Chesny Shares a ChatGPT Prompt for Film Studio Portraits

On June 15, Chesny—an AI content creator with more than 22,000 followers—posted a viral thread with a ChatGPT prompt to generate studio portraits. "You just have to copy it, describe your idea and it generates an image exactly what you have in mind," he wrote. The post accumulated more than 11,000 views, 80 likes and almost 100 saved in just a few hours.

AI Prompt · How to do it

Example image from Chesny's original thread. @chesny

Steps

1. Open chatgpt.com with access to image generation.
2. Copy the prompt below (it is in English, the language ChatGPT responds best to).
3. Replace “subject” with your description: “a young woman with curly hair”, “a man in a leather jacket”, etc.
4. Generates the image and adjusts with a follow-up message if more contrast or less fog is needed.

Prompt to copy

This highly detailed cinematic studio portrait focuses on a subject positioned against a black seamless studio background, utilizing a sophisticated 3-point lighting scheme to achieve professional studio realism. The primary feature is a powerful rim light that creates a bright, ethereal contour glow around the silhouette, emphasizing the subject's form through an intense backlight. This rim light interacts with a subtle haze in the air, catching the illumination to add atmospheric depth to the moody low-key setup. The facial features are defined by dramatic shadows and high contrast, controlled to maintain sharp details and photorealistic skin textures. Glossy eye reflections add life to the gaze, characteristic of high-end editorial fashion photography. The composition is presented in a 4:5 aspect ratio, rendered in 8K resolution with high dynamic range to ensure every element—from the soft key light to the sharpest highlight—is rendered with ultra-sharp clarity.

Requires ChatGPT with active imaging. The original prompt is in this answer by Chesny. Do not upload photos from third parties without permission.

What makes this prompt special

Unlike simply asking for "a professional portrait," Chesny breaks down three-point lighting—key, fill, and contour light—and names each element that matters in studio photography: the rim light that separates the subject from the background, the subtle fog that catches the light, the dramatic shadows on the face, and the highlights in the eyes. It also sets 4:5 format (ideal for Instagram), 8K resolution and HDR, terms that push the model towards an editorial finish instead of a generic photo.

The rim light technique—contour light from behind—is the same one that fashion photographers use to draw the model's profile on a dark background. By specifying it in text, ChatGPT simulates that setup without you having to know technical studio terminology, although it helps to know that "low-key" implies a dark scene with few midtones.

How to customize it

The prompt does not describe a specific character: the keyword is subject. Before pasting it, add something like: "Cinematic studio portrait of a [YOUR DESCRIPTION]" at the beginning. You can include age, clothing, expression or style ("editorial fashion", "corporate headshot", "moody musician"). If the result is too dark, ask in a second message: "increase fill light ratio" or "soften shadows on the face."

Reaction in X

Chesny posted the visual example and prompt text in two consecutive posts on June 15 at 14:27 UTC. The Spanish AI community shared it as a ready-made template for profile portraits, covers, and promotional material. The creator defines himself as "bridging AI" and is a member of AISC Work, a community of creators focused on artificial intelligence tools.