Create an authentic 1980s colour photograph that has physically aged for forty years: a real print kept in a family album, now creased, scratched and colour-faded. The finished image must look like a damaged old print that has been scanned, not like a clean digital photograph.
Use the uploaded [reference image] as the subject's exact face, likeness and skin tone.
Subject: a man standing beside a parked car outside a grand hotel, one hand resting on the front wing and the other in his trouser pocket, body angled away and head turned to look off into the middle distance with a composed, faintly serious expression.
Hair: dark, thick and glossy, worn with generous volume on top and swept back and slightly to one side in a full period blow-dry, neatly tapered at the sides.
Wardrobe: a rich chocolate-brown herringbone tweed suit cut with wide notch lapels and strong shoulders, a cream shirt, a dark paisley silk tie in burgundy and teal, a matching paisley pocket square, a slim dark leather belt and high-waisted pleated trousers.
Setting: the columned portico of a grand hotel, with a striped awning, brass lanterns, potted palms and a uniformed doorman standing well back and softly out of focus. In the foreground he leans against the polished dark bonnet of a vintage 1980s luxury saloon car with chrome trim and round headlamps, all badges plain and unmarked.
Lighting: warm late-afternoon sunlight raking in from the side, soft-edged shadows, a gentle glow on the stonework.
Camera: full body shot at chest height, 85mm lens, subject sharp with the hotel entrance softly blurred behind.
Colour: chocolate brown and cream dominant against pale sandstone, burgundy and teal in the tie as the only saturated notes.
Colour grade: authentic aged 1980s C-41 print stock. The cyan dye layer has faded faster than magenta and yellow, leaving a strong warm amber-pink cast that is heaviest toward the edges and corners. Blacks are lifted and milky rather than true black, with shadows sitting warm grey-brown and carrying a magenta tint. Contrast is noticeably low and flat, highlights roll off softly instead of clipping, and light sources bloom with a warm halation glow. Clear colour crossover between cooler shadows and warmer highlights. Overall desaturation in which warm tones survive best while blues and greens read muted and yellowed.
Print damage: the photograph sits on aged photo paper with a narrow cream-white border whose edges are worn, softly frayed and darkened. Across the image itself there are pale hairline crease lines, fine white surface scratches, small handling marks and one slightly bent corner, with uneven fading and light staining toward the borders. These flaws must be clearly visible, not subtle.
Mood: assured, cinematic, old-money nostalgia.
Rendering: period photographic rendering, not modern digital. Soft focus falloff typical of an inexpensive 1980s consumer lens, low micro-contrast, and heavy visible film grain across the entire frame including the face. Edges are slightly soft everywhere. Skin reads naturally textured but without clinical pore-level detail. Correct anatomy, no extra fingers. Add a small, subtle, semi-transparent "promptybox.com" watermark in the bottom-right corner. Optimised for Gemini and ChatGPT / DALL·E (also works in Midjourney).
Parameters: --ar 4:5 --style raw --v 6 --stylize 350 --quality 2 --seed [insert seed] --iw [insert image weight 1-3 for the reference face] --no distortion, extra limbs, warped hands, text artifacts, gibberish lettering, modern cars, modern clothing, visible car badges or brand names, sharp modern photo, crisp digital rendering, high micro-contrast, clean undamaged print, no border, HDR look, true black shadows, oversharpened detail, clinical skin detail
ChatGPT
