Professional Headshot on Solid Backdrop

# LOCKED MASTER PROMPT — PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT, SOLID LIGHT BACKDROP

## ROLE

You are a world-class corporate headshot photographer working in a controlled studio with a large, even, soft lighting setup and a solid seamless backdrop.

Create a clean, photorealistic professional profile photograph using the **ATTACHED REFERENCE IMAGE as the identity source**.

The defining idea of this image: **clarity, approachability and trust**. Everything is sharp, even, clean and honest. Nothing is dramatic. The subject looks directly at the viewer with a natural, genuine smile, dressed in tailored business attire, against a plain light backdrop that is in focus and free of texture.

The output must look like a real studio headshot captured on a high-end full-frame camera — NOT like an AI-generated image, a 3D render, a beauty-filtered selfie, a passport photo, or a cut-out placed on a flat colour.

Aspect ratio: **1:1 square.**

---

# 1. IDENTITY LOCK — ABSOLUTE PRIORITY

Use the person from the **ATTACHED REFERENCE IMAGE**.
Preserve identity with maximum fidelity.
DO NOT redesign, beautify, reinterpret, slim, widen, age, de-age, or idealize the subject.

**The subject's sex, gender presentation, age, ethnicity, skin tone and build are whatever the reference shows. Nothing in this prompt overrides the reference on any of these.**

Preserve exactly:

* Facial geometry and skull proportions
* Face shape and width-to-height ratio
* Forehead height and hairline shape, including any temple recession
* Brow ridge projection
* Eyebrow shape, thickness, density and spacing
* Eye shape, size, spacing, eyelid structure, iris colour and under-eye character
* Nose bridge, tip and nostril structure
* Cheekbone height and projection
* Jawline definition and angle
* Chin shape and projection
* Lip shape, thickness and proportions
* Teeth, where visible in the smile — their alignment, colour and spacing as the reference shows them
* Ear size, shape, position and attachment
* Natural facial asymmetry
* Skin tone and undertone
* Natural skin texture, pores, lines, blemishes and surface irregularity
* Neck thickness and shoulder width
* Apparent age
* Any moles, scars, freckles or distinguishing marks

The subject must remain unmistakably the same individual as the reference — recognisable at a glance by a colleague.

### HAIR — CONDITIONAL
Preserve the reference hairstyle exactly: the same length, volume, hairline, texture, parting, colour and any greying. Do NOT shorten, lengthen, restyle, straighten or curl it. Do NOT add or remove grey. A neat, tidy presentation of the reference hairstyle is appropriate; a different hairstyle is not.

### FACIAL HAIR — CONDITIONAL
Facial hair appears **only if the reference shows it**. If present, preserve its exact length, density, colour, greying and cheek line, neatly groomed. If absent, add none.

### GLASSES — CONDITIONAL
Glasses appear **only if the reference shows them**. If present, preserve the frame shape and colour, and render the lenses clear with no reflections obscuring the eyes. If absent, add none.

### THE SMILE IS NOT A LICENCE TO ALTER
The expression in Section 6 must be produced by the reference person's own face. Do NOT whiten, straighten or reshape the teeth. Do NOT enlarge the eyes, plump the lips or lift the cheeks beyond what a natural smile does.

**IMPORTANT:** Identity is determined ONLY from the attached reference image. Do not borrow facial characteristics from any other person, celebrity, model, example image, or visual reference.

---

# 2. CAMERA POSITION & ORIENTATION LOCK

### Camera
Eye level, within **3 degrees** above or below the subject's eye line.
The lens axis is horizontal.

### Subject orientation
* The head is **near-frontal**, rotated no more than **5 degrees**
* Lateral head tilt no more than **3 degrees**
* Chin level
* The shoulders are rotated approximately **10–15 degrees** toward one side — the "slight angle" — so the body is not perfectly flat while the face remains fully frontal
* Posture upright, shoulders back and level, spine straight, chest open

Do NOT use a low or high angle.
Do NOT tilt the camera (no dutch angle).
Do NOT turn the head into a three-quarter position.
Do NOT square the shoulders perfectly flat to the lens.
Do NOT rotate the shoulders beyond 15 degrees.
Do NOT slouch, lean, hunch or drop one shoulder.
Do NOT introduce wide-angle distortion.

---

# 3. FRAMING LOCK — CRITICAL

Use a **head-and-shoulders headshot** with the face dominant.

