Try this 2-minute test. Upload one selfie to ChatGPT or Gemini and ask for a “professional headshot.” Then put your original next to the result. Does it still look like you, or like your cousin who got a nice haircut?
If it’s the cousin, you’re not alone. A Redditor on r/PromptEngineering (u/Remarkable_Might8183) spent a while making LinkedIn-style headshots from one selfie and found the biggest problem wasn’t lighting or clothes. The model kept quietly “improving” the face. Smoother jaw, slightly different nose, eyes a touch wider. Nobody asked for that. The fix was one change in prompt order.
🎯 Step 1: Lock the identity FIRST
Put this before any style words:
“Using the uploaded photo as the face reference, keep the person’s face, hairline, skin tone and features exactly the same.”
One commenter said the model optimizes for prompt order, not just words. Another said that without a lock the model drifts toward whatever face dominates its training data. Either way, put the reference first and the style second. Another commenter adds “preserve exact facial geometry” next to it, which is worth testing.
How to do it in practice: paste the lock line as the very first sentence, hit Enter twice to leave a blank line, then paste your style block underneath. Do not sprinkle the lock into the middle of the prompt. Models tend to weigh the opening lines most, so a lock buried in line six is a lock made of tissue paper.
📸 Step 2: Describe the shot like a photographer
After the lock line, give lens, light and crop. Here are the five that worked:
- Classic corporate: Professional corporate headshot, head and shoulders, tailored charcoal suit jacket over a plain white shirt, confident relaxed smile, looking straight at the camera. Seamless mid-grey studio backdrop, soft key light from the front-left with a gentle fill, subtle hair light, 85mm lens, f/4, sharp eyes, natural skin texture, square 1:1 crop.
- Soft window light: Natural-light professional headshot, head and shoulders, simple navy knit sweater, warm genuine smile. Large window light from the side, light beige wall behind, 85mm, f/2.8, background softly out of focus, true-to-life skin, 1:1.
- Tech startup: Chest-up, plain dark crew-neck t-shirt under an unstructured blazer, relaxed confident expression. Bright open-plan office with plants and glass, heavily blurred bokeh, cool daylight, 50mm, f/2, clean colour grade, 1:1.
- Executive: Head and shoulders, dark suit, crisp shirt, calm assured expression with a slight smile. Deep charcoal backdrop, Rembrandt lighting with a soft triangle of light on the cheek, 85mm, f/5.6, 1:1.
- Outdoor: Chest-up, light linen shirt, easy smile, golden-hour park background with soft green bokeh, 85mm, f/2, warm natural skin, 1:1.
A quick way to choose: corporate and executive suit LinkedIn and company bios, window light suits creators and consultants, tech startup fits founders and product folks, and outdoor works well for a friendly personal brand. Keep the clothing simple in every version. Busy patterns and big logos give the model extra things to fiddle with, and fiddling is how faces drift.
🔍 Step 3: Read your result
- Looks like you: The lock worked. Keep that prompt and swap only the style block.
- Looks like a cousin: The lock is too weak or too late. Move it to the very first line and add “preserve exact facial geometry.” Also check that your selfie is not the problem. A blurry or tilted photo gives the model room to guess.
- Skin looks like plastic: Add “natural skin texture.” The author says it does more against the plastic look than any “realistic” keyword.
A fast way to judge: flip between the original and the result on your phone, or shrink both to thumbnail size. If a friend would still pick you out of a group photo, you pass. If you squint and think “hmm, close but not quite,” run it again.
💡 Extra tips
- Start with a front-facing selfie in daylight. No sunglasses, no heavy filter.
- Generate 4 and keep the one where the eyes look like yours. Eyes are the first thing people notice, so they are the best tiebreaker.
- Don’t start over with a fresh prompt. Ask for small edits instead, like “same photo, slightly warmer light.”
- Change one thing at a time. If you swap the outfit, the backdrop and the smile together, you will never know which edit broke the likeness.
- Save the winning prompt in a notes app. A working lock plus style block is reusable for every future refresh.
- If your tool accepts a negative prompt, use this one: cartoon, illustration, plastic or over-smoothed skin, distorted face, changed identity, asymmetrical eyes, extra fingers, crooked teeth, heavy makeup, harsh shadows, busy background, text, watermark, logo
🏴☠️ Your turn
Run the test with prompt number 1 tonight. Put the lock line first, generate 4, and pick the one that looks like you. Then tell us what worked, because the original poster is still hunting for the best way to keep identity stable across a set of 5+ photos. If you’ve cracked that, share it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why does the identity line have to come first?
Both commenters agree it works, but they explain it differently. One says the model drifts toward whatever face dominates its training data unless you anchor it early. The other says the model weighs prompt order, so putting the reference first gives face structure priority over style words. Either way, lead with the photo reference and add the style after it.
Q: Does adding ‘preserve exact facial geometry’ help?
One commenter gets good results adding this phrase next to the reference line, especially when generating a multi-shot set. It’s a cheap test, so try it on a single shot first and compare the face against your baseline. If the face still drifts, the reference line placement matters more than extra wording.
Q: Do square 1:1 crops hold up better than other ratios?
The comments don’t answer this, and the post doesn’t test it either. All five prompts used 1:1, so that’s the only evidence we have. Square is mostly a LinkedIn habit, since the platform shows profile photos in a circle and a square frame keeps the head centered. To check it for your tool, run the same prompt at 4:5 and 1:1 and compare the faces side by side.
The opening line that stops AI headshot tools from changing your face (5 prompts I tested)
by u/Remarkable_Might8183 in PromptEngineering