Disclaimer: This is an independent creative test made with AI, for demonstration only. It isn't an ad for any brand shown or named, and isn't affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by them. All trademarks belong to their owners
GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst vs Nano Banana Pro - painterly profile portrait from one prompt
Recreating a portrait that melts into the dark, using measurements instead of adjectives
Tested by Nouamane Benbrahim
Can you get AI to make a portrait that looks like a painting?
I found a photo I couldn't stop looking at. A runner in strict profile, half of him melting into the black behind him, only the top of his head and his nose catching the sun. It honestly looks like an old oil painting. So I tried to recreate it from scratch, no reference attached.
Here's my exact process.
1. The lazy version
First, the simple version: a lean man after a run, side profile, against a wall.
You get a stock fitness ad. Nothing melts into the dark. His whole face is lit, there's a skyline behind him and he's posing for the light.
Exact prompt
A bald Black man in his 40s with a lean, slim, average build (not muscular) and short grey stubble, wearing a loose washed taupe cotton long-sleeve shirt, standing against a wall after a run, side profile, dramatic lighting, cinematic, high quality.
2. Measure the reference
This is the step that made the biggest difference. Instead of eyeballing the photo, I had Claude actually measure it. The black covers about 60% of the frame. The top of his head is 3% from the top edge. His nose is about 5% from the right edge. And his face sits at about 8% brightness, almost as dark as the black behind him.
That last number was the big one. I'd been asking for a "shadowed face" and getting a normal lit portrait every time. In the original his face is basically a silhouette.
3. Run the same prompt on two models
I wrote all of that into one prompt. The first model ignored half of it. Because I wrote "doorway", it drew an actual door frame. It also lit his whole face and gave him a ton of headroom.
Exact prompt
Create a new photorealistic image. Editorial fashion photography, unretouched, no beauty filter, no skin smoothing. A real photograph of a man in strict side profile standing at the edge of a pitch-black open doorway in a sunlit wall, so most of his head and body dissolve into the black and only the top planes catch the sun. THE VIBE: Quiet, heavy, monumental. A runner a minute after a hard run, catching his breath in the shade of a doorway at noon. It reads like an old-master chiaroscuro painting: the figure is carved out of darkness by a few strokes of light, not lit like a portrait. IDENTITY LOCK: A Black man about 45, very deep brown skin with a warm red-brown undertone, a clean-shaven head with a strong rounded skull, short grey-and-black stubble along the jaw and chin, a broad straight nose, full lips parted as he breathes through his mouth. Mature structure: defined cheekbone and brow ridge, firm jaw. THE SUBJECT: He wears the washed heavyweight long-sleeve cotton tee in a faded mushroom-taupe, boxy fit, dropped shoulder seam, crew collar, a slightly brushed matte surface with a few soft creases across the chest, and the small tonal embroidered word "RUNNING" on the chest in the same taupe thread, barely legible. He stands completely still, head and body in a strict 90-degree profile facing frame right, shoulders relaxed, arms hanging, gaze level and straight ahead out of frame. No eye contact; his far eye is not visible. THE FACE: Real, unretouched skin with fine visible texture, faint pores, slightly uneven natural tone, a few tiny imperfections. Minimal natural makeup: bare skin, no foundation, no contour, no highlighter. Warm red-brown depth in the shadows, never ashy or grey. The ONLY shine is fresh sweat: beads and a wet specular sheen across the top of the scalp, catching on individual pores. Stubble as individual short hairs with a soft irregular line. THE SETTING: A flat, smooth plaster wall painted a chalky dusty mauve-grey (pale pinkish lilac grey), sunlit and flat, filling the right side of the frame in front of his face and chest. Directly behind him, filling the left side of the frame from the top edge to the bottom edge, is a pitch-black void: the unlit interior of an open doorway, pure black, no visible detail, no texture, no gradient. The straight vertical edge where the black meets the mauve wall runs down from the top edge just behind the back of his skull. THE LIGHT: KEY: hard, high midday sun from almost directly overhead and slightly in front of him (upper right). It strikes ONLY the top planes: the crown of his head (bright specular sweat highlights), the top of the brow ridge, a small triangle on the upper cheekbone, the tip of the nose, the upper lip, the top of the shoulder and the front of the chest. Everything below and behind those planes falls into deep shadow: the eye socket, the ear, the side of the face, the jaw, the neck and the entire sleeve sit three to four stops under, almost black, so his face reads nearly as a silhouette against the wall, defined only by its few lit edges. His chin casts a hard dark shadow onto the shirt below the collar. FIELD: the mauve wall is the brightest surface in frame; the lit shirt front sits