Show:

* The whole head with the full hair silhouette
* Neck
* Shirt collar and the blazer lapels
* Both shoulders, fully inside the frame
* The lower edge of the frame at approximately the **upper chest**, just below the lapel notch

The head (top of hair to chin) occupies approximately **55–62% of the total frame height** — the face takes up roughly **60% of the frame**.
The eye line sits approximately **40–45% down from the top of the frame**.
The chin sits at approximately **70–75%** down from the top.
The shoulders span approximately **80–92% of the frame width**.

### HEADROOM LOCK
Leave approximately **8–12% of the total frame height** as backdrop above the top of the hair.
The hair must be fully inside the frame and must NOT be clipped by the upper edge.

### CROP LOCK
Do NOT crop the top of the head.
Do NOT crop the chin.
Do NOT crop either shoulder — both shoulder points are inside the frame with a small margin.
Do NOT tighten into a face-only or passport-style crop.
Do NOT pull back into a chest-up, waist-up or full-body composition.
Do NOT leave so much empty space that the face falls below 55% of frame height.

---

# 4. SUBJECT POSITION

Place the head at the **exact horizontal centre**, with the centre of the face at **49–51% of frame width**.
The slight shoulder rotation produces a marginally asymmetric lapel line, but the head stays centred.
Backdrop is visible on both sides of the head and above it, in roughly equal amounts left and right.

Do NOT offset the head.

---

# 5. GAZE & EYE CONTACT

The subject looks **directly into the lens** — straight at the viewer — with open, engaged eye contact.
Both eyes are fully open, level, and clearly readable.
Each eye carries a **single soft, broad catchlight** in the same position — high and central — from the large frontal source.
The eyes participate in the smile: a natural narrowing at the outer corners and a slight lift of the lower lid.

Do NOT direct the gaze off-camera, upward or downward.
Do NOT squint or close the eyes.
Do NOT produce wide, startled eyes.
Do NOT produce dead eyes with a smiling mouth — the smile must reach the eyes.
Do NOT produce mismatched, missing or multiple catchlights.

---

# 6. EXPRESSION LOCK — CRITICAL

A **genuine, confident, approachable smile**.

* Natural and relaxed — the kind of smile given to a colleague, not to a camera
* Lips parted, **upper teeth visible**, lower teeth mostly hidden
* The corners of the mouth lifted evenly
* Cheeks lifted naturally; a soft crease from the nose to the mouth corners as the reference's face produces it
* The eyes engaged, with a slight crinkle at the outer corners
* Brow relaxed and level
* Overall read: warm, competent, at ease

Do NOT produce a closed-mouth smile.
Do NOT produce a wide, forced, gum-showing grin.
Do NOT produce a smirk, a half-smile or an asymmetric smile.
Do NOT produce a laugh or an open-mouth expression.
Do NOT produce a serious, neutral, stern or intense expression.
Do NOT produce a seductive, smouldering or theatrical look.
Do NOT whiten, straighten or reshape the teeth.

---

# 7. WARDROBE LOCK

Tailored business attire, **cut to the reference person's build**.

### Blazer
A **navy blazer or suit jacket**.

* Deep navy, approximately **#1A2540 to #22304F**, matte to very low sheen
* Fine wool or wool-blend, with a subtle weave visible in the lit areas
* Notch lapels of moderate width, pressed flat, clean roll line
* Structured shoulders with a clean line and no wrinkling
* Buttoned or unbuttoned below the crop — the closure is not visible
* No pocket square, no lapel pin, no visible buttons above the crop

### Shirt
A **crisp white collared shirt**.

* Clean white, freshly pressed, with a faint cotton texture
* A spread or point collar, pressed, sitting symmetrically under the lapels with no gap at the neck
* The **top button open, no tie** — the collar sits neatly open by one button
* The collar points crisp, no curling, no wrinkling

The overall read is **modern professional, clean, tidy, unfussy**.

Do NOT use a black, grey, brown, light or brightly coloured blazer.
Do NOT use a patterned, striped, checked or textured blazer.
Do NOT use a coloured, patterned or striped shirt.
Do NOT add a tie, bow tie, scarf or neckwear.
Do NOT add a pocket square, lapel pin, brooch, badge or name tag.
Do NOT use a t-shirt, polo, sweater, hoodie, turtleneck or casual top.
Do NOT add jewellery, a chain, earrings, a watch or accessories unless present in the identity reference.
Do NOT render wrinkled, creased, ill-fitting or crooked clothing.

---

# 8. BACKGROUND LOCK — CRITICAL

A **clean, solid, light grey seamless backdrop** — **sharp and in focus, not blurred**.

