An Artist Portrait Under the Jacaranda

The Jacaranda Month register

In March, the streets of Colonia Roma in Mexico City are roofed in jacaranda violet, and the pavements are carpeted with fallen bloom. The pack sets the artist in that month: a violet wool coat with a long knitted scarf, silver at the ears, and a painter's house of dark wood and tall windows on Calle Chihuahua behind her.

She stands head and shoulders under the canopy with violet bloom soft and dense behind the face and the scarf's knit close. She is chest-up before a dark wood door with fallen petals at the frame's edge, and half-length down the carpeted street with the avenue of violet receding. The light is dappled high-altitude sun softened by the branches, and the mood is a woman who walked beneath this canopy for fifty years.

What comes out is photographic: nine photos of you, three in each of three settings, in the look of Colonia Roma in jacaranda season. The place and the wardrobe are borrowed as a setting; the photos are portraits of you, not pictures taken there.

How to photograph yourself for a artist portrait

Better source photos make better portraits. An ordinary phone photo is enough, and a few habits sharpen the likeness.

1. Even, soft lightStand near a window with daylight on your face. Avoid overhead bulbs and phone flash, which flatten a face.
2. Front or three-quarter angleCamera at eye level, facing it or turned slightly. No shot from below, no stretched arm.
3. Face fully clearHair off the face, no sunglasses and no filters. A clear, front-facing phone photo is the best starting point.
4. Hair off the facePull hair back or tuck it behind the ears. The pack adds scarf and silver earrings, so an open face reads best.
5. A plain background is fineDo not worry about your own backdrop. The pack replaces it entirely.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a real photo taken at Colonia Roma in jacaranda season?

No. It is a portrait of you set in the look of Colonia Roma in jacaranda season. It is not a picture taken there.

Will it look like a real photograph?

Yes. Every photo is photoreal: a real-looking photograph of you in the look of Colonia Roma in jacaranda season, not a painting or a cartoon.

Why so much violet?

Jacaranda blooms all at once in March, so the canopy, the petals on the pavement and the coat share one violet. The grey stone and the dark wood door keep it from overwhelming the face.

Is this an artist portrait or a Mexico City photoshoot?

It is both. Use it as a painter's or illustrator's headshot, or as a spring street portrait for a profile picture.

Is this pack for women?

The wardrobe and styling are cut for women, so the pack reads that way. Other packs on Narcis suit other looks.

Will the photos look like me?

Every photo looks like you, well photographed. If one is nearly right, say what to change, in your own words.

Do I have to write a prompt?

No. There is nothing to write: you pick a pack, and it is ready in seconds.

How many photos of myself do I add?

Between six and twenty, from different days and in different light, with your face clear. We check each one when you add it.

What happens to the photos I add?

They are used only to create your model, on our own servers in the European Union. They are not shared and not sold.

When this pack fits

• An artist portrait for a studio or gallery website
• A purple outfit portrait for a spring profile picture
• A painter's headshot for an exhibition catalogue
• A Mexico City street portrait for a travel blog
• A bio picture for an art newsletter
• A framed print in violet and grey
• A gift for a friend who loves surrealist painters

About narcis

Most AI photo tools put every pose, job, era, and style in one giant catalog. The photos all look like every other AI photo on the internet — a glaze over a stock face. Narcis goes the other way. One job: photos of you that look like photographs. You add at least 6 photos of yourself, and we create your AI model from them. Your photos are ready in a few hours, and we email you when they are. Then this pack and every other pack on Narcis can be made with your face. Each pack is curated against real references — paintings, photographers, places — and tested on real faces before it goes live. Built and run by one small team, on our own servers.