about one stop darker than the wall, a warm taupe. INTEGRATION: the back of his head, his neck, his back and his whole sleeve melt into the black doorway with no visible edge, no outline, no rim light, no separation, his shadowed skin and the doorway one continuous black. Crushed blacks. Bias dark. THE KEY DETAILS: Sweat beading on the scalp; the open mouth mid-breath; the tonal "RUNNING" wordmark; soft cotton creases. THE MOOD: Exhausted, dignified, still. A reductive, muted-desaturated palette of only four colours: crushed true black, dusty mauve-grey, warm washed taupe, deep brown skin. THE COMPOSITION: Vertical, tight and monumental, full-bleed with no border. The top of his head touches the very top edge of the frame, no headroom. His head fills the upper third; the tip of his nose sits almost at the right edge of the frame with almost no space in front of his face. His shoulder and chest fill the lower two-thirds, cropped above the waist at the bottom edge. The black doorway fills roughly the left 60% of the frame, his back and sleeve dissolving into it; the mauve wall is a narrower band on the right, in front of him. THE CAMERA: Cinematic editorial portrait on film, Deakins-like naturalism. A short telephoto lens at eye level from about one metre, flattening the profile; everything on one plane in focus, slightly soft overall, gentle highlight roll-off, fine-to-medium natural film grain across the whole frame including the skin and the blacks. THE AFTER EFFECT: Near-silhouette chiaroscuro: the face and body mostly lost to shadow, defined only by the thin lit planes on the crown, brow, cheekbone, nose, lip and shirt front. Looks like a real man photographed on location, not a render.
Then I ran the exact same prompt on a second model. Same words, and it came out way closer. Tight crop, a flat black void, and the back of his head dissolves right into it.
Exact prompt
Create a new photorealistic image. Editorial fashion photography, unretouched, no beauty filter, no skin smoothing. A real photograph of a man in strict side profile standing at the edge of a pitch-black open doorway in a sunlit wall, so most of his head and body dissolve into the black and only the top planes catch the sun. THE VIBE: Quiet, heavy, monumental. A runner a minute after a hard run, catching his breath in the shade of a doorway at noon. It reads like an old-master chiaroscuro painting: the figure is carved out of darkness by a few strokes of light, not lit like a portrait. IDENTITY LOCK: A Black man about 45, very deep brown skin with a warm red-brown undertone, a clean-shaven head with a strong rounded skull, short grey-and-black stubble along the jaw and chin, a broad straight nose, full lips parted as he breathes through his mouth. Mature structure: defined cheekbone and brow ridge, firm jaw. THE SUBJECT: He wears the washed heavyweight long-sleeve cotton tee in a faded mushroom-taupe, boxy fit, dropped shoulder seam, crew collar, a slightly brushed matte surface with a few soft creases across the chest, and the small tonal embroidered word "RUNNING" on the chest in the same taupe thread, barely legible. He stands completely still, head and body in a strict 90-degree profile facing frame right, shoulders relaxed, arms hanging, gaze level and straight ahead out of frame. No eye contact; his far eye is not visible. THE FACE: Real, unretouched skin with fine visible texture, faint pores, slightly uneven natural tone, a few tiny imperfections. Minimal natural makeup: bare skin, no foundation, no contour, no highlighter. Warm red-brown depth in the shadows, never ashy or grey. The ONLY shine is fresh sweat: beads and a wet specular sheen across the top of the scalp, catching on individual pores. Stubble as individual short hairs with a soft irregular line. THE SETTING: A flat, smooth plaster wall painted a chalky dusty mauve-grey (pale pinkish lilac grey), sunlit and flat, filling the right side of the frame in front of his face and chest. Directly behind him, filling the left side of the frame from the top edge to the bottom edge, is a pitch-black void: the unlit interior of an open doorway, pure black, no visible detail, no texture, no gradient. The straight vertical edge where the black meets the mauve wall runs down from the top edge just behind the back of his skull. THE LIGHT: KEY: hard, high midday sun from almost directly overhead and slightly in front of him (upper right). It strikes ONLY the top planes: the crown of his head (bright specular sweat highlights), the top of the brow ridge, a small triangle on the upper cheekbone, the tip of the nose, the upper lip, the top of the shoulder and the front of the chest. Everything below and behind those planes falls into deep shadow: the eye socket, the ear, the side of the face, the jaw, the neck and the entire sleeve sit three to four stops under, almost black, so his face reads nearly as a silhouette against the wall, defined only by its few lit edges. His chin casts a hard dark shadow onto the shirt below the collar. FIELD: the mauve wall is the brightest surface in frame; the lit shirt front sits about one stop darker than the wall, a warm taupe. INTEGRATION: the back of his head, his neck, his back and his whole sleeve melt into the black doorway with no visible edge, no outline, no rim light, no separation, his