Article

September 9, 2026

A face behind the service: 5 image prompts for welcoming veterans

# Government

# ChatGPT

Use a fictional veteran-services guide to explore visual storytelling that other government agencies can adapt.

Laura Keenan

GOVERNMENT · VISUAL STORYTELLING · FICTIONAL EXAMPLE

A first visit begins before someone walks through the door. A veteran or family member may be wondering where to go, whom to ask, and what the space will feel like. For government communications teams, visual storytelling offers a way to introduce that experience—and put a recognizable face alongside practical information.

This Department of Veterans Affairs–inspired example follows a fictional veteran-services welcome guide. It is an educational concept, not an actual VA program or campaign. All people, places, and interactions pictured are AI-generated and fictional; the images do not depict real employees, veterans, facilities, or an agency endorsement.

The idea travels well. A city could introduce a guide to public resources, a state could explain a first visit to a service center, and a federal agency could build an orientation series. Start with the questions people bring to your service, then choose an image style that helps answer them.

People absorb information in different ways. A portrait introduces someone, a wider scene gives context, and an interaction shows what asking for help might look like. Pair each image with useful text, descriptive alternative text, and reviewed translations where appropriate.

How to use these prompts

Use an image-enabled tool approved for your work. The visual prompting techniques below are descriptive style cues to include in your prompt. Generate the fictional headshot first, then attach it as a reference for the other scenes. Tell the tool which features to preserve and what story the new image should tell.

1. professional headshot: Introduce a recognizable guide

A simple portrait gives the story a consistent starting point. Here, our fictional guide wears a teal blouse and navy cardigan, with a relaxed expression and direct eye contact. Use a portrait like this to introduce a clearly fictional guide in an orientation article, short learning module, or illustrated visitor guide.

Fictional AI-generated illustration. A fictional welcome guide with short silver-streaked curls, navy glasses, a teal blouse, and navy cardigan poses against a light background.

Try this prompt

professional headshot Create a polished portrait of a wholly fictional veteran-services welcome guide, about 40, with medium-brown skin, short silver-streaked curls, navy round glasses, a teal blouse, and navy cardigan. Natural smile, direct eye contact, soft window light, cream background, landscape composition. Authentic skin texture. No logos, badges, seals, or text.

Refine it

Keep the same face and clothing. Relax the expression and leave room beside the portrait for an introductory heading.

Adapt it for your agency

A city could introduce a fictional library guide; a state could create an orientation host. For a real employee profile, use an authorized photograph and preserve the person’s identity and appearance. An invented portrait should never stand in for a named real employee.

2. environmental portrait: Show where the welcome begins

A workspace adds information that a headshot cannot. The welcome desk, seating, and open floor help establish the imagined setting. The guide is part of the space, ready to greet someone. A communications team could use this treatment to explore how an orientation page might introduce a reception area.

Fictional AI-generated illustration. The fictional guide stands beside a wood welcome desk in a bright imagined community service center with seating and an open floor.

Try this prompt

environmental portrait Use the attached fictional guide portrait as the identity reference. Preserve her face, hair, glasses, teal blouse, and navy cardigan. Show her beside a wood welcome desk in an imagined veteran-services community center. Tall windows, teal seating, uncluttered open floor, unmarked brochures, natural daylight. Wide editorial composition with depth. No actual VA location, logos, badges, or readable records.

Refine it

Keep the guide prominent. Simplify the background so the welcome desk and entrance are easy to distinguish.

Adapt it for your agency

A state service center or city recreation program could use the same approach. For an actual visitor guide, use verified images of the real location and accurate directions. A fictional open floor or doorway does not establish that a facility meets a visitor’s access needs.

3. cinematic still: Make arrival feel approachable

This scene gives the welcome a sense of occasion. Morning light frames a fictional woman veteran and her partner arriving as the guide greets them. The dramatic composition draws attention to an ordinary human moment: being acknowledged when you enter an unfamiliar place. It could open a campaign concept about preparing for a first visit.

Fictional AI-generated illustration. The fictional guide welcomes two adults in civilian clothing through a sunlit entrance in an imagined service center.

