21 ChatGPT Prompts to Convert Your Photos to Stunning Portraits

I’ve been playing around with ChatGPT’s photo editing capabilities lately, and I’m honestly impressed by what it can do. You can take any regular photo and turn it into something that looks like it came straight from a professional studio.

The process is simple. Head over to chatgpt.com, upload your photo, and use one of these prompts I’ve tested.

I used a stock photo from Pixabay for my examples, but these work great for both men and women.

Want to get more specific? Just add details about clothing, accessories, or the mood you’re going for.

Here are 21 prompts that have given me amazing results:

1. High-End Fashion Magazine Portrait

Turn this photo into a high-end studio portrait for a fashion magazine. Soft diffused lighting, neutral grey backdrop, shallow depth of field, styled as if by a celebrity fashion photographer. Subtle skin retouching and editorial color grading.

Perfect for when you want that glossy magazine look. The lighting comes out beautifully soft, and the background stays clean and professional.

2. Golden Hour Outdoor Portrait

Transform this into a candid outdoor portrait during golden hour. Natural sunlight softly illuminating the face, gentle breeze through the hair, warm tones, and a creamy bokeh background. Lifelike, magazine-style photography.

This one gives you that magical sunset glow. The warmth in the colors makes any photo feel more inviting and natural.

3. Cinematic Character Portrait

Make this a dramatic, cinematic character portrait. Moody lighting from one side, dark background, strong catchlight in the eyes. The subject looks intense and focused, like a character from a serious film or TV drama.

Great for creating that mysterious, movie-poster vibe. The lighting creates real depth and emotion.

4. Vogue Editorial Style

Turn this into a high-fashion editorial portrait from Vogue. Minimalist background, striking pose, elegant styling, soft shadows, rich colors. Skin is retouched subtly, and overall vibe is sleek and upscale.

When you want to look like you belong on the cover of a luxury magazine, this prompt delivers.

5. Timeless Black and White

Convert this photo into a timeless black-and-white studio portrait. Deep contrast, crisp focus on the eyes, soft vignette. Captures depth and emotion like a classic portrait.

Sometimes removing color makes a photo more powerful. This creates that classic, gallery-worthy look.

6. Professional LinkedIn Headshot

Transform this into a clean, modern, professional headshot suitable for LinkedIn. Subtle lighting, soft neutral background, confident and approachable expression, clear sharp focus with polished finish.

Perfect for business use. You’ll look professional but still approachable.

7. Travel Influencer Style

Convert this to a vibrant lifestyle portrait as if taken by a travel influencer. Natural outdoor background with light sun flares, candid smile, fresh and authentic feel. High-resolution, subtly color graded.

This gives you that effortless, Instagram-ready look that travel bloggers are known for.

8. Red Carpet Celebrity Portrait

Transform this into a red carpet-style celebrity portrait. Elegant lighting, paparazzi flash simulation in the background, perfect skin and confident pose, as if from a Vanity Fair Oscar party.

Feel like a star with this glamorous treatment. The lighting mimics professional event photography.

9. Modern Urban Portrait

Transform this into a modern urban portrait with soft natural lighting, shallow depth of field, and blurred city lights in the background. Candid, confident pose with a stylish, contemporary vibe.

Great for that city-dweller aesthetic. The blurred lights create a beautiful bokeh effect.

10. Moody Window Portrait

Turn this into a reflective indoor portrait with raindrops on a window in the background. Soft cool tones, gentle lighting on the face, slightly melancholic expression — a cinematic, moody feel.

This creates such an artistic, contemplative mood. Perfect for more emotional portraits.

11. Cozy Café Portrait

Turn this into a cozy indoor portrait in a stylish café. Warm lighting, wooden textures in the background, subject sitting by a window with soft bokeh outside, holding a cup of coffee.

Nothing beats that warm, intimate café atmosphere. This makes any photo feel more personal and inviting.

12. Vintage Film Style

Convert this into a vintage film-style portrait. Slight grain, muted colors, 1970s fashion aesthetic, natural expression and ambient outdoor lighting.

Love that retro look? This adds just the right amount of grain and muted tones for an authentic vintage feel.

13. Executive Portrait

Turn this into a bold executive portrait. Dark elegant background, clean lighting on the face, powerful expression and confident posture — like a Forbes magazine cover.

When you need to look like you mean business, this prompt creates that authoritative presence.

14. Winter Snow Portrait

Make this a snowy winter portrait. Soft falling snow, cold misty background, subject in warm clothing with natural flushed cheeks. Clean and emotional tone.

The snow effects look surprisingly realistic, and the cold-weather glow is really flattering.

15. Neon Night Portrait

Turn this into a night portrait with neon reflections. Colorful lights casting blue and pink hues on the face, shallow depth of field, urban nightlife vibe, stylish outfit.

This creates such a cool, modern city night atmosphere. The neon colors look amazing against skin tones.

16. Fitness Portrait

Make this a fitness-inspired portrait in natural light. Subject in activewear, outdoor setting with green trees or beach behind, healthy skin tone and confident body language.

Perfect for health and fitness content. The natural lighting makes everything look vibrant and healthy.

17. Clean Minimalist Portrait

Make this a clean minimalist portrait. Pure white background, even lighting, no distractions — focus entirely on facial features and posture. Professional and timeless.

Sometimes less is more. This creates a clean, gallery-worthy look that puts all focus on the subject.

18. High-Contrast Drama

Convert this into a high-contrast black background portrait. Strong single light on the face, deep shadows, intense expression. Powerful and dramatic composition.

The contrast here is striking. Perfect for creating dramatic, artistic portraits.

19. Boho Style Portrait

Turn this into a relaxed boho-style portrait. Natural elements like feathers or sunlight filtering through lace, earthy warm tones, and a serene, soulful vibe.

This creates such a peaceful, artistic atmosphere. Great for anyone who loves that free-spirited aesthetic.

20. Beachside Portrait

Make this a sunny beachside portrait. Clear sky, ocean blurred in the background, glowing skin tone, light breeze and a relaxed smile.

The beach setting looks incredibly natural, and the lighting gives that perfect sun-kissed glow.

21. Beauty Magazine Cover

Transform this into a close-up beauty shot. Soft flawless skin texture, light contouring, smooth background gradient, sharp eyes, glossy lips — like a cover photo for Elle or Allure.

This is perfect for beauty content. The skin retouching is subtle but effective, and the focus on facial features is amazing.

The best part about these prompts is how easy they are to use. Just pick the style you want, upload your photo to ChatGPT, and paste in the prompt. You can always tweak the results by asking for adjustments or combining elements from different styles.

I’ve found that higher quality input photos generally give better results, but even smartphone photos can be transformed into something special with the right prompt. Give these a try and see which styles work best for your photos!