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GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst vs Nano Banana Pro - silk fabric editorial shot from below
A woman wrapped in billowing silk, shot from directly underneath, then recolored deep blue
Tested by Nouamane Benbrahim
Ever ask AI for a shot "from below" and get a normal eye-level photo?
I found a fashion editorial I loved. A woman wrapped in huge sheets of ivory silk, shot from directly underneath, the fabric frozen mid-air against pure black. I tried to rebuild it from text, then turned the silk deep blue.
Here's my exact process.
1. The lazy version
First, the simple version: a woman wrapped in flowing blue silk, shot from below, black background, dramatic fashion photo.
"From below" got ignored. It's basically eye level, a shiny satin gown, full glam makeup and a sultry chin-up pose. It looks like a perfume ad. Quick note: this one ran on a different model than the rest because the first was rate limited, so treat the comparison as rough.
Exact prompt
A beautiful woman with slicked back hair wrapped in flowing deep blue silk fabric, shot from below, black background, dramatic fashion photo, high quality, 4k.
2. The first real build
Then the full description: the silk knotted around her and exploding out in wings off every edge, one flash from below, pure black behind.
The drama landed. But three things broke. The angle wasn't steep enough, so it read like a woman lying back in a gown. The silk came out as crinkly, papery organza. And there was a second person's hand reaching in from the right. That one's on me, it was in the original and I copied it. My reaction: "i also dont like the extra hand".
Exact prompt
Create a new photorealistic image. Editorial fashion photography, unretouched, no beauty filter, no skin smoothing. A worm's-eye photograph looking straight up at a woman whose body is wrapped and engulfed by huge billowing sheets of ivory silk chiffon, frozen mid-air by a flash against a pure black void. THE VIBE: Weightless, sculptural, ethereal. A couture dance editorial: she seems to float inside a storm of silk, calm at the centre of the motion, like a Renaissance angel seen from below. IDENTITY LOCK: A woman about 30, fair skin with a warm-neutral undertone, light ash-brown hair slicked tightly back off her face into a low bun, a strong jaw, a straight nose, full softly closed lips, eyes heavy-lidded and nearly closed, gazing down toward the camera. Bare shoulders and bare arms. THE SUBJECT: Seen from directly below: we look up at the underside of her chin, jaw and nostrils, her serene face tilted slightly down toward the lens, eyes half-closed. Her face is small in the frame, almost exactly at the centre, peeking out from between the folds. Enormous lengths of sheer ivory silk chiffon are wrapped tightly around her chest and torso, twisted and knotted at her middle, then explode outward in vast billowing wings to the left, the right and above her, filling most of the frame. Her bare right arm reaches out to the lower right, hand gripping a fold of the silk. At the far right edge, a second person's dark-skinned hand, fingers spread, reaches into the frame from outside, cropped at the wrist, touching the fabric. The fabric: fine, lightweight silk chiffon, soft matte surface with a faint satin sheen, translucent where it's a single layer and opaque where it bunches; long soft rounded folds, rippling edges, no hard creases. THE FACE: Real, unretouched skin with fine visible texture, faint pores, slightly uneven natural tone, a few tiny imperfections. Mostly matte, faint natural shine only on the tip of the nose and the lips. Minimal natural makeup: bare skin, no foundation, no contour, no highlighter, lightly groomed brows. Natural warm flush faintly at the nostrils and lips. THE SETTING: A completely dark studio: a pure black void behind and around her, no visible walls, floor, ceiling or light stands. Black shows through in the gaps between the silk: a black opening above her head at top centre, a black area at the middle left, and a black corner at the lower left. THE LIGHT: One flash close to the camera, below her, pointing up: it lights the undersides of the silk and the underside of her face and arm. The silk nearest the lens glows a bright cool ivory with soft grey-green shadows in the deeper folds; the light falls off quickly so the outer edges of the fabric sink toward grey and then black. Her face sits a little darker than the brightest silk, lit softly from below. The background stays pure black, crushed, with nothing lit beyond the fabric. THE KEY DETAILS: The knot of twisted silk at her middle; the translucent single-layer edges with light passing through; the stranger's dark hand at the right edge; her calm, half-closed eyes. THE MOOD: Ethereal, still and dramatic at once. Muted, cool grade: ivory whites with a faint green-grey cast, deep black, warm skin as the only warmth. THE COMPOSITION: Horizontal 3:2. Her face at the centre, slightly above the middle, small, about one-tenth of the frame width. The silk radiates outward from her like petals or wings and runs off every edge of the frame, filling roughly 80% of it; the remaining 20% is the black void between the folds. Her arm and the stranger's hand anchor the lower right. THE CAMERA: Cinematic editorial fashion photograph on film, a wide-angle lens from directly below, pointing straight up, deep focus, the fabric frozen sharp by the flash with only the outermost edges very slightly soft, fine natural film grain across the whole frame including her skin. THE AFTER EFFECT: Flash-frozen motion: the billowing silk is caught mid-flight, every ripple suspended in the air. Looks like a real model photographed on set, not a render.
