The 1980s are making a comeback on social media, but this time it’s artificial intelligence that is doing the time travel. A new 80s AI photo trend is going viral, with users turning their fresh photos into real-life portraits inspired by the fashion, hairstyles, lighting and photography of the 1980s. AI isn’t doing the “old school” filter only, but can also replace things like clothing, hairstyle, background, lighting and general picture aesthetic.
The trend has been particularly prevalent on Instagram, where users are sharing their imagined 1980s versions through posts and Stories. The idea is fairly simple: upload a clear picture to ChatGPT and ask it to recreate the image as if it had been captured several decades ago. Depending on the prompt, users can create an old family album photograph, an Indian wedding portrait, a retro street picture, a Bollywood-inspired studio portrait, or even a vintage magazine cover look.
How To Create a 1980s Photo in ChatGPT
Creating your own retro picture doesn’t require professional photo editing skills. ChatGPT images support creating new photos or editing a photo uploaded by others. Users can upload an image and describe the changes they want to make to it.
- Step 1: Start a conversation in ChatGPT and upload a clear photograph in which your face is easily visible. A good image usually offers the AI more visual information to work with.
- Step 2: Tell ChatGPT that you want to transform the photograph into a realistic 1980s-style image.
- Step 3: Have specific details about the elements you want to change. Clothing, hairstyle, jewellery, makeup, background, lighting, camera style and film texture can be mentioned.
- Step 4: If the first result doesn’t look quite like you want it, carry on with your conversation and ask for clarification. You could ask for a different hairstyle, dress as if it were the 1980s, a softer background or the appearance of analogue film.
- Step 5: Once you are satisfied with the retro creation, you can share the retro creation on Instagram or other social media websites. ChatGPT also lets users edit generated or uploaded images.
1980s Indian Wedding Photograph
For a nostalgic Indian wedding look, ask ChatGPT to recreate your photograph as an authentic 1980s Indian wedding portrait. Talk about period-appropriate wedding clothes, traditional jewellery, hairstyles and an old studio or wedding hall setting. You can also request warm lighting, slightly faded colours, soft focus and subtle analogue film grain.
“Turn this picture into an authentic 1980s Indian wedding photograph. Keep my facial identity and natural facial features recognisable. Give me traditional 1980s Indian wedding clothing, period-appropriate jewellery and hairstyle. Use a classic Indian wedding setting, warm soft lighting, slightly faded colours, realistic analogue film grain and the appearance of a photograph taken on a vintage film camera.”
Retro Street Photography
Another popular approach is to imagine yourself walking through an Indian city in the 1980s. You can specify the year, location, vehicles, shops, signboards and general atmosphere.
Prompt: “Transform this photograph into a realistic 1987 Indian street photograph. Keep my face and facial identity unchanged and recognisable. Dress me in authentic late-80s Indian fashion. Add period-appropriate cars, scooters, shopfronts and street details in the background. Use natural daylight, realistic shadows, warm analogue colours, subtle film grain and the texture of an old 35mm photograph.”
Old Indian Family Album Look
The classic family-album style can give the image a particularly nostalgic appearance. Request a simple indoor setting, natural expressions and that slightly imperfect quality of older family photographs.
Prompt: “Recreate this image as an authentic 1980s Indian family album photograph. Keep my face and my natural expression intact. Use simple traditional clothing, a modest indoor family setting, soft natural lighting and vintage-camera characteristics. Add subtle film grain, slightly faded colours, gentle softness and the nostalgic look of a printed family photograph.”
1980s Bollywood Heroine Look
For a glamorous Bollywood-inspired transformation, describe the fashion and studio aesthetic associated with the decade without asking the AI to copy a specific person's face.
Prompt: “Make this photograph into a glamorous 1980s Bollywood heroine studio portrait. Make my face look like it’s from my past. Give me an authentic 1980s hairstyle, colourful Indian clothes, statement jewellery and period-appropriate makeup. Set me in a classic Indian studio with soft professional lighting, warm analogue colours, subtle film grain and authentic vintage photography.”
1980s Bollywood Hero Look
Men can create a similar retro Bollywood-inspired portrait with period clothing and hairstyles.
Prompt: “Turn this photo into a stylish 1980s Bollywood hero portrait. Keep my facial identity intact and recognisable. Give me an authentic 1980s hairstyle, a classic shirt, high-waisted trousers and a vintage Indian studio setting. Use soft cinematic lighting, slightly muted colours, realistic analogue film grain and a professionally photographed 1980s film magazine portrait.”
1980s Magazine Cover Portrait
Another creative way is to turn your picture into a vintage Indian magazine-style portrait.
Prompt: “Transform this photograph into an authentic 1980s Indian magazine cover portrait. Keep my face identifiable and recognisable. Decide on period-appropriate hairstyle, clothing, jewellery and makeup. Create a professional studio setting with soft lighting, vintage camera characteristics, warm tones and subtle analogue film grain. To make the picture look like it was actually taken in the 1980s and not the digital age with a modern digital filter.”
The popularity of the trend shows how AI is marrying modern image-generation technology with nostalgia for vintage fashion and photography. Users can experiment with different decades, regional styles, family settings and cinematic aesthetics simply by changing the instructions in their prompts.
For the most convincing results, it helps to use a clear photograph and describe the desired period style in detail. Rather than just saying “make me look like the 1980s,” specifying the hairstyle, outfit, location, lighting and camera characteristics can give the AI a much clearer creative direction.
One thing users should also keep in mind is privacy. Before uploading a personal photograph to any AI service, we need to look at the current privacy and data-use settings of the service, especially if we are using high-resolution personal images. OpenAI's current guidance gives us the image input to ChatGPT and points the user to the current policy for uploading it; they will get to see the submitted content and how it's handled.
With the right prompt, your modern selfie could be a visual time capsule, a visual glimpse into what you might have looked like in the colourful, stylish world of the 1980s.
