Best image model · Portraits
The best AI image generator for portraits: 7 models, tested
All 7 image models in llmwise on the same 2 portrait prompts: every image as it was made, what the checks found in it, and what an image of each costs.
Based on 14 images made on September 29, 2026 through kie.ai with llmwise's own settings for each model, each checked by Claude Sonnet 5.5. How the images are checked.
Short answer
On our 2 portrait prompts, run on all 7 image models in llmwise and checked the same way, Qwen-Image 2.1, Nano Banana 2, and Nano Banana Pro tied for first, each passing 2 of 2. 3 of 7 passed every prompt; each image is below, with what the checks found.
Every image model on portraits, ranked
Ranked by prompts passed, then by checks right (each question answered yes, each piece of writing read back), then by what an image counts as in llmwise.
| Model | Passed | Checks right | An image counts as | Time an image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen-Image 2.1 | 2 of 2 | 13 of 13 | 1 Claude Haiku 4.5 message | 67.6 s |
| Nano Banana 2 | 2 of 2 | 13 of 13 | 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages | 91.8 s |
| Nano Banana Pro | 2 of 2 | 13 of 13 | 5 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages | 30.8 s |
| FLUX.2 Pro | 1 of 2 | 12 of 13 | 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages | 25.6 s |
| Seedream 5.0 Lite | 1 of 2 | 12 of 13 | 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages | 47.1 s |
| GPT Image 2.5 Flare | 1 of 2 | 12 of 13 | 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages | 79.1 s |
| Ideogram 3.0 | 0 of 2 | 5 of 13 | 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages | 63.5 s |
A studio headshot
Every model's image for this everyday portrait prompt, and what the checks found.
A professional studio headshot of a woman in her fifties with short grey hair and round glasses, wearing a navy blazer, looking at the camera. Soft light, plain grey background.
The questions, each answered yes or no from the image alone:
- Is there exactly one person?
- Is her hair short and grey?
- Is she wearing round glasses?
- Is she wearing a navy blazer?
- Is she looking at the camera?
- Is the background plain grey?
- Does it look like a real photograph?
- Yes: Only one woman appears in the frame.
- Yes: She has a short pixie-style cut in grey and silver.
- Yes: She wears thin-framed, round eyeglasses.
- Yes: She wears a dark navy blazer over a white top.
- Yes: Her face and eyes are turned straight toward the camera.
- Yes: The backdrop is a smooth, uniform grey.
- Yes: It has realistic skin texture and lighting like a studio portrait photo.
$0.030 at kie.ai, 58.8 s, 1024 × 1536.
- Yes: Only one woman is visible in the frame.
- Yes: She has short, swept grey hair.
- Yes: She wears round tortoiseshell-framed glasses.
- Yes: She wears a dark navy blazer over a dark grey top.
- Yes: Her eyes and face are directed at the camera with a slight smile.
- Yes: The backdrop is a smooth, uniform grey.
- Yes: It has realistic lighting, skin texture and depth typical of a studio portrait photograph.
$0.040 at kie.ai, 66.5 s, 848 × 1264.
- Yes: Only one woman is visible in the frame.
- Yes: She has a chin-length grey bob.
- Yes: She wears round tortoiseshell-framed glasses.
- Yes: She wears a dark navy blazer over a cream blouse.
- Yes: Her face and eyes are directed toward the camera.
- Yes: The backdrop is a uniform grey with subtle gradient.
- Yes: It has realistic lighting, skin texture and fabric detail typical of a studio portrait photo.
$0.090 at kie.ai, 28.1 s, 1696 × 2528.
- Yes: Only one woman appears in the portrait.
- Yes: Her hair is cropped short and is silvery grey.
- Yes: She wears thin-framed round wire glasses.
- Yes: She wears a dark navy blazer over a white top.
- Yes: Her face is frontal and her eyes look directly at the camera.
- Yes: The backdrop is a smooth, uniform grey.
- Yes: It has realistic skin texture, lighting and studio portrait look, resembling a real photo.
$0.028 at kie.ai, 40.7 s, 1568 × 2352.
- Yes: Only one woman appears in the portrait.
- Yes: She has a short, cropped grey hairstyle.
- Yes: She wears thin-framed round glasses.
- Yes: She wears a dark navy blazer over a beige top.
- Yes: Her face and eyes are directed at the camera.
- Yes: The background is a smooth, uniform grey.
- Yes: It has realistic skin texture and studio lighting like a real portrait photo.
$0.025 at kie.ai, 20.4 s, 1024 × 1536.
No image: kie.ai reported that the task failed, both times we tried.
- Yes: Only one woman appears in the frame.
- Yes: She has short, feathered grey hair.
- Yes: She wears thin-framed round wire glasses.
- Yes: She is wearing a dark navy blazer with notched lapels.
- Yes: Her face and gaze are directed toward the camera.
- Yes: The backdrop is a uniform, plain grey with no objects.
