Portrait Photography SREF Codes

Professional portrait photography SREF codes for Midjourney including studio portraits, natural light, headshots, and character studies.

Portrait SREF codes specialize in capturing people with professional photography techniques. These codes understand lighting, skin tones, depth of field, and composition specific to portraiture.

Quick Start:

Use --sref 178455688 --sw 120 for professional studio portraits, or --sref 1418553586 --sw 100 for natural light portraits.

Important:

Portrait codes work best when you focus your prompt on the subject and lighting, not on style descriptions. Let the SREF code handle the photographic style.

SREF Code Collection

178455688 - Professional Studio Portrait

High-end studio portrait photography with perfect lighting and professional finishing.

Characteristics:

  • Professional studio lighting setup
  • Perfect skin tones and color accuracy
  • Sharp detail with controlled depth of field
  • Commercial photography quality

Example:

corporate headshot of a business executive --sref 178455688 --sw 140

Settings: SW 120-160 | Best with V7, V6.1

Best For:

Perfect for corporate headshots, LinkedIn photos, professional portfolios, and commercial portrait work.

2872866529 - Ultra Realistic Portrait

Hyper-realistic portrait photography with exceptional detail and natural lighting.

Characteristics:

  • Ultra-high detail capture
  • Natural skin textures
  • Realistic lighting and shadows
  • Lifelike representation

Example:

close-up portrait with natural expression --sref 2872866529 1876603589 237086219 --sw 900 --c 5 --s 1000

Settings: SW 700-1000 | Best with V7 + --sv 4 | Chaos 5, Stylize 1000

Note:

This code works best with multiple SREF codes combined and very high style weights for maximum realism.

How to Use Portrait Codes

1

Choose Your Code

Select a code based on your desired aesthetic:

  • Studio look → --sref 178455688
  • Natural light → --sref 1418553586
  • Ultra realistic → --sref 2872866529
  • Artistic/cinematic → --sref 1097552965
2

Describe Your Subject

Focus on the person and content, not the style:

portrait of a woman in business attire --sref 178455688 --sw 120
3

Add Lighting Details

Specify lighting for better control:

portrait, soft window light from left --sref 1418553586 --sw 100
4

Fine-tune Style Weight

Adjust --sw to control the strength:

  • Start with --sw 120
  • Increase for stronger effect
  • Decrease for subtlety

Lighting Techniques

Portrait photography lives and dies by lighting. Here's how to specify different lighting setups:

Studio Lighting

portrait, three-point lighting setup --sref 178455688 --sw 140

Pro Tip:

Three-point lighting creates professional, dimensional portraits. Midjourney understands this terminology and will add appropriate key, fill, and rim lights.

Natural Light

portrait, soft window light from left side --sref 1418553586 --sw 100

Golden Hour

outdoor portrait, golden hour sunlight --sref 2653204188 --sw 110

Lighting Direction Matters:

Always specify the direction of light (e.g., "from left", "from behind", "overhead") for more predictable and professional results.

Camera Equipment Specifications

Add camera details for enhanced realism and professional quality:

Professional Studio Setup

portrait, shot on Canon 5D Mark IV, 85mm f/1.4 lens --sref 178455688 --sw 140

Natural Documentary Style

portrait, shot on Fujifilm X-T4, 56mm f/1.2 --sref 2653204188 --sw 100

Popular Portrait Lenses:

85mm f/1.4 - Classic portrait lens with beautiful bokeh 50mm f/1.2 - Natural perspective, versatile 135mm f/2 - Compressed, ultra-flattering look

Composition & Framing

Enhance your prompts with these composition keywords:

Depth of Field Keywords:

  • "shallow depth of field"
  • "bokeh background"
  • "f/1.4 aperture"
  • "background separation"

Expression & Emotion:

  • "confident expression"
  • "contemplative mood"
  • "warm smile"
  • "serious, professional demeanor"

Camera Angles:

  • "eye-level shot"
  • "slightly above eye level"
  • "profile view"
  • "three-quarter angle"

Composition Tip:

Combining framing with expression creates more dynamic portraits. Example: "three-quarter angle portrait with confident expression"

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Specify Lighting Direction

portrait with soft window light from right --sref 178455688

Keep It Simple and Direct

close-up portrait --sref 178455688

Match Style to Code Type

professional portrait --sref 178455688

Note:

Let the SREF code handle the style. Your prompt should focus on content: who, where, and basic lighting.

Style Weight Guide

RangeEffectBest For
80-110Light, naturalCandid, documentary style
110-140Standard professionalMost portraits
140-180Enhanced characteristicsStudio, commercial work
180+Ultra-stylizedHyper-detailed, artistic

Note:

Tip: Start with --sw 120 and adjust up or down based on results.

Combining Codes

Mix portrait codes for unique styles:

portrait --sref 178455688::2 2653204188::1 --sw 120

This combines professional studio quality (2 parts) with documentary naturalism (1 part).

Advanced Technique:

Use the ::weight syntax to control the influence of each SREF code. Higher numbers mean stronger influence. Experiment with different ratios for unique hybrid styles.

Note:

When combining codes, start with lower --sw values (100-120) to prevent over-stylization. You can always increase later.

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