shadowed skin and the doorway one continuous black. Crushed blacks. Bias dark. THE KEY DETAILS: Sweat beading on the scalp; the open mouth mid-breath; the tonal "RUNNING" wordmark; soft cotton creases. THE MOOD: Exhausted, dignified, still. A reductive, muted-desaturated palette of only four colours: crushed true black, dusty mauve-grey, warm washed taupe, deep brown skin. THE COMPOSITION: Vertical, tight and monumental, full-bleed with no border. The top of his head touches the very top edge of the frame, no headroom. His head fills the upper third; the tip of his nose sits almost at the right edge of the frame with almost no space in front of his face. His shoulder and chest fill the lower two-thirds, cropped above the waist at the bottom edge. The black doorway fills roughly the left 60% of the frame, his back and sleeve dissolving into it; the mauve wall is a narrower band on the right, in front of him. THE CAMERA: Cinematic editorial portrait on film, Deakins-like naturalism. A short telephoto lens at eye level from about one metre, flattening the profile; everything on one plane in focus, slightly soft overall, gentle highlight roll-off, fine-to-medium natural film grain across the whole frame including the skin and the blacks. THE AFTER EFFECT: Near-silhouette chiaroscuro: the face and body mostly lost to shadow, defined only by the thin lit planes on the crown, brow, cheekbone, nose, lip and shirt front. Looks like a real man photographed on location, not a render.
So now if a model keeps fighting me, I try another model before I rewrite the prompt.
One tip from the door frame: if you want a plain black area, call it a flat black area. If you name an object like a doorway, it'll draw the doorway.
4. Fix the rest on your best image
His face was still a bit too bright, so I fed that image back in and asked for the face darker, more black in the frame, and his mouth open like he's catching his breath. It overshot a little. The shirt and wall went muddy along with his face.
Exact prompt
Create a new photorealistic image, but darker, softer and with more black. Preserve the man from the first reference: deep brown skin, shaved head, grey-and-black stubble, washed mushroom-taupe long-sleeve tee with the tonal "RUNNING" wordmark, strict right-facing profile. Editorial fashion photography, unretouched, no beauty filter, no skin smoothing. THE VIBE: Quiet, heavy, monumental. A runner a minute after a hard run, catching his breath in deep shade at noon. An old-master chiaroscuro painting caught on film: the figure carved out of darkness by a few strokes of light. THE CHARACTER ANCHOR: Preserve from the first reference his face, skull, stubble, build, the taupe tee and wordmark, the strict profile and the tight crop with the crown touching the top edge. These remain unchanged. THE ITERATION ANCHOR: Carry forward from the first reference the black void behind him, the dusty mauve-grey plaster wall in front of him, the hard high sun from upper right, the sweat highlights on the crown, the chin shadow across the collar, and the way his back, neck and sleeve melt into the black with no edge. THE NEW CHANGE: 1. FACE INTO NEAR-SILHOUETTE: his face drops about two stops darker than in the first reference. Only thin slivers of sun catch the crown, the top of the brow ridge, a small triangle high on the cheekbone, the tip of the nose and the upper lip. The eye socket, the eye, the ear, the cheek, the beard, the jaw and the neck fall into deep shadow, almost black, barely separable from the black behind him; the face reads mostly as a dark profile shape against the mauve wall. 2. MORE BLACK: the black void fills about 60% of the frame width on the left; he sits further right, so the tip of his nose nearly touches the right edge and the mauve wall is only a narrow band in front of his face and chest. More of his shirt's back half and sleeve sinks into the black. 3. MOUTH: his lips clearly parted, mouth slightly open as he breathes after the run. 4. SOFTER, FILMIC FINISH: less crisp and digital than the first reference — slightly soft overall, matte, gentle highlight roll-off, lower micro-contrast, fine-to-medium natural film grain over the whole frame including the skin and the blacks. Muted-desaturated grade of crushed true black, dusty mauve-grey, warm washed taupe and deep brown skin. THE FACE: Real, unretouched skin with fine texture and faint pores, minimal natural makeup, bare skin. Warm red-brown depth in the shadows, never ashy or grey. The only shine is fresh sweat on the top of the scalp. THE LIGHT: Hard high midday sun from upper right is the ONLY light. Exposed for the mauve wall; the man sits three to four stops under, lit only where the sun hits the top planes listed above; everything else on him falls into crushed shadow that merges with the black. No fill, no rim, no separation light. THE COMPOSITION: Vertical, full-bleed, no border. Crown touching the top edge, head in the upper third, nose tip at the right edge, chest and shoulder filling the lower two-thirds, black void on the left ~60%. THE CAMERA: Cinematic editorial on film, short telephoto at eye level, everything in focus on one plane, slightly soft, fine natural film grain across the whole frame including the face. Looks like a real man photographed on location, not a render.
