You upload a selfie, ask ChatGPT for a new look, and the person in the result looks like your cousin. This post gives you a custom instruction that tells ChatGPT to protect your face, a prompt template for each image, and the photo habits that matter most. No prompt can promise a 100% match, but these steps improve your odds.
What you need
A ChatGPT account. Free works. OpenAI says ChatGPT Images 2.5, released on 8 September 2026, is rolling out to users across all tiers.
Custom instructions space. Free and Go users can save up to 1,500 characters. Plus, Pro and business plans get up to 5,000. The text below fits the free limit.
One or two clear photos of yourself. Front-facing, good light, no sunglasses, face not cut off.
Step by step
Open custom instructions. On web or desktop: Settings, then Personalization. Make sure "Enable customization" is on. On the iOS or Android app: Settings, then Customize ChatGPT.
Paste this into the Custom Instructions field and save:
When I upload a photo of myself and ask for an image, treat that photo as the
identity reference. Keep my face the same: face shape, jawline, eye shape and
spacing, eyebrows, nose, lips, ears, skin tone, facial hair, hairline,
moles or marks, and glasses if I wear them. Do not beautify, slim, smooth my
skin, change my skin tone, age or ethnicity. Change only what I ask for, such
as outfit, background, pose, lighting or style. In follow-up edits, keep the
same face as the original photo, not the last generated image. For heavy
styles like cartoon or anime, keep my proportions so I am still
recognisable. If you cannot keep my likeness accurate, tell me instead of
inventing a new face.Start a new chat and upload your photo. OpenAI's help page notes that custom instruction changes apply to future conversations, so a fresh chat is the safest test.
Use this prompt template for each image:
Use the uploaded photo as the exact face reference. Keep my facial features,
skin tone and hairline unchanged.
Change only: [WHAT YOU WANT, e.g. "put me in a navy blazer in a modern
office, soft window light, waist-up, looking at the camera"].
Keep the camera angle close to the original photo.Change one thing at a time. Ask for the outfit first, then the background, then the lighting. Big multi-change requests are where faces drift most.
If the face drifts, reset. Say "Go back to my original uploaded photo and redo this, keeping my face unchanged." If it still drifts, start a new chat and upload the photo again.
Describe what makes you, you. Add one line like "I have a slight gap in my front teeth and a mole on my left cheek" so the model has something specific to keep.
Good to know
No prompt guarantees 100% likeness. OpenAI says Images 2.5 is "better at preserving the subjects in your reference photos" and that distinctive features are "more likely to carry through". That is an improvement, not a promise. Expect to regenerate a few times.
Matching angle helps. Asking for a pose or angle very different from your photo, like a side profile from a front selfie, makes the model guess more.
Custom instructions are a nudge. They shape how ChatGPT writes its image requests, but they are not a dedicated face-lock feature.
Use only your own face, or someone's photo with their clear permission.
Label realistic AI images when you post them. OpenAI adds C2PA metadata and an invisible watermark to images made with its tools, and Meta labels images it detects as AI-made on Instagram and Facebook. Meta also requires users to disclose photorealistic AI video. Being upfront avoids confusion and keeps your account in good standing.
Privacy: photos you upload are processed by OpenAI. Check your data controls in ChatGPT settings if that matters to you.
Sources
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