3. Make a fresh image for camera changes
Camera angles don't change much when you edit an image, so I made a new one. Three changes:
- Place the camera exactly. "From below" isn't enough. I said directly underneath, pointing straight up, so you mostly see her chin and nostrils.
- Describe the material. Just "silk" gave me crinkly organza. When I asked for smooth, heavy silk with long rounded folds like poured cream, that's what I got.
- Say what's not there. Her hand is the only hand. No other people.
Exact prompt
Create a new photorealistic image. Editorial fashion photography, unretouched, no beauty filter, no skin smoothing. A worm's-eye photograph taken from directly underneath a woman, the camera pointing straight up, her body wrapped and engulfed by huge billowing sheets of smooth ivory silk, frozen mid-air by a flash against a pure black void. THE VIBE: Weightless, sculptural, ethereal. A couture dance editorial: she seems to float inside a storm of silk, calm at the centre of the motion, like a Renaissance angel seen from below. IDENTITY LOCK: A woman about 30, fair skin with a warm-neutral undertone, light ash-brown hair slicked tightly back off her face, a strong jaw, a straight nose, full softly closed lips, eyes heavy-lidded and nearly closed, gazing down toward the camera. Bare shoulders and a bare arm. THE SUBJECT: The camera is directly beneath her, so her face is steeply foreshortened: we mostly see the underside of her chin and jaw, her nostrils, the curve of her lips, and only a sliver of her half-closed eyes and brow above. Only her face and one bare arm are visible; the rest of her body is completely hidden inside the fabric. Her face is small in the frame, almost exactly at the centre, peeking up out from between the folds. Enormous lengths of silk are wrapped tightly around her chest, twisted and knotted just below her chin, then explode outward in vast billowing wings to the left, the right and above, filling most of the frame. Her bare arm reaches out to the lower right, her hand gripping a fold of the silk. Her hand is the ONLY hand in the frame: no other people, no other hands, no extra limbs. The fabric: smooth, heavy, fluid silk crepe in a creamy ivory, mostly opaque with a soft matte surface and a faint satin sheen, slightly translucent only at the thinnest single-layer edges. Long, soft, rounded, flowing folds like poured cream. NOT crinkled, NOT crushed, NOT papery organza, no wrinkles, no crisp creases. THE FACE: Real, unretouched skin with fine visible texture, faint pores, slightly uneven natural tone, a few tiny imperfections. Mostly matte, faint natural shine only on the tip of the nose and the lips. Minimal natural makeup: bare skin, no foundation, no contour, no highlighter. Natural warm flush faintly at the nostrils and lips. THE SETTING: A completely dark studio: a pure black void behind and around her, no visible walls, floor, ceiling or light stands. Black shows through in the gaps between the silk: a black opening above her head at top centre, a black area at the middle left, and a black corner at the lower left. THE LIGHT: One hard flash close to the camera, below her, pointing straight up: it lights the undersides of the silk and the underside of her chin and arm. The silk nearest the lens glows a bright cool ivory; the deeper folds fall into soft grey-green shadow; the light falls off fast, so the outer edges of the fabric sink into grey and then into black. Her face sits a little darker than the brightest silk. The background stays pure black, crushed, nothing lit beyond the fabric. THE KEY DETAILS: The knot of twisted silk just below her chin; the smooth rounded folds; her calm, half-closed eyes seen from below; her single hand gripping the silk. THE MOOD: Ethereal, still and dramatic at once. Muted, cool grade: ivory whites with a faint green-grey cast, deep black, warm skin as the only warmth. THE COMPOSITION: Horizontal 3:2. Her small foreshortened face at the centre, slightly above the middle, about one-tenth of the frame width. The silk radiates outward from her like petals or wings and runs off every edge of the frame, filling roughly 80% of it; the remaining 20% is the black void between the folds. Her arm anchors the lower right. THE CAMERA: Cinematic editorial fashion photograph on film, a wide-angle lens from directly below, pointing straight up, deep focus, the fabric frozen sharp by the flash with only the outermost edges very slightly soft, fine natural film grain across the whole frame including her skin. THE AFTER EFFECT: Flash-frozen motion: the billowing silk is caught mid-flight, every fold suspended in the air. Looks like a real model photographed on set, not a render.
