Image generation is on the paid plan, and the free plan limits how many you get, so check what your account allows before you sit down to do this.
Three to five real photos of yourself. Recent, unfiltered, no heavy edits. A straight-on shot, a three-quarter or side view, one smiling, one neutral, and one wider photo that shows your actual build. The wider one matters more than people expect, because it’s what keeps the result from giving you someone else’s body.
Twenty minutes. Mine did not come out right the first time. Plan on a few rounds.
How to use it
Attach your photos first
Put the photos in the same message as the prompt. If you send the prompt on its own, it has nothing to work from.
Fill in the brackets, or don’t
Anything in square brackets is a question for you. If you know what you want, replace the brackets with your answer. If you have no idea, leave them exactly as they are and it will interview you one question at a time before it generates anything. That part is deliberate.
Look at the face before anything else
The most common failure is a version of you that’s been quietly smoothed into a stock model. Check your hairline, your skin texture, your build, and your eyes. If it made you younger or thinner or gave you a face that isn’t yours, say so plainly and ask it to try again.
Fix one thing at a time
Asking for six changes at once tends to give you a different photo instead of a corrected one. Name the single worst problem, get that fixed, then move to the next.
The prompt
I want you to create a completely new, photorealistic image of me using the reference photos I attach. The reference photos should be used only to establish my identity, current appearance, and body proportions. Unless I explicitly say otherwise, fabricate the outfit, setting, pose, composition, lighting, and every other part of the photoshoot. Identity fidelity takes priority over beautification. Keep the natural characteristics and imperfections that make me recognizable, but photograph me under ideal conditions with professional lighting, color, focus, and exposure. REFERENCE PHOTOS I am attaching recent, unfiltered photos of the same person in this same message. Three to five works best. When possible, these include: * A clear frontal photo * A three-quarter or profile view * A natural smiling expression * A neutral expression * A wider photo showing my build and proportions Preserve my recognizable facial geometry, visible age, hairline, hair texture, eye appearance, facial-hair density, skin texture, natural asymmetry, distinctive features, and realistic body proportions. HOW TO HANDLE MISSING INFORMATION Anything still written inside square brackets below has not been answered. Treat brackets as blank, not as my choice. If most of the brief is still in brackets, do not generate anything yet. Interview me first. Ask one short question at a time and wait for my answer before asking the next. Keep it to about six questions, starting with what the photo is for and where it will be used. When you have enough to work with, summarize the brief back to me in a few lines, and generate only after I confirm. If only a few items are missing, do not interview me. Ask up to three short clarifying questions, or make a sensible choice yourself that supports the intended use, briefly state what you chose, and proceed. If I wrote "choose for me" anywhere, that is an answer. Make a tasteful choice and keep going. CREATIVE BRIEF Intended use: [Website hero / professional headshot / LinkedIn / dating profile / social media / personal brand / editorial / print / other] Audience or desired impression: [Professional and approachable / confident / creative / warm / adventurous / sophisticated / relaxed / authoritative / other] Photographic style: [Polished natural editorial / professional and approachable / candid lifestyle / cinematic / luxury fashion / rugged outdoor / minimal studio / warm film-inspired / bright commercial / dark and moody / choose for me] Setting: [Studio / office / creative workspace / home / kitchen / city street / architecture / cafe / hotel / forest / redwoods / mountains / beach / coast / desert / park / garden / event / nightlife / another real or imagined setting] Location details or season: [Describe the environment, geographic region, weather, season, or background details] Outfit: [Describe garments, colors, fabrics, fit, layers, shoes, and level of formality] Examples: * Forest-green knit polo with tailored stone trousers * Graphite overshirt over a neutral fitted shirt * Modern business casual without a suit or tie * Relaxed upscale weekend clothing * Choose a stylish, cohesive, logo-free outfit for me Grooming: [Preserve exactly / tidy naturally / describe a plausible temporary hairstyle, beard styling, or makeup choice] Colors to favor: [Colors] Colors to avoid: [Colors] Orientation and aspect ratio: [1:1 square / 4:5 portrait / 3:2 landscape / 16:9 website hero / 21:9 wide banner / choose based on intended use] Framing: [Close headshot / chest-up / waist-up / three-quarter / full body] Subject placement: [Centered / left side / right side / choose based on layout] Text-safe space: [None / left / right / above / below] If this is for a website, reserve a calm, lower-detail area for headlines and buttons. Keep me on the opposite side and allow generous crop-safe margins for desktop and mobile layouts. Pose or activity: [Standing naturally / seated / walking / leaning casually / working / cooking / outdoors / describe another pose or activity / choose for me] Expression: [Warm smile / subtle smile / neutral confidence / candid laugh / thoughtful / serious / other] Eye line: [Looking into the camera / looking slightly away / candid and unposed / other] Lighting or time of day: [Soft natural daylight / golden hour / overcast daylight / window light / studio lighting / dramatic directional light / nighttime ambient light / choose for me] Mood and color treatment: [Warm and inviting / neutral and refined / earthy / cinematic / bright and clean / dark and atmospheric / film-inspired / other] Background focus: [Sharp environmental detail / moderate depth of field / soft natural bokeh] Realism and retouching: [Authentic / polished editorial / campaign-level] Regardless of the selection, preserve real skin texture, pores, age, facial structure, hairline, facial-hair variation, and natural asymmetry. Use restrained professional retouching without reshaping my face or body or creating plastic-looking skin. Props or supporting elements: [None / describe any objects, furniture, tools, vehicles, animals, or environmental elements] Must preserve: [List any especially important features] Must include: [List required wardrobe, setting, composition, or other elements] Must avoid: [List unwanted clothing, colors, poses, settings, props, visual styles, or appearance changes] Number of variations: Generate one strong image. If I want alternatives, I will ask for them in a follow-up message. GENERATION INSTRUCTIONS Create an original professional photograph based on this brief. Do not copy the pose, outfit, background, or composition of my reference photos unless I specifically request it. Use realistic professional photography characteristics: believable lens perspective, accurate anatomy, natural posture, realistic hands when visible, authentic skin and hair detail, coherent lighting and shadows, and natural integration between the subject and background. Do not: * Replace my face with a generic model-like face * Change my visible age, eye color, facial structure, body type, or proportions * Lower, thicken, or redesign my hairline * Make my hair or facial hair unnaturally uniform * Excessively smooth my skin * Create fake-looking teeth or an uncanny gaze * Add unrequested people, props, text, logos, or watermarks * Make the background look like a separate artificial plate After you generate the image, tell me in a line or two what I should check: likeness, anatomy, hands, wardrobe, crop, background continuity, lighting, and any requested text-safe space. If something is visibly wrong, I will tell you what to fix and you can generate a corrected version.
Copied straight from the message I actually sent, with one section added since.
Two things worth saying out loud
Only use photos of yourself. This works because it’s built to hold onto a real person’s face. That’s exactly why it isn’t something to point at someone who didn’t agree to it.
Say when a photo is AI. I put a line right under mine on this site saying it’s AI-generated from real photos of me. Told up front, it’s a demo of the thing I teach. Found out later, it’s a reason not to trust me. That’s a bad trade for a photo.
Guides go out to the newsletter before they go anywhere else. No hype, no daily emails, just the things that held up when I actually used them.