What each part of the prompt does
- Direct flash
- "Light from a direct camera flash" with "soft shadows on the curtain" is what makes an instant photo recognisable: bright, flat faces and a dark outline behind the heads.
- Slight motion blur
- A little blur adds the feel of a quick snap and softens the overly crisp edges that tend to give AI images away.
- Plain white curtain
- A simple curtain keeps the background from competing with the hug and copies the casual corner-of-a-room setting these photos usually have.
- Border and colour
- "Show the white instant-photo border" asks for the frame itself, and "grainy, slightly washed-out colour" matches instant film. The square frame fits both.
Variations to try
Same idea, one thing changed. These have no example image yet.
Kiss on the cheek Using the two people in my uploaded photo, keep both faces exactly the same. Create a Polaroid-style photo of them in front of a plain white curtain, one kissing the other on the cheek while the other laughs at the camera. Light from a direct camera flash, slight motion blur, soft shadows on the curtain and the grainy, slightly washed-out colour of an instant photo. Show the white instant-photo border around the image. Square frame.
Black and white instant Using the two people in my uploaded photo, keep both faces exactly the same. Create a black-and-white Polaroid-style photo of them hugging and smiling at the camera in front of a plain white curtain. Light from a direct camera flash, slight motion blur, soft shadows on the curtain and the grainy, low-contrast tones of black-and-white instant film. Show the white instant-photo border around the image. Square frame.
Fairy lights at night Using the two people in my uploaded photo, keep both faces exactly the same. Create a Polaroid-style photo of them hugging and smiling at the camera outdoors at night, with a string of warm fairy lights blurred behind them. Light from a direct camera flash, slight motion blur, a dark background and the grainy, slightly washed-out colour of an instant photo. Show the white instant-photo border around the image. Square frame.
If the result isn't right
- If the border is missing or only on one side, reply "add an even white border on all sides with a thicker strip at the bottom".
- Gemini sometimes writes a caption on the border in made-up letters; ask for "blank border, no writing", or give it a two-word caption to print.
- When two separate photos are combined and the heights look wrong, describe it: "the person on the right is about a head taller".
- If the hug hides a face, say "cheek to cheek, both faces turned toward the camera".