The Idea Behind The Trend

Both versions of this edit use the same core concept: a glowing, translucent figure representing a memory or a lost relationship, rendered as light, smoke, or energy rather than a solid second person. It's a visual way of saying "still thinking about them" without needing any caption to explain it — the image does the storytelling on its own, which is part of why it resonates so widely.

Two Ways To Take It

  • Color and literal — a man leaning on a bridge railing at dusk, a golden glowing silhouette beside him, with small floating thought-cloud icons (a name, a sad emoji) making the meaning explicit.
  • Monochrome and abstract — black and white, more painterly, with the figure appearing to rise directly out of his chest as smoke and light. No text needed; the visual metaphor carries the whole idea.

The monochrome version tends to feel more cinematic and less literal, while the color version is more immediately readable at a glance — worth trying both to see which fits the photo you're starting from.

A Working Prompt (Color Version)

Use my uploaded photo as the exact face reference and preserve my identity. Create an ultra-realistic emotional cinematic portrait in 4:5 ratio, 8K quality. A lonely young man stands sadly on a bridge pathway at dusk, leaning against a railing with his head down and one hand on his forehead. Beside him appears a glowing female silhouette made of golden light, standing back-to-back with him like a memory or ghostly shadow, with sparkling particles, soft neon outlines, and a dreamy aura. Above them, a floating thought cloud shows the text "Ex," and another shows a sad emoji. Dark green blurred background, shallow depth of field, dramatic lighting, cinematic mood, realistic shadows, bokeh effect, ultra-detailed, photorealistic, HDR, sharp focus, 8K, 4:5 portrait composition.

A Working Prompt (Monochrome Version)

Create an ultra-realistic, cinematic black-and-white surreal portrait based on the reference image. Preserve the young man's exact appearance, facial identity, hairstyle, and pose. His expression should read as quiet, heavy sadness rather than exaggerated crying. From his chest, the ethereal spirit of a young woman slowly rises upward, formed from delicate flowing smoke and luminous silver-white mist, with a gentle, peaceful expression. Surround her with a soft white-silver aura, sparkling particles, and subtle floating energy. Extremely dark background with deep black shadows and volumetric smoke, so the glowing figure stands out dramatically. High-contrast monochrome photography, cinematic rim lighting, realistic skin texture, dramatic shadows, subtle film grain, 8K quality. Keep the man's original identity completely unchanged.

Keeping It From Looking Cluttered

The easiest way for this style to go wrong is too many competing light sources fighting for attention. Keep the man's side of the frame realistic and grounded, and let the glowing figure carry all the visual energy — if your result feels busy, try trimming detail from the environment rather than the figure itself.

Try It Yourself

Both versions above have real example photos and one-click copy prompts on our Aesthetic Wallpaper page.