How to upload reference photos for best results
Get your real family — kid, grandparent, the dog — into the pictures.
he Wiz illustrates the people you upload, so the photo you give him is the difference between a kid who recognises herself on the page and a kid who shrugs. A good reference is one face, well lit, clearly the person. That's it.
If you upload a photo of two people, the Wiz may blend them. If you upload a blurry photo, the lines on the page will be approximate too. The bar is not professional — it's just clear.
- 1.
One person per photo.
If you want your kid and her grandma to both appear, upload two photos — one of each. Group shots confuse the anchor.
- 2.
Face on, eyes open.
A clear front-facing portrait works better than a candid side angle. Looking at the camera is best.
- 3.
Daylight or even indoor light.
Avoid harsh backlighting and shadows across half the face. Soft afternoon window light is ideal.
- 4.
Skip the sunglasses and the hat.
Anything that hides facial features will be missing on the page. Save the costume for the story description.
- 5.
Plain background helps.
Busy backgrounds distract the anchor model. A wall, a bookshelf, or outdoors with no clutter all work.
What works
- A school-day phone photo.Hair tucked, looking up, even light. Boring photos illustrate well.
- A studio family portrait.Crop to one face if the original is a group. The Wiz can work with the cropped square.
- A FaceTime screenshot if it's sharp.Pixelation is the enemy; pose is not. Heritage grandparents in Toronto or Taipei count.
What confuses the Wiz
- A group shot with three faces.He'll guess which one to draw. The guess is usually wrong.
- A silly face mid-laugh.If the eyes are squeezed shut, he can't anchor identity. Save the silly photo for the dedication page.
- Heavy filters or stylised app edits.The Wiz tries to match the style of the input. Filters give him the wrong style cue.
Email [email protected] with the photo you tried and we'll tell you what changed. If you don't have a photo at all, you can describe the person in the story description instead.