The viral 1980s AI photo trend has swept social media, but the generic retro high school portraits that fill feeds are getting a Nigerian rewrite. Users are feeding their selfies into ChatGPT with prompts that place them on old Lagos streets, in modest family compounds, at traditional weddings, and inside those classic studio portraits that still sit in parents' photo albums.
The twist is personal. Instead of a one-size-fits-all vintage look, these prompts build a scene around the subject's actual features and Nigerian settings from the mid-80s. The source material lists 20 different prompt options, each built on a base formula that describes the subject's physical traits and asks for a realistic, analogue-style photograph taken in Nigeria in the mid-1980s.
There are two technical details to know before starting. ChatGPT Plus may be required to generate multiple images, and the AI does not face-swap a selfie. It creates a likeness, using the uploaded photo as inspiration to generate a new character with similar features. The advice is to upload the photo and explicitly describe the features in the prompt, such as "a dark-skinned Nigerian woman with high cheekbones and short natural hair."
The base prompt is the same for every generation. It asks for a physical printed photo look with subtle film grain, soft focus, natural lighting, and slightly faded vintage colours, with no modern objects like smartphones or flat-screen TVs. Then users add one of the 20 specific prompts to place the retro avatar in a chosen setting.
The prompts cover a spread of Nigerian life. One places the subject on a busy Lagos street in 1985, wearing authentic mid-80s casual fashion, with period-appropriate cars, retro shop signs, and 1980s architecture in the background. Another poses them in a modest family compound in 1983, dressed in typical 80s weekend wear, sitting on vintage wooden furniture.
Weddings get their own treatment. A prompt dresses the subject as a guest at a Nigerian wedding in 1986, in authentic traditional attire with a period-appropriate gele, jewelry, and accessories, set against a classic event backdrop. A separate prompt sets up a formal Nigerian studio portrait from 1982, with an authentic 1980s hairstyle and a simple painted canvas studio backdrop with soft flash photography.
University life appears too. One prompt reimagines the subject as a Nigerian university student in 1985, carrying a textbook with retro university buildings behind them. Another transforms them into a 1988 graduate in a slightly oversized gown and cap, posing on a campus lawn.
Church fashion gets a specific scene. A prompt dresses the subject in elegant, conservative Nigerian church fashion from 1984, with period-appropriate accessories and shoes, placed outside a traditional church building after Sunday service. Birthday scenes, children playing in the sand of a family compound in 1981, and a crowded naming ceremony in 1984 with a plastic basin of drinks and kola nut are also covered.
The commercial and social scenes are detailed. A Lagos market prompt asks for documentary-style analogue grit with period-appropriate market stalls and vintage packaging. A nightlife prompt dresses the subject in flashy 1987 fashion outside a Lagos entertainment venue, using harsh flash photography typical of night shots. An office portrait from 1985 surrounds them with typewriters, thick paper files, and retro office decor. A secondary school prompt requires a strict, era-appropriate haircut or braided style in front of a retro classroom block.
The settings extend to leisure. A Bar Beach prompt places the subject in realistic casual holiday clothing in 1986 under bright, washed-out natural sunlight. A couple's studio portrait from 1985 uses matching traditional outfits and the slightly faded appearance of an old anniversary photo. A veranda scene from 1980 includes vintage architectural details like breeze blocks and retro iron burglary proofing.
One prompt leans the subject against a vintage 1980s Peugeot 504 or Volkswagen Beetle parked on a Lagos street in 1985, wearing fashionable clothes. Another focuses on fabric textures, asking for realistic vintage lace or aso-oke in a classic studio setting. The full list of 20 prompts is available for anyone looking to move beyond the generic trend and put themselves in a specific Nigerian memory.
According to Pulse.ng.