* Colour: a neutral light grey, approximately **#D8D8DA to #E4E4E6**
* Perfectly even across the frame — no gradient, no vignette, no hotspot, no falloff
* Perfectly smooth — no texture, no weave, no mottling, no seams, no creases
* **In focus**: the backdrop is a flat, crisp surface, not a defocused wash

The backdrop is a **plane behind the subject**, not a cut-out colour. The subject casts no visible shadow on it, but the edge between subject and backdrop is a natural photographic edge — fine hair strands, the soft edge of the shoulder fabric — not a hard keyed outline.

NO objects, furniture, props, plants or office elements.
NO gradient, vignette, glow, spotlight or falloff.
NO texture, pattern, wall, window, bookshelf or architecture.
NO visible studio equipment.
NO text, typography, logos, watermarks, borders, frames or graphic elements.
NO second figure or shadow of a figure.

---

# 9. LIGHTING LOCK — CRITICAL

**Even, professional, shadow-free lighting** — a large-source setup that wraps the face without drama.

### KEY
A very large soft source — a **1.5–2 m octabox, or a large softbox with a diffusion panel** — positioned **near-frontal**, approximately **15–25 degrees** to one side of the lens axis and **15–25 degrees above** eye level.

### FILL
A large, near-equal fill from the opposite side, or a large white reflector, at a key-to-fill ratio of approximately **1.5:1 to 2:1**.

### RESULT
* A broad, smooth, even illumination across the whole face
* Very gentle modelling — a faint softening on the far side of the nose and under the chin — enough to keep the face three-dimensional, never enough to read as a shadow
* No hard shadow edges anywhere
* No dark eye sockets; the eyes fully lit and open
* A single soft catchlight in each eye
* The backdrop lit evenly to its stated value, with no gradient

### SEPARATION
No rim light, no hair light, no kicker. Separation from the light backdrop comes from tone — dark blazer and hair against light grey — not from an edge light.

Do NOT use a small, hard source producing sharp shadows.
Do NOT push the key to the side into dramatic, split or chiaroscuro lighting.
Do NOT let the fill drop below 2:1 and open up visible facial shadow.
Do NOT use a ring light — its flat, hollow look and ring-shaped catchlight are excluded.
Do NOT add a rim, hair or background light.
Do NOT create a shadow of the subject on the backdrop.
Do NOT overexpose the face or the shirt.

---

# 10. LIGHTING DIRECTION LOCK

The lighting setup must remain **identical across every generation**, regardless of changes in the reference person's gender, age, skin tone, hairstyle, or facial structure.

The identity changes.
The **lighting does NOT change.**
Key side, key angle, key height, source size, fill ratio and backdrop exposure stay fixed.
Only the way the light falls across the individual's specific anatomy varies.

---

# 11. EXPOSURE & TONAL BALANCE LOCK

A **bright, clean, mid-to-high-key image** with full detail everywhere.

Approximate distribution of the frame:

* Light grey backdrop, evenly exposed: **35–45%**
* Navy blazer, dark tones with visible weave: **18–26%**
* Face, neck and hair, correctly exposed: **25–33%**
* White shirt collar, bright but not clipped: **3–6%**

Behavior:

* The face is correctly exposed with a full, smooth tonal range and no clipped highlights
* Skin highlights on the forehead, nose and cheeks are soft and retain texture
* The white collar is the brightest element, held just below clipping so the cotton texture reads
* The navy blazer retains weave and lapel structure everywhere — nothing crushed
* The backdrop sits at its stated light grey, brighter than the face but well below white
* No pure black and no pure white anywhere in the frame

Do NOT overexpose the face, the collar or the backdrop.
Do NOT crush the blazer or the hair to black.
Do NOT darken the backdrop toward mid-grey.
Do NOT push contrast into drama.
Do NOT flatten into a washed-out, low-contrast result.

---

# 12. CAMERA LOOK

Professional headshot photography on a full-frame system.

Focal length: **85–105mm**.
Aperture: **f/5.6 to f/8** — deliberately stopped down, so that **everything is sharp**: the face, the hair, the shoulders, the collar and the backdrop.

Focus:

* Critical focus on the **eyes**
* Both eyes, brows, nose, lips, teeth, skin texture, hairline and facial hair fully sharp
* The ears, the far shoulder, the lapels and the collar sharp
* The backdrop sharp and crisp, with no softening

Do NOT use shallow depth of field.
Do NOT blur the backdrop.
Do NOT render bokeh, background softness or falloff.
Do NOT let any part of the head or shoulders fall out of focus.
Do NOT introduce lens flare, chromatic aberration, vignette or distortion.

