Hanbok Portraits

The hanbok register

The hanbok lives in a single contrast: the short jeogori jacket against the high, full chima skirt, the colour of one set deliberately against the other. This pack builds three looks on that contrast. The first is a hanok courtyard — a jade-green jeogori over a crimson chima, white over indigo, butter-yellow over persimmon, the long otgoreum ribbon tied at the chest, a norigae pendant at the waist, set against a wooden veranda and hanji paper screens under grey-tiled eaves. The second is a palace look in the Gyeongbokgung manner — dusty-rose, royal-blue and plum jeogori over jade, saffron-gold and ivory chima, beneath painted dancheong eaves and vermilion lacquer columns, regal and composed. The third is a clean studio editorial where the garment is the hero. Three takes each — pose, crop and colourway shift, the hairpiece moving from binyeo to daenggi braid to jokduri coronet — so the nine portraits read like a real shoot.

These are photographs, not paintings. The output is photoreal: your face and your features, dressed and lit like an editorial — the silk jeogori's sheen against the structured matte fall of the chima, the ribbon crisp, the courtyard soft behind you. It borrows the cut of the hanbok, the colour grammar, and the register of a Korean portrait shoot; it does not turn you into a cartoon, an illustration, or a costume sticker. The closer your upload sits to a clear, front-on photo, the sharper the likeness comes back.

How to photograph yourself for hanbok portraits

Good input, good portrait. The pack forgives an imperfect photo — the free preview shows you the result in about 15 seconds — but four small things sharpen it.

1. Soft, even lightFace a window with indirect daylight on you. Skip the overhead bulb and hard noon sun — both flatten the face and kill the modelling the pack is built around.
2. Front or three-quarter, at eye levelHold the camera level with your eyes. No selfie up-angle, no looking down — the hanbok register wants you square to the lens.
3. Plain wall behind youLet the pack build the hanok courtyard, the palace colonnade and the clean studio. A clear backdrop means the whole likeness budget goes to your face.
4. Hair off the faceThe hanbok dresses the hairline — a low chignon with a binyeo, a braid with a daenggi. Hair pulled back from your face lets the pack set the ornament cleanly instead of inventing what it can't see.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between the free preview and the paid pack?

The preview is one hanbok portrait built from your photo, shown live in about 15 seconds — you judge the likeness before paying anything. The paid pack is nine portraits: three looks (hanok courtyard, palace, clean editorial), three takes each. €4,99, ready in about 45 seconds.

Will it actually look like me?

That's the whole job. Upload one clear, front-facing photo and the pack keeps your face, your features, your skin and hair — then dresses them in the hanbok. The free preview shows you exactly how close the likeness is before you spend a cent.

Is this a real hanbok look or a costume filter?

It's built to read as a genuine portrait — a real silk jeogori with its sheen, the structured fall of the chima, the otgoreum ribbon and norigae crisp, real light. It borrows the cut and register of a Korean portrait shoot; it doesn't claim to reproduce one specific hanbok house's piece. What you get looks like a photograph a studio would take, not a sticker pasted over your selfie.

How is this different from Midjourney or a free AI photo app?

Midjourney will paint you a beautiful woman in a hanbok — just not you; it invents a face. The free face-swap apps keep your face but render it plastic, the chima smeared and the ribbon melting. This pack does one narrow job well: your real likeness, in a real hanbok, photoreal, nine ways.

Can I use these for a profile picture, a card, or a print?

Yes. The portraits are yours to post, print, and send — a holiday card, a framed print, a profile picture, the group chat. Delivered at a resolution that holds up in print.

Do I need several photos, or is one enough?

One clear, front-facing photo is enough. A couple of extra angles nudge the likeness a little closer, but the free preview tells you whether your single photo already does the job.

What if my photo is a casual phone selfie?

The free preview tells you in about 15 seconds whether the likeness lands. If it doesn't, the prep tips above are the fastest fix — usually it's the lighting. One good photo beats five bad ones.

What happens to the photo I upload?

It's processed on European servers and used only to generate your preview and, if you buy, your pack of nine. It is not sold or shared with third parties.

When the hanbok pack fits

• A Chuseok or Seollal portrait for the family — without queueing for a studio in the one week everyone wants one.
• The Korea-trip photo you didn't take, or the palace hanbok rental you couldn't fit into the day.
• A wedding or paebaek look, tried on before the event so you know the jeogori-and-chima colour pairing suits you.
• Diaspora users picturing themselves in the dress, from a flat in Los Angeles, London, or Sydney.
• A profile picture with heritage and intent rather than another phone selfie.
• A gift for the mother, sister, or friend who would love the look but would never sit for the shoot.

About narcis

Most AI portrait tools ship every pose, profession, era, and aesthetic in one giant catalog. The output looks like every other AI photo on the internet — a glaze over a stock face. Narcis goes the other way. One tool, one job: turn a photo of you into a portrait worth keeping. Each pack is hand-curated against actual references — paintings, photographers, registers — and tested on real faces before it ships. Free preview before you pay. Packs are one-time — no subscription to buy one; Studio, the unlimited composer, is optional at €12/month and every pack includes 30 days of it. No template generator. Built and run by one team, on our own infrastructure.