r/promptingmagic

TL;DR: These 10 ChatGPT image codes give you a handy way to organize photo edits: realistic detail, new backgrounds, professional headshots, hairstyle previews, outfit changes, and more. Upload a reference photo and use the full prompts below. Treat the codes as custom shorthand you define in the conversation. The instructions attached to each label are what make the request clear.

Your next creative project might already be sitting in your camera roll.

A portrait can become a professional headshot. A haircut preview. A coastal travel scene. An original magazine cover.

I’ve included examples using Amanda on the Thinking Deeply AI team as the reference model throughout, plus prompts you can adapt to your own photos.

To try these: Upload your photo to ChatGPT and paste one prompt below. For portraits, add this instruction:

Create a vertical 4:5 image. Preserve the reference person’s recognizable facial features, age, skin tone, and natural proportions. Change only the elements I request. Do not print the command label in the image.

Here are the 10 recipes.

1. /hdreal — More believable photographic detail Useful when skin looks overly smooth or hair and clothing lack texture./hdreal — Refine this portrait with natural skin texture, individual hair strands, detailed fabric, and realistic light and shadow. Preserve the face, expression, pose, clothing, background, and original color or monochrome treatment. Avoid waxy skin and harsh sharpening. Pro tip: More detailed-looking doesn’t necessarily mean more pixels. Check the downloaded file’s dimensions if you need it for print.
2. /newbg — Change the setting Replace the setting with a sunlit glass conservatory and a cream upholstered bench. Preserve the person’s face, hair, expression, clothing, and seated pose. Match the original light direction, perspective, and contact shadows so the result feels like one photograph. Pro tip: Choose a background whose lighting fits the subject. A softly lit face needs a believable explanation in a scene with harsh sunlight.
3. /proshot — Create a professional headshot Useful for exploring profile photos, speaker portraits, and personal-brand imagery. /proshot - Create an editorial headshot using this person as the identity reference. Use a charcoal blazer, teal blouse, warm-gray studio background, and soft light from camera left. Frame from the chest up with a relaxed, confident expression. Preserve facial features and natural skin texture. Pro tip: Describe the impression you want: approachable founder, creative professional, or formal executive. Give the image a specific job.
4. /together — Bring people into one scene For two specific people, upload a separate reference photo for each. /together - Place the person from image 1 on the left and the person from image 2 on the right, seated together at a bright café table. Preserve both identities. Match their scale, perspective, lighting, and shadows. Keep faces distinct and hands naturally positioned. Pro tip: Specify who goes where. Also describe their interaction: looking at the camera, sharing a laugh, or discussing something on the table.
5. /hairstyles — Preview a different haircut Amanda’s example uses a brunette bob. /hairstyles - Change only the hairstyle to a chin-length brunette bob with a soft side part and realistic volume. Preserve the person’s face, expression, hair color, clothing, pose, and background. Keep the hairline natural and the face unobstructed. Pro tip: Compare one haircut at a time using the same reference, lighting, and framing. That makes the differences easier to judge.
6. /anatomy — Refine hands and body proportions For this guide, I’m defining this label as hands-and-proportions cleanup./anatomy — Refine the hands so they have natural finger anatomy, believable joints, and relaxed wrist alignment. Keep the intended pose and grip on the object. Preserve the face, clothing, background, and natural body proportions. Change only the anatomical errors. Pro tip: Point to the specific problem: “Fix the fingers gripping the cup handle.” Then zoom in and inspect the result.
7. /droneshot — Create an aerial perspective Amanda’s example places her on a coastal terrace, looking up toward the camera./droneshot — Create a low aerial portrait of this person on a pale stone terrace beside turquoise water. Look down from several meters above, with the person looking up and remaining large enough to recognize. Include the whole body, natural proportions, and warm afternoon shadows. Pro tip: Specify camera height and subject size. Otherwise, you may get a beautiful landscape with a tiny person somewhere inside it. A new viewpoint also requires imagined details outside the original photo.
8. /add_object — Insert something into the scene /add_object — Add a small clear-glass vase of blush-pink peonies on the surface beside the person, on the right side of the image. Match scale, light direction, reflections, and contact shadows. Preserve the person, pose, clothing, background, and framing. Pro tip: Describe where the object rests and how it interacts with the surface. Those details help it feel physically present.
9. /magazine_cover — Build an original editorial cover Useful for personal-brand concepts, feature announcements, and creative social posts./magazine_cover — Create an original magazine cover featuring this person in an emerald blazer against a muted terracotta background. Preserve their identity. Add only these words: “AI WITH AMANDA,” “10 IMAGE SHORTCUTS,” and “ONE PHOTO. TEN POSSIBILITIES.” Use clear editorial typography and keep the face unobstructed. Pro tip: Replace the wording with your own. Keep cover lines short and check every letter at thumbnail size.
10. /suit_up — Change the outfit /suit_up — Replace only the clothing with a tailored midnight-navy trouser suit and an ivory blouse. Preserve the person’s face, hair, expression, body proportions, pose, hands, background, and lighting. Make the fabric, seams, folds, and fit look natural. Pro tip: Describe the garment’s cut and material. “Single-breasted navy wool blazer” gives more direction than “make me look successful.”

A few things that make this workflow more useful:

• Define the shorthand. Tell ChatGPT: “In this conversation, use these labels as shorthand for their accompanying instructions.” Include the definitions again when starting a fresh chat.
• Keep your original reference handy. If the face drifts after several edits, start again from that reference.
• Make one focused revision at a time. “Reduce the background blur” is easier to assess than changing the background, outfit, pose, and lighting together.
• Give references separate jobs. One can define the face, another the outfit, and another the setting.
• Describe visible results. Light direction, fabric texture, framing, and expression are useful creative decisions.
• Inspect the small details. Hands, earrings, reflections, clothing seams, and text deserve a second look.

What are you going to shoot first?

A better headshot? A haircut preview? A different outfit?