---

# 13. IMAGE QUALITY

Photorealistic, high resolution.
Ultra-detailed natural skin with clearly visible pores across the forehead, nose and cheeks.
Fine facial texture — natural lines, subtle irregularity, a faint healthy sheen on the forehead and nose — as the reference carries it.
Individually resolvable hair strands, with the hairline, parting and any greying rendered accurately.
Facial hair, where the reference shows it, as discrete individual hairs, neatly groomed.
Crisp fabric rendering: blazer weave in the lit areas, shirt cotton texture, sharp collar edges.
Natural, even highlight roll-off.
Minimal, very fine grain — a clean digital capture.

No plastic, waxy or airbrushed skin.
No skin smoothing, blemish removal, teeth whitening or eye brightening.
No excessive sharpening or edge halos.
No artificial HDR tone-mapped appearance.
No beauty-filter or portrait-mode effect.
No CGI, 3D-render or video-game surface quality.
No visible cut-out edge, keying artefact or halo between subject and backdrop.

---

# 14. COLOUR GRADING

A **neutral, accurate, corporate-clean grade**.

Palette:

* Backdrop: neutral light grey with no colour cast
* Blazer: deep navy, true to the stated value
* Shirt: clean neutral white
* Skin: **natural and colour-accurate to the reference**, neither warmed nor cooled — the skin tone a viewer would see in person under daylight

Tonal structure:

* Moderate, natural saturation
* Moderate contrast with soft highlights and open shadows
* White balance neutral — greys are grey, whites are white

Do NOT push the skin toward orange, red, tan, magenta or yellow.
Do NOT apply a warm, cool, teal-orange, filmic, vintage or cinematic colour cast.
Do NOT tint the backdrop.
Do NOT desaturate or over-saturate.
Do NOT lift the blacks or crush them.
Do NOT allow banding on the backdrop.

---

# 15. VISUAL HIERARCHY

**Eyes → Smile → Face as a whole → Collar and lapels → Shoulders → Light grey backdrop**

The face is the subject and the smile is the message.
The attire is the frame; the backdrop is silence.
Nothing in the image should draw the eye away from the face.

---

# 16. NON-NEGOTIABLE RULES

These must NEVER change between generations:

1. Identity, sex, gender presentation, age, skin tone, build, teeth and skin texture from the reference.
2. Hair, facial hair and glasses from the reference; each only if present.
3. The smile produced by the reference person's own face; no teeth, eye or lip alteration.
4. Camera at eye level, within 3 degrees.
5. Head near-frontal within 5 degrees, level, chin level.
6. Shoulders rotated 10–15 degrees; posture upright, shoulders back and level.
7. Direct eye contact with the lens, eyes engaged in the smile.
8. Genuine confident smile, upper teeth visible, corners lifted evenly.
9. Head-and-shoulders framing, crop at the upper chest.
10. Head 55–62% of frame height; eye line at 40–45% from the top.
11. 8–12% headroom; both shoulders inside the frame.
12. Head centred at 49–51% of frame width.
13. Navy blazer, notch lapels, no accessories.
14. Crisp white collared shirt, top button open, no tie.
15. Solid light grey backdrop, #D8D8DA to #E4E4E6, even, textureless.
16. Backdrop **sharp and in focus** — never blurred.
17. Large near-frontal soft key at 15–25 degrees off axis, 15–25 degrees above eye level.
18. Key-to-fill 1.5:1 to 2:1; no visible shadows; no rim, hair or background light.
19. No shadow of the subject on the backdrop.
20. Face and collar correctly exposed; blazer with visible weave; no pure black or white.
21. 85–105mm at f/5.6–f/8; everything sharp, front to back.
22. Neutral white balance; colour-accurate skin; no cast.
23. Visible pores, hair strands and fabric texture; no smoothing.
24. No text, logos, watermarks, props, second figures or accessories.
25. 1:1 square aspect ratio.

---

# 17. REFERENCE PRIORITY SYSTEM

### PRIORITY 1 — IDENTITY
Face, hair, facial hair, glasses, teeth, skin tone, skin texture, age, build, sex, gender presentation and natural likeness from the reference.

### PRIORITY 2 — EXPRESSION AND EYE CONTACT
The genuine smile with engaged eyes and direct gaze.

### PRIORITY 3 — LIGHTING AND SHARPNESS
The even, shadow-free large-source light and the front-to-back sharpness including the backdrop.

### PRIORITY 4 — COMPOSITION AND POSTURE
The centred head-and-shoulders framing at 60% face, and the upright slightly-angled stance.

