ChatGPT prompt for photo editing: Want Kerala-style retro images from 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s? Try these five ideas

The viral ChatGPT retro photo trend has taken another regional turn, with users experimenting with AI-generated images inspired by Kerala and Malayali culture.

The trend involves transforming modern photographs into portraits designed to resemble images from earlier decades. Users can specify details such as clothing, hairstyles, jewellery, architecture, lighting and photographic texture to create different vintage looks.

While 1980s-inspired portraits have become particularly popular, the same idea can be adapted to the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, with each decade bringing its own visual references.

For a Kerala-inspired version, prompts can include elements such as traditional gold jewellery, Kerala-style homes, period-specific clothing and hairstyles, and analogue photography characteristics.

The person's facial features and identity can also be explicitly preserved while the surrounding visual elements are changed.

5 ChatGPT prompts for Kerala-style retro photos

• 1960s Kerala family portrait

Prompt:

Using my uploaded photograph as the reference, recreate me as I would appear in a Kerala family portrait from around 1965. Preserve my identity, facial structure, skin tone, age and recognisable facial features. Dress me in period-appropriate Kerala clothing and styling, with authentic traditional details and understated gold jewellery. Set the scene inside a modest Kerala home with period-appropriate furniture and architecture. Make the photograph resemble an old studio or family-album photograph from the 1960s, with soft natural lighting, muted tones, gentle film grain, slight fading and the texture of an aged analogue print. Avoid modern objects, clothing, hairstyles and technology.

• 1970s Kerala portrait

Prompt:

Transform my uploaded photograph into a realistic portrait of Kerala, inspired by the mid-to-late 1970s. Keep my facial identity, facial features, skin tone and age recognisable. Give me a hairstyle, clothing, accessories, and jewellery appropriate for Kerala in the 1970s. Place me in a period-appropriate Kerala setting, such as a traditional home or veranda, with furniture and architectural details consistent with the decade. Use warm analogue colours, subtle film grain, slightly faded tones, soft focus and the look of a photograph taken with a 1970s film camera. Do not include modern objects or contemporary styling.

• 1980s Kerala studio photograph

Prompt:

Using my uploaded photo, recreate me as if it were taken in Kerala around 1985. Preserve my identity, facial features, skin tone, age and recognisable appearance. Reimagine my hairstyle, clothing, jewellery and accessories with unmistakable Kerala and Malayali styling from the mid-1980s. Use a classic studio portrait composition with a simple, period-appropriate backdrop, warm lighting, direct flash, soft focus, analogue film grain, and slightly faded colours. Make it resemble an authentic 1980s family photograph rather than a modern image with a retro filter. Remove all modern objects, text and contemporary styling.

• 1990s Kerala family album

Prompt:

Recreate my uploaded photograph as a Kerala family-album picture from around 1995. Preserve my identity, facial features, skin tone, age and recognisable appearance. Give me a hairstyle, outfit, jewellery and accessories inspired by everyday Kerala fashion of the mid-1990s. Place me in a realistic, period-appropriate Kerala home or outdoor setting. Recreate the look of a 1990s consumer film camera with slightly warm colours, modest flash, natural imperfections, subtle grain and the texture of an old printed photograph. Avoid smartphones, modern buildings, contemporary clothing, digital effects and other elements that would not fit the period.

• Kerala retro family photograph across decades

Prompt:

Using my uploaded photograph as the reference, create a Kerala family photograph inspired by the visual style of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Preserve my identity, facial features, skin tone and recognisable appearance. Choose one clearly defined decade and make the clothing, hairstyle, jewellery, architecture, furniture, lighting and photography style consistent with that period. Include authentic Kerala visual details without exaggerating them. Give the image the appearance of an old analogue photograph, including appropriate film grain, colour fading, softness and minor imperfections. Do not include modern objects, text or contemporary visual elements.

How to get a better Kerala retro image on ChatGPT

The decade should be clearly specified when creating a period-inspired image. Simply asking ChatGPT to make a photograph “look old” may produce a generic vintage effect rather than a particular historical aesthetic.

Users can make their prompts more specific by describing the year or decade, clothing, hairstyle, jewellery, setting, lighting and photographic characteristics they want.

It can also help to explicitly state which elements should remain unchanged. For example, asking ChatGPT to preserve the person's identity, facial features, skin tone and age can help keep the subject recognisable while the styling and surroundings are transformed.

For a more convincing period-inspired result, modern objects and contemporary styling can also be explicitly excluded from the prompt.