A Kirkwall Ba Photoshoot

The Kirkwall Ba' register

The Kirkwall Ba' is Orkney's New Year's Day: a stone street, a scrum of two hundred, navy jerseys, sea wind, the shops boarded up, the game running till dark. This pack borrows that register — a navy wool jersey and trousers as the silhouette, a leather ball held under one arm as the attribute.

Photographically the register is camaïeu navy: the wool, the wet stone and the sea all share one hue, and separation comes from texture and the wet stone's specular. Three takes carry the pack: the stone street with the crowd held to a value behind and the light flat and grey, the harbour wall with the sea grey-navy and the wind in the hair, and a half-length with the ball at the chest and the boarded shopfronts held to a value.

The output is photoreal — a real-looking photograph of you on the street, not a painting or a stock sporting scene. It's a portrait built from your own uploaded face set against a documented Orkney tradition; it isn't a claim to have actually played in the game.

How to photograph yourself for a Kirkwall Ba' photoshoot

Better source photos make better portraits. The pack works with an ordinary phone selfie — the free preview tells you in seconds — but a few things sharpen the likeness before the navy goes on top.

1. Even, soft lightStand near a window with indirect daylight on your face. The pack builds its own flat, grey Orkney light on top — a clear, evenly lit selfie gives it the clearest face to work from.
2. Front or three-quarter angleCamera at eye level, facing it or turned slightly to three-quarter. No selfie-stick uplook, no shot from below.
3. Face fully clearHair off the face, no hats or sunglasses in the source photo. A clear, front-facing photo is the best input for an AI portrait.
4. A steady, weather-worn expressionThe Kirkwall Ba' register favors a fixed, outdoor look over a big grin — a steady expression blends more naturally into the street's flat light.
5. Plain background is fineThe pack's three settings replace your own backdrop entirely. A plain wall behind you just helps the model focus on your face.

Frequently asked questions

Will it actually look like Kirkwall on the day?

The output is photoreal — a genuine-looking photograph on the stone street, not an illustration or a stock sporting graphic — built from documented details of the Ba': the navy jersey, the wet stone, the boarded shopfronts.

Is this a real photo of the scrum, or of me?

It's a portrait of you. The crowd stays held to a value behind — the pack borrows the game's documented navy register as a visual reference; every frame is generated from your own uploaded face.

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

The free preview is one photo from your uploaded face, shown live in seconds so you can judge the likeness before you commit. The full pack is nine photos across the stone street, the harbour wall, and the close half-length — different crops and light.

How is this different from a generic Scotland-photo AI filter?

Most generic filters default to a vague tartan-and-thistle look. This pack is anchored to specific, documented Kirkwall Ba' details — the navy wool, the leather ball, the wet stone street — so it reads as the actual tradition, not a stock backdrop.

Is this pack built for men?

Yes — the Ba' is traditionally played by Orkney's men, which is what this pack's navy-jersey styling follows. A women's version isn't built for this world.

What if my source photo isn't great?

One clear phone selfie is usually enough. The free preview shows you the likeness in seconds — if it's off, the prep tips above are the fastest fix, and lighting is the most common culprit.

Can I use this as a profile picture or a keepsake?

Yes — it's a striking, weather-worn portrait that reads well as a profile picture or a printed keepsake for the tradition.

What happens to the photo I upload?

Your photo is processed on European servers to generate your preview and, if you continue, your full pack. It is not sold or shared with third parties.

When the Kirkwall Ba' pack fits

• For a profile picture with a striking, camaïeu-navy register
• For a wall print or framed portrait held to one navy throughout
• For a gift for anyone drawn to Scotland or Orkney's traditions
• For a dating profile photo that reads distinctive rather than posed
• For a phone or desktop wallpaper with real navy-and-sea colour in it
• For a vision board built around a Scotland trip
• For a New Year keepsake print marking the tradition
• For anyone who wants a portrait held to one navy, street to sea

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 photos of you into portraits worth keeping. Drop a selfie and your free preview streams in seconds — a quick sketch: close, not you yet. For portraits that are truly you, train your own model on 12 to 20 photos; it trains in the background, and we email you when it is ready. Train once, render everywhere — this pack, every other pack, and the Studio all come out of that one model, about ten seconds a portrait, and it stays yours to retrain or delete. Each pack is hand-curated against actual references — paintings, photographers, registers — and tested on real faces before it ships. See a free preview before you pay, not after. 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.