- Yes: It has realistic skin texture, lighting and studio portrait quality that look like a real photograph.
$0.020 at kie.ai, 104.3 s, 832 × 1248.
A fisherman holding a rope in both hands
Every model's image for this hard portrait prompt, and what the checks found.
A candid photo portrait of an elderly fisherman with a white beard and a yellow raincoat, holding a coiled rope in both hands on the deck of a boat, under an overcast sky.
The questions, each answered yes or no from the image alone:
- Does it look like a real photograph?
- Does the man have a white beard?
- Is his raincoat yellow?
- Is he holding a rope?
- Does every hand you can see have five fingers and look natural?
- Is he on a boat?
Failed: question 5 answered no.
- Yes: The lighting, textures, and details look photographic, like a real portrait of a fisherman on a boat.
- Yes: He has a full white/gray beard and mustache.
- Yes: He wears a bright yellow, weathered rain jacket.
- Yes: He is holding a large coil of teal-green rope against his body.
- No: The fingers are partly hidden by the rope and jacket, so a clear count of five natural fingers on each hand isn't possible.
- Yes: He stands on a wet deck with a winch, railing, and wheelhouse, and open sea behind him.
$0.030 at kie.ai, 99.4 s, 1024 × 1536.
- Yes: The lighting, textures and depth of field look like a real photograph, with no obvious signs of illustration.
- Yes: The man has a full white beard.
- Yes: He is wearing a yellow, weathered oilskin raincoat.
- Yes: He holds a large coil of thick rope in both hands.
- Yes: Both of his hands are visible, and each has five natural-looking fingers.
- Yes: He stands on a wooden fishing boat deck with rigging, buoys and crates, and the sea is behind him.
$0.040 at kie.ai, 117.2 s, 848 × 1264.
- Yes: The lighting, grain, and detail look like a real documentary-style photo.
- Yes: He has a long white beard.
- Yes: He wears a yellow oilskin raincoat.
- Yes: He is holding a coiled rope in both hands.
- Yes: Both visible hands look natural with five fingers each, though some fingers are partly hidden by the rope.
- Yes: He stands on the deck of a wooden fishing boat with a cabin behind him.
$0.090 at kie.ai, 33.4 s, 1696 × 2528.
Failed: question 5 answered no.
- Yes: The lighting, textures and detail look like a real photograph, with no obvious rendering flaws.
- Yes: He has a full white beard.
- Yes: He is wearing a yellow oilskin raincoat.
- Yes: He holds a large coil of thick rope in both hands.
- No: The fingers are mostly hidden or wrapped around the rope, so five fingers on each hand cannot be confirmed.
- Yes: He stands on a wooden-decked vessel with cleats and railings, with the sea behind him.
$0.028 at kie.ai, 53.5 s, 1664 × 2496.
Failed: question 5 answered no.
- Yes: The lighting, skin texture, water droplets and depth of field look like a real photograph.
- Yes: The man has a full white beard and mustache.
- Yes: He is wearing a yellow hooded raincoat.
- Yes: He holds a coil of thick rope in his hands.
- No: The hands are clasped and partly hidden by the rope, so the fingers are hard to count and some look slightly merged or unclear.
- Yes: He stands on a wooden deck with a metal railing and the sea behind him.
$0.025 at kie.ai, 30.7 s, 1024 × 1536.
Failed: question 5 answered no.
- Yes: The lighting, skin texture, wet deck and shallow depth of field look like a real photograph.
- Yes: He has a full white beard.
- Yes: He wears a yellow raincoat.
- Yes: He holds a coiled brown rope in his clasped hands.
- No: The hands are clasped and partly hidden by the rope, so not every finger can be counted and confirmed as five.
- Yes: He stands on a wooden boat deck with railings and open water behind him.
$0.035 at kie.ai, 63.5 s, 864 × 1152.
- Yes: The lighting, texture, and depth of field look like a real photograph of a fisherman at sea.
- Yes: He has a short white-gray beard and mustache.
- Yes: His raincoat is a weathered yellow.
- Yes: He has both hands on a large coil of thick rope.
- Yes: Both visible hands look natural, with the left hand showing four fingers and a thumb; the right hand's fingers are partly hidden but plausible.
- Yes: He is on a wet deck with a boat cabin behind him and the sea beyond.
$0.020 at kie.ai, 30.8 s, 832 × 1248.
More image tests
Questions
What's the best AI image generator for portraits?
On our 2 portrait prompts, run on all 7 image models in llmwise and checked the same way, Qwen-Image 2.1, Nano Banana 2, and Nano Banana Pro tied for first, each passing 2 of 2. 3 of 7 passed every prompt; each image is below, with what the checks found.
How are the images checked?
Every image is checked the same way by Claude Sonnet 5.5, whose maker has no image model here: it first writes out all the writing it can read, without being told what should be there, then answers each question yes or no from the image. An image passes when all its writing is there and every answer is yes. Nothing else is judged.
Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Kimi, and GLM, in one chat.
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