AI Portrait Photography Guide
Pose, lens, lighting, and wardrobe language for believable portraits and headshots.
Lens and distance
Portrait looks usually map well to 70–135mm equivalent language:
- “tight headshot, 85mm compression, flattering perspective”
- “three-quarter portrait, subject separation from background”
Lighting setups you can name
- Butterfly / paramount: key above lens axis, small nose shadow
- Loop: key slightly off-axis, defined nose shadow loop
- Rembrandt: key creates triangle highlight on shadow-side cheek
- Split: half face lit, half in shadow—dramatic
Add modifiers: softbox, beauty dish, parabolic, strip box.
Eyes and expression
Specify catchlights and gaze:
- “catchlights at 10 o’clock, eyes to camera, relaxed mouth”
Wardrobe and grooming
Short, concrete clauses:
- “matte navy blazer, white tee, natural hair flyaways allowed”
Hands and props
If hands appear, pose them (“hands loosely clasped, relaxed fingers”) or crop with composition language.