Pose doesn't require prompt engineering — most people pick a style from the library and never write one. But writing your own opens up anything the presets don't cover, and there's a simple structure that works consistently.
This guide covers the formula, ten copy-paste examples across photos, video, and UGC, and the one thing you should never include.
- The formula: framing, then subject and wardrobe, then setting, then lighting, then quality tags — in that order.
- Example: "Waist-up shot, person in a navy blazer in a modern office, soft window light, editorial photography, ultra-realistic, 8k".
- Never describe the face. Your identity comes from the uploaded selfie — describing hair, age, or features fights the identity lock rather than helping it.
- Video prompts add one more element: the motion or camera instruction.
The prompt formula
Lead with framing, because it does the most work: chest-up, waist-up, three-quarter, full-length, or close-up. Then the subject and wardrobe — always the word "person" plus what they're wearing, kept general rather than gendered. Then the setting, then the lighting, then a couple of quality tags like "editorial photography, ultra-realistic, 8k".
The critical rule is what you leave out: never describe facial features, hair, skin tone, or age. Pose reads all of that from your uploaded selfie and locks it, so describing a face in the prompt pulls against the identity lock and makes results less like you, not more.
10 Pose AI prompt examples
1. 1. Corporate headshot
A clean LinkedIn-ready portrait with controlled studio lighting. Prompt: "Chest-up shot, person in a navy blazer against a soft grey studio backdrop, single key light from the left, natural expression, editorial photography, ultra-realistic, 8k"
2. 2. Casual outdoor portrait
Approachable and warm — good for a personal site or a dating profile. Prompt: "Waist-up shot, person in a light knit sweater on a tree-lined street at golden hour, warm backlight, relaxed expression, shallow depth of field, editorial photography, ultra-realistic, 8k"
3. 3. Editorial full-body
A fashion-leaning full-body frame with environmental context. Prompt: "Full-length shot, person in a tailored coat on a city pavement at blue hour, ambient streetlight, slight motion in the background, editorial photography, ultra-realistic, 8k"
4. 4. Lifestyle café scene
Activity-adjacent context — useful for social profiles and dating apps. Prompt: "Medium shot, person seated at a café table by a window, natural daylight, coffee cup in frame, candid relaxed posture, editorial photography, ultra-realistic, 8k"
5. 5. Dramatic low-key portrait
A moodier creative portrait for personal branding or album art. Prompt: "Close-up portrait, person against a dark background, single hard side light, deep shadow falloff, high contrast, black and white, editorial photography, ultra-realistic, 8k"
6. 6. UGC talking-head setup
A first frame for a UGC ad — pair it with HeyGen for the talking version. Prompt: "Waist-up shot, person in casual clothing in a bright home interior holding a small unbranded product, natural window light, looking directly at camera, phone-video framing, ultra-realistic, 8k"
7. 7. Product-in-hand
Product-focused content where the person is secondary. Prompt: "Close-up shot, hands holding a plain unbranded product against a soft neutral background, even diffused light, shallow depth of field, commercial product photography, ultra-realistic, 8k"
8. 8. Cinematic video still
Written as a video prompt — note the camera instruction for Kling. Prompt: "Three-quarter shot, person walking through a quiet city street at dusk, camera pushing slowly forward, warm streetlight glow, shallow depth of field, cinematic, ultra-realistic, 8k"
9. 9. Seasonal outdoor
Season-specific styling for holiday or seasonal content. Prompt: "Waist-up shot, person in a wool coat and scarf on a snowy street, soft overcast daylight, breath visible in cold air, muted palette, editorial photography, ultra-realistic, 8k"
10. 10. Poster-style portrait
A graphic frame you can add your own headline to afterwards. Prompt: "Chest-up shot, person centred against a bold single-colour background, even frontal light, strong graphic composition, high contrast, editorial photography, ultra-realistic, 8k"
Skip prompts entirely and pick from the full style library if you'd rather start from a preset.
For professional portraits specifically, see AI headshots.
For motion prompts, see Pose's native video generation.