What each part of the prompt does
- Walking towards the camera
- Movement gives the coat and scarf something to do and avoids a stiff standing pose. Walking towards the camera keeps the face fully visible.
- Snow on the person
- "A few snowflakes caught in their hair" puts the weather on the person as well as the street, which is the detail that makes the snow feel real rather than added.
- Cold and warm light
- Blue dusk light and yellow shop windows give the face two colours of light. That contrast is what makes winter street photos look cinematic.
- Lens language
- "Shallow depth of field, 85mm lens look" blurs the street behind and keeps attention on the face, the way a portrait photographer would shoot it.
Variations to try
Same idea, one thing changed. These have no example image yet.
Town square tree Keep the face from my uploaded photo exactly as it is. Show the person standing in an old town square in front of a tall lit Christmas tree on a snowy December evening. They wear a long camel wool coat, a chunky knitted red scarf and leather gloves, with a few snowflakes caught in their hair. Shop windows glow warm yellow, a small Christmas market glows at the edges of the square, and the cobblestones are dusted white. Shallow depth of field, 85mm lens look, cool blue dusk light mixed with warm window light, 4:5 frame.
Red coat and beret Keep the face from my uploaded photo exactly as it is. Show the person walking towards the camera down a narrow old-town street on a snowy December evening. They wear a long red wool coat, a black beret and black leather gloves, with a few snowflakes caught in their hair. Shop windows glow warm yellow, garlands with small lights hang across the street above, and the cobblestones are dusted white. Shallow depth of field, 85mm lens look, cool blue dusk light mixed with warm window light, 4:5 frame.
Morning snowfall Keep the face from my uploaded photo exactly as it is. Show the person walking towards the camera down a narrow old-town street on a snowy December morning. They wear a long camel wool coat, a chunky knitted red scarf and leather gloves, with a few snowflakes caught in their hair. Shop windows glow warm yellow, garlands with small lights hang across the street above, and the cobblestones are dusted white. Shallow depth of field, 85mm lens look, soft white overcast light with heavier falling snow, 4:5 frame.
If the result isn't right
- If the street looks like a film set, add "real old town, worn stone, a few passers-by out of focus".
- Snowflakes on the face can look like white spots; ask for "a few melting snowflakes in the hair only".
- When the face turns blue from the dusk light, request "warm window light on the face, blue light only in the background".
- If the coat changes colour between tries, name it twice: "camel coat, light brown wool".