Sep 30 • General discussion
Plastic Skin Resolves with just prompts
Hey! Yeah, that plastic/overly smooth skin is a super common issue with AI portrait generation. Here are some effective prompting techniques to get more realistic skin texture:
Key Phrases to Add:
For texture and detail:
"skin pores visible"
"detailed skin texture"
"natural skin imperfections"
"fine skin details"
"pores and fine lines"
"textured skin"
"raw photography"
To reduce smoothness:
"unretouched"
"no airbrushing"
"natural skin, not smooth"
"realistic skin texture, no beauty filter"
"imperfect skin"
Photography style references that help:
"shot on Canon EOS R5" (or other specific professional cameras)
"85mm portrait lens"
"natural lighting"
"photojournalistic style"
"documentary photography"
"Kodak Portra 400" (film stocks tend to give more realistic results)
Example Prompt Structure:
"portrait of [subject], natural skin texture with visible pores, fine lines and skin details, unretouched, raw photography, shot on Canon EOS R5 with 85mm lens, natural lighting, photorealistic, highly detailed, imperfect skin"
Also try:
Adding "--stylize" parameter lower values (like --stylize 50 to 250) for less "AI beautification"
Using "--style raw" if you're on Midjourney v6+
Mentioning specific photographers known for realistic portraits (like Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh)
The combination of "visible pores," "unretouched," and specific camera/film references usually does the trick.
The prompt I used:
A young man in his mid-20s with direct eye contact, gentle natural micro-smile with closed mouth, shot on Canon EOS R5 with 85mm f/1.8 lens at f/4.5, eye-level centered headshot framing from mid-chest up, visible skin pores across T-zone forehead nose and cheeks, natural freckles distributed organically across nose bridge and cheekbones varying in size and density, individual freckle spots with irregular placement, subtle under-eye texture with natural darkness, light stubble 5 o'clock shadow on chin and upper lip with uneven growth pattern, slight skin tone variation with redness on nose bridge, beauty mark on right cheek, fine facial hair visible on jawline, tousled textured hair with natural volume and flyaway strands in multiple directions, individual hair strand separation, natural wave pattern not flat or gelled, rich brown eyes with visible iris radial detail and limbal ring, rectangular catchlight reflections in eyes, slight asymmetry between eyes, natural eyelash spacing, eyebrows with organic ungroomed shape, natural lip texture with subtle dry patches, slight nose asymmetry from bone structure, silver brushed metal hoop earrings both ears, small visible tattoo on left neck, wearing rust burgundy corduroy shirt with visible ribbed texture on collar, large 5x6ft softbox positioned camera-center elevated 15 degrees creating even wraparound soft light, white wall bounce fill light, neutral gray studio cyc wall backdrop 6 feet behind falling to smooth bokeh at f/4.5, 5600K daylight balanced lighting no color cast, clean studio air no haze, natural oil variation on T-zone, matte skin finish with organic pore structure, minimal 2-3% digital grain texture overlay, clinical razor-sharp focus on eyes and facial plane, neutral color grade with accurate skin tones no teal-orange, natural lens vignette 5%, unretouched documentary realism, all natural imperfections retained, photorealistic, hyper-detailed skin texture, authentic casting portrait style --ar 4:5 --style raw --stylize 150 --v 6.1 --seed 777234
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Plastic Skin Resolves with just prompts
