An AI portrait series for a fictional cast, shot in one session

A cast page for a novel, the crew of a tabletop campaign, the characters of a game pitch: five faces that have to sit side by side. Each one can come out lovely on its own and the set can still look wrong, because one was lit by a window, one by a ring light and one seems to come from a film still. Readers notice that before they notice any face. The fix is old photography practice: decide the session once, then change only the person in front of the camera.

Write the session sheet first

Before any character, write the part of the prompt that will never change. Think of it as what a photographer sets up before the first sitter arrives. It needs five things:

1. 01Light: one named setup. "A large softbox high and to the left, a dim fill from the right" is a setup; "soft lighting" is a wish.
2. 02Lens and distance: "85mm portrait lens, head and shoulders" for all five. Switch lens between characters and their faces change shape.
3. 03Backdrop: a single colour or texture, such as "mottled charcoal canvas backdrop".
4. 04Finish: the film or grade, "muted colours, fine grain", said the same way every time.
5. 05Frame: one aspect ratio, chosen in the composer before the first render. The aspect ratio guide helps you pick it for where the set will live.

Then write one line per character

The character goes at the front of the prompt, because the start is what models weigh most (the prompt guide covers why). Keep each line to the same length and the same kind of detail: age range, build, hair, one item of clothing, one expression. If one character gets three lines of costume and another gets five words, the rich one will look like the lead and the rest like extras.

Keep the session from drifting

• One model for the whole set. Two models read the same words differently, and the difference shows most in skin and light.
• Use the first good portrait as an anchor. On a model that takes an image, attach it with + Image and add "match the lighting, backdrop and colour grade of the reference, a different person". The reference images guide explains what a reference carries and what it does not.
• Reuse, do not retype. Reuse prompt on a finished render in your library brings its prompt back; edit only the first sentence. A retyped session block always loses a word.
• Leave the seed alone for a cast. A fixed seed holds the composition of one prompt still, which is good for small edits to one character, but it does not make different people look photographed together. The seed explainer has the details.

Skin that matches across the set

The quickest giveaway in a cast is one face that is smoother than the others. Put the same skin words in the session block for everyone, for example "natural skin texture, visible pores, no retouching", rather than adding them only to the face that came out waxy. The plastic skin fix lists more of those words.

What this will not give you

The same face twice. This method keeps a session consistent; it does not lock a character's face so that the navigator looks identical in a second scene a week later. Faces drift from render to render, and a reference guides a look rather than copying a person. If your project needs the same character in many scenes, plan to pick the closest renders and accept small changes. The cast must also stay fictional: never build a character from a real person's photo or name without their permission, and keep every character clearly of legal age. Exact details like a scar on the left cheek or a badge with lettering will wander too, so check them in the final row.

Pick a portrait model on the models page, set the frame in the studio, and render the session block with your first character. The price shows on the Generate button before each render.