Way closer. It still reads a little like a gown because you can see her whole torso, but the fabric and the angle are right.
4. Edit for a color swap
Then I just said "make the fabric a deep blue". This time I did feed the last image back in, because a color swap is exactly what editing is good at. It kept her face, the angle and the folds and only changed the color. Her warm skin pops way more against the blue.
Exact prompt
Create a new photorealistic image, but REPLACE the ivory silk with deep blue silk. Preserve the woman, her face, slicked-back hair, expression, her single arm and hand, the camera angle, the composition, the folds and the black void from the first reference. Editorial fashion photography, unretouched, no beauty filter, no skin smoothing. A worm's-eye photograph taken from directly underneath a woman, the camera pointing straight up, her body wrapped and engulfed by huge billowing sheets of smooth deep blue silk, frozen mid-air by a flash against a pure black void. THE VIBE: Weightless, sculptural, ethereal, now darker and more nocturnal. A couture dance editorial: she seems to float inside a storm of midnight silk, calm at the centre of the motion. IDENTITY LOCK: Preserve the woman from the first reference exactly: fair skin with a warm-neutral undertone, light ash-brown hair slicked tightly back, strong jaw, straight nose, full softly closed lips, heavy-lidded nearly closed eyes. Do NOT change her face. THE SUBJECT: Same pose and wrapping as the first reference: the silk twisted and knotted around her chest just below her chin, exploding outward in vast billowing wings to the left, right and above, her bare arm reaching to the lower right, her hand gripping a fold. Her hand is the ONLY hand in the frame: no other people, no other hands. THE FABRIC (REPLACE THE COLOUR): Every piece of silk is now a deep, saturated sapphire-to-midnight blue, the same fabric everywhere: smooth, heavy, fluid silk crepe, mostly opaque, soft matte surface with a faint satin sheen. Where the flash hits it near the lens it glows a rich royal-sapphire blue with soft sheen highlights; the deeper folds fall into inky navy; the outer edges sink into near-black blue and merge with the void. Not ivory, not white, not cream anywhere. Long, soft, rounded folds like poured liquid; not crinkled, no crisp creases. THE FACE: Real, unretouched skin with fine visible texture, faint pores, slightly uneven natural tone. Mostly matte, faint natural shine only on the nose tip and lips. Minimal natural makeup: bare skin, no foundation, no contour, no highlighter. A faint cool blue bounce from the silk on the underside of her chin and jaw, her skin still reading as warm. THE SETTING: A completely dark studio, a pure black void behind and around her, no walls, floor, ceiling or light stands, black showing through in the gaps between the silk. THE LIGHT: One hard flash close to the camera, below her, pointing straight up, lighting the undersides of the silk and her chin and arm. Fast falloff: the blue goes from bright sapphire near the lens to navy to black at the outer edges. The background stays pure black, crushed. THE MOOD: Nocturnal, dramatic, still. Grade: deep sapphire and navy, crushed black, her warm skin as the only warm note. THE COMPOSITION: Horizontal 3:2, identical to the first reference. THE CAMERA: Cinematic editorial fashion photograph on film, wide-angle lens from directly below pointing straight up, deep focus, fabric frozen sharp by the flash, fine natural film grain across the whole frame including her skin. THE AFTER EFFECT: Flash-frozen motion: the billowing silk caught mid-flight, every fold suspended. Looks like a real model photographed on set, not a render.
Why it works
The AI fills every gap with its defaults: eye level, shiny fabric, glam makeup, extra hands. Every one of those got fixed by saying it out loud. Where the camera is, what the material actually looks like, and what shouldn't be in the shot. For me that meant editing for color swaps and small fixes, and starting a fresh image whenever the angle or pose had to change.
Your turn: next time you write "from below", write where the camera actually is and what it can see from there.
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.
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