Try this prompt

cinematic still Use the attached fictional guide as the identity reference. Create a wide cinematic scene in an imagined community welcome center. Morning light streams through a glass entrance as the guide welcomes a fictional woman veteran in a civilian olive jacket and her adult partner. Warm highlights, cool blue shadows, eye-level diagonal composition, natural smiles, clear doorway. No uniforms, logos, official signage, or text.

Refine it

Keep the lighting expressive, but make every face easy to see. The welcome should feel ordinary and natural rather than staged.

Adapt it for your agency

A local agency could introduce a community open house; a state could develop a welcome campaign for a new service. Use the image as a clearly labeled concept, then connect it to accurate information about the real experience. Avoid implying that an imagined facility or welcome service exists.

4. documentary moment: Make asking a question part of the story

An arrival scene invites attention; a conversation shows the next human step. Our fictional guide listens to an older veteran at a shared table. Both are seated at the same level. The focus is on attention and conversation, giving a team a way to explore how to communicate a welcoming exchange without staging a dramatic problem or resolution.

Fictional AI-generated illustration. The fictional guide and an older adult in civilian clothes talk at a round table in an imagined welcome center.

Try this prompt

documentary moment Use the attached fictional guide as the identity reference. Create a candid-looking scene of her listening to a fictional male veteran about 60, both seated at equal height at a round table. A blank folded leaflet on the table, natural skylight, ordinary gestures, softly blurred hallway behind them. All people and the encounter are invented. No readable documents, screens, medical procedures, logos, or badges.

Refine it

Make the interaction feel less posed. Focus on attentive listening, with natural hands and eye contact.

Adapt it for your agency

Try an imagined conversation at a public-library desk, a state outreach event, or a federal visitor center. “Documentary” describes the visual style here, not evidence of an actual event. Use authentic photographs and accurate captions when reporting on real services, encounters, or outcomes.

5. character consistency sheet: Carry the same guide through the journey

A recurring guide can connect several pieces of an orientation story: an introduction, a welcome, a question, and a next step. A consistency sheet puts different angles and expressions together so your team can spot unwanted changes before creating more scenes. The recognizable face gives the series continuity.

Fictional AI-generated illustration. Six reference views show the same fictional guide in a navy cardigan and teal blouse, with different expressions and poses.

Try this prompt

character consistency sheet Use the attached fictional guide portrait as the identity reference. Create a spacious three-by-two character sheet: front neutral, three-quarter smiling, profile attentive, holding a blank folder, gesturing with one open hand, and relaxed with hands together. Preserve her face, age, silver-streaked curls, navy glasses, teal blouse, navy cardigan, and proportions. Pale cream background, consistent soft light. No text, logos, or badges.

Refine it

Compare each panel with the original portrait. Correct changes in face shape, glasses, hair, or clothing before using this sheet as a reference.

Adapt it for your agency

Any agency could use a fictional guide across an orientation series. Attach the approved reference for each new scene and check the results: identity consistency is not guaranteed. If you translate the accompanying text, keep the character and sequence stable while giving each language enough space.

Build the story around a real question

Choose one audience and one moment. For example: a veteran and family member preparing to visit an unfamiliar location. Ask what they would want to know before arriving. Where is the entrance? How do they find assistance? What information can they read in advance?

Use fictional scenes to develop the creative direction. Before turning a concept into a public-facing orientation guide, replace imagined details with verified information about the location and service. Link to the actual directions, contact information, and access information. Avoid inventing eligibility rules, required documents, or service promises.

Give people more than a picture

Images can help introduce an experience, but they should sit alongside clear written instructions. Include descriptive alternative text, readable captions, and reviewed translations in the languages your audience uses. Provide practical access details as text, and offer a contact for questions that the guide does not answer.

Keep the fictional label attached to each image when it is shared. If you move to a story about real employees or visitors, use authorized photos and accurate captions. Ask intended readers to review the materials: can they find the next step, and what remains unclear?

One guide, many public-service stories

The transferable idea is a familiar face paired with useful information. A headshot introduces, an environmental portrait gives context, a cinematic still invites attention, a candid-looking scene explores an interaction, and a consistency sheet helps connect the series.

Use this fictional VA-inspired example as a starting point for your own agency. Choose one visit you want to make easier to understand, show the human moments around it, and give readers a clear next step.