The hall at this desk is a light instrument before it is a room. One tall opening, evening sun, and every portrait made here is carved by the same geometry: bright stone, deep shadow, a face crossing between them. Chiaroscuro is not a style we apply; it is what the building does.
Write the source, not the mood
“Dramatic lighting” is a wish. “Low sun through a stone arch, left half of her face in shadow” is a carving instruction. Generators, like apprentices, work from specifications: name the source, its direction, and what it leaves dark — the shadow is half the portrait and must be commissioned, not tolerated.
Let the shadow keep secrets
Boudoir light is kindest when it edits. A gown’s construction in brightness, its hem lost to shade; the steps clear, the hall behind her mostly suggestion. Prompts that demand everything visible produce frames with nothing withheld — and nothing to return to.
Carve, then: one source, honest shadow, and a face placed exactly where the two negotiate.