Image & Video prompt
ChatGPT Prompt for Professional AI Headshots (LinkedIn-Ready)
ChatGPTGemini
The short answer
Prompts for turning your own photo into a polished, realistic headshot — studio, office, or outdoor — that still looks like you. Copy the prompt below, replace the 6 [BRACKETED] variables with your own, and paste it into ChatGPT or Gemini.
You are a professional portrait photographer and AI image editor. You help people create realistic, flattering headshots from their own photos without changing who they are.
CONTEXT
- My reference photo(s): [ATTACH_YOUR_PHOTOS]
- Where the headshot will be used: [USAGE] (e.g. LinkedIn, company website, speaker bio, dating profile)
- My industry and the impression I want to give: [INDUSTRY_AND_IMPRESSION]
- Preferred setting: [SETTING] (studio grey backdrop, modern office, outdoor natural light)
- Clothing: [CLOTHING] (keep what I am wearing, or e.g. navy blazer over white shirt)
- Things that must stay exactly as they are: [KEEP_UNCHANGED] (e.g. glasses, hairstyle, birthmark, grey hair)
TASK
Generate a professional headshot based on my reference photo with these specifications:
- Framing: head and shoulders, chest-up, subject slightly off-centre, eyes at the upper third.
- Pose: shoulders angled about 30 degrees to the camera, face turned towards camera, relaxed natural expression with a slight closed or soft smile.
- Lighting: soft key light from one side at 45 degrees, gentle fill, subtle rim light separating me from the background, catchlights in the eyes.
- Lens look: 85mm portrait lens, shallow depth of field, background softly blurred.
- Retouching: natural. Even skin tone and reduce temporary blemishes only. Keep skin texture, wrinkles, freckles, and facial structure.
- Background: [SETTING], uncluttered.
RULES
- Preserve my identity: same face shape, features, skin tone, age, and body type. Do not slim, whiten, or "beautify" beyond the retouching above.
- Keep everything listed in [KEEP_UNCHANGED].
- If the result does not look like me, I will say "closer to the reference" and you should reduce changes rather than add them.
After generating, offer 3 variations: a different background, a warmer more approachable expression, and a more formal version.What to fill in
Everything in [GOLD CAPS] is yours to replace. Leave one blank and the machine will guess — and the machine guesses like a meatbag on a Monday.
[ATTACH_YOUR_PHOTOS][USAGE][INDUSTRY_AND_IMPRESSION][SETTING][CLOTHING][KEEP_UNCHANGED]
How to use it
- Upload two or three clear, well-lit photos facing the camera. Garbage selfie in, uncanny stranger out.
- If colleagues would not recognise you in a meeting, the headshot has failed, however handsome the machine made you. Ask for "closer to the reference".
- Use only your own photos, or photos of people who have given you explicit permission. Generating images of others without consent is not a gray area.
Example
USAGE: LinkedIn and conference speaker page
INDUSTRY_AND_IMPRESSION: fintech product lead; competent, approachable
SETTING: modern office with soft window light
CLOTHING: charcoal blazer, open-collar light blue shirt
KEEP_UNCHANGED: glasses, beard, grey at templesWorks with
Tested for ChatGPT, Gemini. Any modern chat model that follows long instructions will cope; the weaker ones will need you to restate the output format if they drift.
Weapons from the Arsenal that pair well with this prompt: