Don't have a professional photoshoot? Use ChatGPT Images to turn a regular photo into a poster-style reference image — then upload it as your artwork when you design your banner.
A clear photograph of the athlete. Use the highest-resolution original available.
A full-body or three-quarter-length pose works best.
The athlete should be sharply focused and well lit.
Avoid screenshots, social-media downloads, filters, and blurry photos.
Get permission from the athlete — or a parent/guardian if the athlete is a minor.
The Example Poster
Upload an image in the style and layout you want as a reference.
The Exact Information
Player name
Team name
Jersey number
Graduation year
School colors
Optional school logo or mascot artwork that you have permission to use
ChatGPT allows you to upload an existing image, generate a new image from it, and make targeted edits using the selection tool. (Official ChatGPT Images instructions.)
1Upload the Images
In ChatGPT:
Start a new conversation.
Select the + button.
Select Add photos & files.
Upload the athlete's photograph first.
Upload your poster style reference second.
If available, upload a clean picture of the uniform or authorized school logo third.
Keep the images in that order so you can identify them clearly:
Image 1: Athlete and facial-identity reference
Image 2: Poster style and composition reference
Image 3: Uniform or team-branding reference
2Generate the Athlete & Background Without Typography
Creating the artwork without text first gives ChatGPT more room to concentrate on the athlete's likeness, anatomy, lighting, and composition. Replace the bracketed information in this prompt:
Create an original vertical high-school basketball senior poster using the uploaded images.
Image 1 is the identity reference for the athlete. Preserve the athlete's recognizable facial features, skin tone, hairstyle, age, and natural body proportions.
Image 2 is a style and composition reference only. Use its general high-energy sports-poster approach, but do not copy its person, wording, symbols, exact shapes, or precise layout.
Image 3 is the authorized uniform and team-color reference.
FORMAT:
Vertical 2:3 poster.
ATHLETE:
Place the athlete on the left 52 percent of the poster, shown approximately from the knees upward in a confident basketball pose. The athlete holds a realistic orange basketball near the lower-left corner. Use a slightly low camera angle for a heroic appearance. Preserve a natural, realistic face and hands.
UNIFORM:
Use a [ROYAL BLUE], [GOLD], and [WHITE] basketball uniform. Preserve the authorized uniform design from Image 3. The player's jersey number is [3].
BACKGROUND:
Create a dramatic dark-navy basketball arena with subtle stadium lights, a glossy basketball-court floor, curved court markings, electric-blue light streaks, angular geometric shards, and energetic gold accents. Add controlled blue-and-gold rim lighting around the athlete.
COMPOSITION:
Reserve the right 45 percent for future typography. Keep that space visually interesting but uncluttered and readable.
STYLE:
Premium professional sports campaign poster, realistic sports photography, crisp details, dramatic contrast, saturated school colors, sharp rim lighting, subtle texture, polished commercial finish.
IMPORTANT:
Do not add any words, letters, numbers, logos, watermarks, signatures, or imitation brand marks. Leave the typography area empty. Keep the athlete's face recognizable and realistic.
Generate a few versions until you get:
A convincing face
Correct body proportions
Natural hands
A believable basketball
Enough open space on the right
Strong blue-and-gold lighting
Do not start correcting minor text at this stage — there shouldn't be any yet.
3Add the Player's Name
Open the best generated image and select Edit. If available, use the selection tool to highlight only the upper-right typography area.
Change only the selected upper-right area. Keep the athlete, uniform, face, hands, basketball, lighting, background, colors, and composition unchanged.
Add the player's name on two lines:
"JORDAN"
"PRICE"
Spell it exactly:
J-O-R-D-A-N
P-R-I-C-E
Use extremely large, tall, condensed, bold athletic display lettering. Use an off-white textured fill, a very thin gold keyline, and a deep-navy dimensional shadow extending toward the lower right. Make the two lines right-aligned and tightly spaced.
The name must be the dominant typography. Do not add any other words or numbers.
Replace "JORDAN PRICE" with the correct name. For an unusual name, spelling it letter by letter improves reliability — OpenAI specifically recommends quoting exact text, using all caps, specifying placement and style, and spelling unfamiliar words letter by letter (OpenAI image-prompting guidance).
4Add the Team Banner
Select only the area beneath the player's name and enter:
Change only the selected area. Keep every existing element unchanged.
Add a slightly angled gold banner beneath the player's name. Inside the banner, add the exact text:
"COMETS"
Spell it:
C-O-M-E-T-S
Use bold, condensed, all-capital navy-blue athletic lettering. Center the word inside the banner. No other text.
5Add the Jersey Number
Select the large lower-right area:
Change only the selected lower-right area. Keep the athlete and all existing text unchanged.
Add one extremely large varsity-style number:
"3"
The number must have a rich gold fill, a thick off-white outline, a thin navy outer edge, and a strong navy dimensional shadow extending toward the lower right. Make it bold and easily readable from a distance.
Add no other numbers or text.
6Add the Graduation-Year Strip
Select the bottom-right area:
Change only the selected bottom-right area. Keep everything else exactly unchanged.
Add a slightly angled off-white strip with the exact text:
"CLASS OF 2027"
Use bold, condensed, all-capital navy-blue lettering. Center the text vertically inside the strip. Keep generous padding around it.
Do not add or change anything else.
7Correct Mistakes One at a Time
If ChatGPT misspells something, don't ask it to remake the whole poster. Select only the incorrect text and use:
Replace only the selected text with:
"JORDAN PRICE"
Spell it exactly:
J-O-R-D-A-N P-R-I-C-E
Keep the font style, size, color, position, shadows, athlete, background, and every other element unchanged. Do not redesign the poster.
If it changes the athlete's face during an edit, return to the previous version and make a smaller selection. The official documentation notes that image selections are not always exact and edits can extend outside the highlighted area.
Optional All-in-One Prompt
You can try everything in one generation, although the staged method above will usually be more dependable:
Create an original vertical 2:3 high-school basketball senior poster.
Use Image 1 to preserve the athlete's recognizable face, hairstyle, skin tone, and natural proportions. Use Image 2 only as inspiration for the general high-energy sports-poster treatment. Do not copy its athlete, exact graphics, or existing wording.
Place the athlete on the left side in a confident basketball pose, holding a realistic basketball. Dress the athlete in a royal-blue, gold, and white basketball uniform.
Create a dramatic dark-navy arena background with stadium lights, a basketball court, electric-blue angular streaks, gold lightning-like accents, geometric shards, glowing rim light, and a polished professional sports-advertising finish.
On the right, include the following exact typography:
"JORDAN"
"PRICE"
"COMETS"
"3"
"CLASS OF 2027"
Spell the name:
J-O-R-D-A-N
P-R-I-C-E
Use very large condensed athletic block lettering for the name, off-white with a thin gold keyline and deep-navy dimensional shadow. Put "COMETS" in navy lettering inside an angled gold banner. Make "3" enormous, gold, outlined in off-white and navy. Put "CLASS OF 2027" in navy lettering inside an angled off-white strip at the bottom.
No additional words, numbers, logos, watermarks, signatures, or random lettering.
Recommended Poster Dimensions
The example is a 2:3 portrait ratio, which works well for:
12 × 18 inches
18 × 27 inches
24 × 36 inches
Choose a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio in ChatGPT Images — it supports choosing an aspect ratio in the image editor. For final printing, download the highest-resolution version available and check with your printer about required pixel dimensions.
For a Full-Bleed Printed Poster
Extend the background approximately 0.125 inch beyond the trim edge.
Keep names and important details at least 0.5 inch inside the edge.
Avoid placing the athlete's face too close to the top.
Confirm that the image is sufficiently sharp at the intended print size.
Final Quality Checklist
Before printing, zoom in and check:
The athlete's likeness is accurate.
Both hands and all fingers look natural.
The basketball is round and correctly textured.
The uniform number is correct.
Every name is spelled correctly.
The graduation year is correct.
No unwanted words or fake logos were added.
Important elements are safely inside the trim area.
The player does not overlap or obscure the name.
The school colors match the actual team colors.
This workflow works by separating identity-sensitive artwork from text-heavy edits — that makes the poster easier to correct without repeatedly changing the athlete.
Ready to Print Your Poster?
Once your AI-generated artwork is ready, upload it directly — no design tool needed.
VARSITY BANNER
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