A clear, nearly front-facing portrait with even light and visible shoulders is a strong starting point for a Burning Bridges AI video. One image is used to represent the lead throughout a prepared moving performance, so clear facial features are more useful than a heavily filtered or distant photo.
| Check | Better starting point | Common difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Face visibility | Eyes and main features unobstructed | Sunglasses, hands, or hair covering the face |
| Angle | Front-facing or slightly turned | Strong profile |
| Lighting | Even light with visible facial detail | Backlighting or deep facial shadows |
| Framing | One person, head and shoulders visible | Tiny subject in a group or extreme crop |
These are practical selection guidelines, not a pass/fail test or a guarantee of the generated result.
A quick selection test
Before uploading, view the candidate at ordinary screen size and check three things: can you identify the face immediately, is it close to facing the camera, and are the head and shoulders separated clearly from the background? If any answer is no, choose another photo instead of relying on a more expensive output tier to compensate. The template uses one portrait; it does not offer a prompt to repair the source or direct a different performance.
Make the face easy to see
Choose an image where the eyes, nose, mouth, jawline, and hairline are visible. Avoid sunglasses, hands across the face, deep shadows, or hair covering key features. A face that is already obscured gives the transformation less visual information to work with.
Prefer a direct angle
A front-facing or slightly turned portrait shows more of the face than a profile. The site recommends a near-front angle; a head turned far to one side can make identity less consistent as the template moves. If a result looks unstable, try a more direct source image first.
Use even light and a sharp file
Pick a photo without harsh backlighting, strong color casts, or a hard shadow across the face. Check that facial details remain clear at normal screen size. Avoid screenshots or images compressed until the eyes and mouth look soft.
Include the head and shoulders
Keep the full head and shoulders in frame, with some space around the subject. Avoid both an extreme close crop and a wide group photo where the intended person is tiny or overlaps other faces. A single clear subject reduces ambiguity.
Check consent and the template fit
Upload an image you own or are authorized to use. Burning Bridges AI uses one portrait in a fixed 15-second, 16:9 music-video template; the image does not change the scene, movement, or original audio. You can review the workflow in the studio.
Before generating, ask: can I see one face clearly, is it nearly front-facing, and are the head and shoulders well lit? If so, it is a reasonable candidate, though no photo can guarantee a perfect render.
Common photo trade-offs
A tightly cropped selfie may show facial features well but cut off the head or shoulders; a full-body or group image may preserve context while making the face too small. Prefer a single-person crop that retains the full head and shoulders. A phone photo is not automatically unsuitable: what matters here is visible facial detail rather than a particular camera or image specification. Avoid heavy filters and compression that smooth away features.
If you are choosing between a dramatic but shadowed image and a plain, evenly lit one, start with the evenly lit image. The configured result is a 15-second, 16:9 clip with template audio retained, so select this portrait for the lead in that prepared format—not as a way to control the scene or soundtrack. Use an image you own or have permission to transform, and label shared output as AI-generated when needed. See the studio for the one-photo workflow.