5. One last change
Last round: "make the wall white not concrete". The split between the black and the white got way sharper, and that's the final.
Exact prompt
Create a new photorealistic image, but with a smooth white wall. Preserve the man from the first reference: deep brown skin, shaved head with sweat on the crown, grey-and-black stubble, open mouth, washed taupe long-sleeve tee with the tonal "RUNNING" wordmark, strict right-facing profile. Editorial fashion photography, unretouched, no beauty filter, no skin smoothing. THE VIBE: Quiet, heavy, monumental. A runner catching his breath in deep shade at noon. An old-master chiaroscuro painting caught on film: the figure carved out of darkness by a few strokes of light. THE CHARACTER ANCHOR: Preserve from the first reference his face, skull, stubble, open mouth, build, the tee and wordmark, the strict profile, and his near-silhouette exposure: only slivers of sun on the crown, brow, nose tip and upper lip, everything else on his face in deep shadow. These remain unchanged. THE ITERATION ANCHOR: Carry forward from the first reference the exact framing (crown touching the top edge, nose tip at the right edge, black void filling the left ~60%), the hard high sun from upper right, the chin shadow across the collar, and the way his back, neck and sleeve melt into the black with no edge. THE NEW CHANGE: The band of wall in front of him on the right is now a smooth, flat, matte WHITE painted wall: clean fine plaster with a soft eggshell finish, no concrete texture, no pits, no cracks, no mottling. It is lit by the same hard sun, a bright clean white with the faintest warm tint, the brightest surface in frame. Nothing else changes. THE SETTING: Behind him, the pitch-black void, pure black, no detail. In front of him, the smooth white wall. The straight vertical edge between them runs down behind his skull. THE LIGHT: Hard high midday sun from upper right is the ONLY light. Exposed for the white wall; the man sits three to four stops under, lit only on the top planes; the rest of him merges with the black. No fill, no rim, no separation light. THE COMPOSITION: Vertical, full-bleed, no border. Identical to the first reference. THE CAMERA: Cinematic editorial on film, short telephoto at eye level, everything in focus, slightly soft, fine natural film grain across the whole frame including the face. Looks like a real man photographed on location, not a render.
Why it works
Every time I used words like "dramatic" or "moody", the model gave me a normally lit portrait. Once I gave it real numbers, like where the head sits, how much of the frame is black and how dark the face is compared to the wall, it had something to aim for.
Quick warning: if you attach the reference and just say "recreate this image", most models hand you back a near copy. I tried it and got basically the same photo back, which doesn't teach you anything.
Your turn: pick a photo you love and write down three things. How much of the frame is dark, where the head sits, and how bright the face is compared to the background.
And if you'd rather skip the prompting, Emero writes the prompts for you and remembers your preferences so you're not repeating yourself every chat. Everything's at cost.
Get one of these every day
I test new workflows daily and send them with the exact prompts, the models and the costs
5,979 generations tested so far
More workflows
See all
GPT Image 2.5 Flare - fix one thing in an image without losing the rest
Change one detail in an AI image, like size, mood or pose, while the rest of the picture stays put
GPT Image 2.5 Flare · 2 min render
GPT Image 2.5 Flare - Gen Z slang taken literally
Turn slang like spill the tea, glazing and catfished into photos that show the words literally
GPT Image 2.5 Flare · 2 min render
GPT Image 2.5 Flare - old sayings turned into deadpan photos
Turn everyday sayings into realistic photos where one impossible thing happens and nobody reacts
GPT Image 2.5 Flare · 1 min render