Editorial portrait with neon colored gel lighting

A tool-agnostic prompt pattern for editorial fashion portraits using colored gel lights to create bold split-tone lighting on the face.

Editorial fashion portrait with magenta and cyan gel split lighting on a model's face against black

Prompt

An editorial fashion portrait, head and shoulders, of a model with slicked-back
hair and sharp cheekbones, looking directly into the camera with a neutral
expression. Split lighting setup with a magenta-pink gel on the key light from
the left and a cyan-blue gel on the fill light from the right. The two colors
meet along the center line of the face, creating a clean division with a thin
band of blended purple where they overlap on the nose bridge. Solid black
background with no spill. Skin rendered with natural texture, visible pores,
no airbrushing. Catchlights in both eyes reflecting the two gel colors.
Shot on 85mm lens at f/2.8, medium format, editorial beauty photography for
a high-fashion magazine cover.
Negative prompt 
soft focus, dreamy, pastel, cluttered background, heavy makeup filter, cartoon, illustration

Aspect ratio: 2:3

Tool-agnostic: adapt to your generator.

Why this works

Colored gel portraits are a staple of editorial photography, and this prompt works by being extremely precise about how the two light sources interact.

Named colors, not vague terms — “Magenta-pink” and “cyan-blue” are far more effective than “colorful lighting” or “neon lights.” Generators need specific color targets. The complementary pair of magenta and cyan is particularly reliable because it appears frequently in fashion photography training data.

Split lighting geometry — Describing the lights as “from the left” and “from the right” with colors meeting “along the center line of the face” gives the generator a clear geometric rule to follow. This prevents the common failure where gel colors appear as random washes rather than structured lighting.

The overlap detail — Mentioning “a thin band of blended purple where they overlap on the nose bridge” teaches the generator how light mixing works. This small physical detail dramatically improves realism because it matches how real gels behave.

Catchlight specification — “Catchlights in both eyes reflecting the two gel colors” is a detail most prompters miss. Eye catchlights are a strong realism signal, and specifying their color adds coherence to the lighting setup.

Skin texture instruction — “Natural texture, visible pores, no airbrushing” fights the generator’s tendency to over-smooth skin in portrait mode. For editorial work, texture is a feature, not a flaw.

What to change if it fails

  • Colors too muddy or blended? Increase the contrast: “pure saturated magenta on the left half, pure saturated cyan on the right half, sharp color division.”
  • Background not pure black? Add “studio backdrop, pure black, no light spill on background, negative fill behind subject.”
  • Skin too smooth despite instructions? Add “photorealistic skin, dermatological detail, no beauty filter, raw photograph.”
  • Want different gel colors? Swap to any complementary pair: red/blue, amber/teal, green/magenta. Always name both colors explicitly.
  • Expression too stiff? Replace “neutral expression” with a specific micro-expression: “slight squint, confident gaze” or “relaxed jaw, parted lips.”

Browse related

editorial fashion colored gel

ai-generated demonstration · created by imageprompt.com · takedown requests

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