### PRIORITY 5 — WARDROBE AND BACKGROUND
The navy blazer, white open-collar shirt and solid light grey backdrop.

### PRIORITY 6 — GRADE AND CAMERA
The neutral colour-accurate grade and the 85–105mm f/5.6–f/8 look.

If the reference image conflicts with any of these instructions, **preserve identity, anatomy, hair, facial hair, glasses, teeth, skin texture, build and natural likeness from the reference, and preserve expression, lighting, sharpness, composition, posture, wardrobe, background, grade and camera specification from this prompt.**

---

# 18. NEGATIVE CONSTRAINTS

### Identity errors
Do NOT generate:

* A change in the subject's sex, gender presentation, age, ethnicity, skin tone or build from the reference
* A restyled, shortened or lengthened hairstyle; added or removed grey
* Added or removed facial hair or glasses
* Whitened, straightened or reshaped teeth
* Enlarged eyes, plumped lips or lifted cheeks beyond a natural smile
* An aged, de-aged, beautified, slimmed or widened face
* A generic or default face not derived from the reference

### Expression and gaze errors
Do NOT generate:

* A closed-mouth smile
* A wide, forced, gum-showing grin
* A smirk, half-smile or asymmetric smile
* A laugh or open-mouth expression
* A serious, neutral, stern or intense expression
* A seductive, smouldering or theatrical look
* Dead eyes with a smiling mouth
* A gaze off-camera, upward or downward
* Squinting, closed or startled eyes
* Mismatched, missing, multiple or ring-shaped catchlights

### Posture, framing and camera errors
Do NOT generate:

* A low, high, dutch or tilted angle
* A three-quarter head turn
* Shoulders perfectly flat or rotated beyond 15 degrees
* A slouch, lean, hunch or dropped shoulder
* A face-only, passport-style, chest-up, waist-up or full-body crop
* A cropped top of head, chin or shoulder
* A face smaller than 55% of frame height
* An off-centre head
* Wide-angle distortion
* Shallow depth of field
* A blurred backdrop, bokeh or background falloff
* Any part of the head or shoulders out of focus
* Lens flare, chromatic aberration, vignette or distortion

### Wardrobe errors
Do NOT generate:

* A black, grey, brown, light or brightly coloured blazer
* A patterned, striped, checked or textured blazer
* A coloured, patterned or striped shirt
* A tie, bow tie, scarf or neckwear
* A pocket square, lapel pin, brooch, badge or name tag
* A t-shirt, polo, sweater, hoodie, turtleneck or casual top
* Jewellery, a chain, earrings, a watch or accessories not in the reference
* Wrinkled, creased, ill-fitting or crooked clothing

### Background errors
Do NOT generate:

* A white, blue, dark, coloured or mid-grey backdrop
* A gradient, vignette, glow, spotlight or falloff
* A textured, mottled, patterned or seamed backdrop
* A blurred or defocused backdrop
* A shadow of the subject on the backdrop
* A hard keyed edge, halo or cut-out artefact between subject and backdrop
* Objects, furniture, props, plants or office elements
* A wall, window, bookshelf or architecture
* Visible studio equipment
* Text, typography, logos, watermarks, borders or frames
* A second figure or a figure's shadow

### Lighting, exposure and grade errors
Do NOT generate:

* A small, hard source with sharp shadows
* Dramatic, split or chiaroscuro lighting
* Visible facial shadows or dark eye sockets
* Ring-light illumination
* A rim, hair or background light
* An overexposed face, collar or backdrop
* A crushed blazer or crushed hair
* Pure black or pure white anywhere
* A washed-out, low-contrast result
* A dramatic, high-contrast result
* Orange, red, tan, magenta or yellow skin
* A warm, cool, teal-orange, filmic, vintage or cinematic cast
* A tinted backdrop
* Banding on the backdrop

### Rendering errors
Do NOT generate:

* Plastic, waxy or airbrushed skin
* Beauty-filter, portrait-mode or skin-smoothing effects
* Teeth whitening or eye brightening
* Facial hair as a flat mask; grey hair as a tint
* Asymmetrical or misaligned eyes caused by generation error
* Deformed ears; distorted or extra teeth
* Melted or discontinuous hair
* Glasses with reflections hiding the eyes, or frames that clip into the head
* Over-sharpened edges or halos
* Artificial HDR appearance
* Heavy noise or grain
* CGI, 3D render or video-game look
* Illustration, painting or stylized rendering

---

# FINAL INSTRUCTION

Create the image as if the **same photographer, same studio, same light grey backdrop, same large even lighting, same camera, same 85–105mm lens at f/5.6–f/8, same navy blazer and white open-collar shirt, same upright slightly-angled posture, same framing and same neutral grade** photographed a completely different person — whoever the reference shows.

Only the **identity of the subject** should change.

The result must belong to a single, consistent corporate headshot series — not a set of unrelated AI generations.

**IDENTITY CHANGES. EVERYTHING ELSE STAYS LOCKED.**