Best Photos for Tiny Desk AI

The best photos for Tiny Desk AI at a glance

What separates a strong photo from a weak one:

The format accepts JPG, PNG and WebP up to 10 MB. Clarity matters more than pixel count: a clean portrait beats a huge but blurry one.

If you only remember one rule, remember this one: the viewer should be able to tell who the person is at a glance, because a recognisable face is what makes the clip land.

Framing and distance

Think of the photo as the cast list. The lead should be the obvious subject.

• Head and shoulders is the sweet spot. It shows enough of the face to carry identity and enough of the body to place the person behind a desk.
• Leave a little room above the head. Cutting off the top of the head or the chin can make the result look cramped.
• Stand at the person's eye level. Photos taken from far below or above distort proportions.
• A plain background helps. A wall, a door or a garden is easier to work with than a busy kitchen.
• Portrait or square beats landscape for one person when you plan a 9:16 video; for 16:9, a wider shot with room on either side works better.

Selfies can work well, and two of the templates, Solo Soul Concert and Solo Indie-Pop Concert, are built around them. Take the selfie at arm's length with the phone at eye height. Wide-angle lenses held close to the face stretch the nose and forehead, so step back a little and crop in afterwards.

Light and visible faces

Good light is free and makes the biggest visible difference.

Use soft daylight. Stand facing a window, or find open shade outdoors. The light should fall on the face, not behind it.

Avoid mixed colours. An orange lamp on one side and a blue screen on the other can leave skin looking unnatural.

Avoid hard shadows. Midday sun straight overhead puts dark pools in the eye sockets. Move a few steps into shade.

Keep the whole face in frame. Hands on the chin, a scarf over the mouth or a phone held up in front all hide features that the video needs.

A quick test: look at the photo at thumbnail size. If you can still tell who it is, and read the expression, the face is visible enough.

Glasses, hats and accessories

Accessories can add character, but some of them get in the way.

• Clear glasses are fine. Pick a photo with minimal glare on the lenses.
• Sunglasses and tinted lenses hide the eyes. Choose a different picture unless the shades are the whole joke.
• A cap is fine if the brim does not shadow the eyes. A wide brim or bucket hat is riskier.
• Headphones and big earrings are fine, but a large hood or scarf that covers the jawline can blur the shape of the head.
• Face paint and costumes can work, but extreme makeup or masks can be harder to keep consistent.

If you love a photo that has one of these problems, you can upload it, but plan for a second try with a cleaner picture.

Groups, duos and pets

Duos. Two people who are close together and at similar distances from the camera work best. Upload one portrait for each singer, in the left and right slots. Both duet templates, Harmony Pop Duet and Soul Duet, ask for exactly two portraits.

Small line-ups. Upload one clear portrait per singer in Group Vocal Concert. Its four slots follow the front row from left to right.

Family groups. Upload separate portraits in Group Sing-Along: lead singer, three backing vocalists, then saxophonist.

Cats. Get down to the cat's level, make sure the head is in focus and let the eyes catch some light. A cat in a rare moment of attention, looking straight into the lens, suits Singing Cat Concert, the one template built for pets. Other animals are not covered yet.

The two group templates accept one photo containing all the people, so you do not have to upload a separate picture of each member, although separate portraits give every face more detail. When picking between photos of the same group, choose the one where everyone's eyes are open and every face is clear.

What to avoid

• Children. Photos of children cannot be used. The generator asks you to confirm this every time.
• Celebrities and public figures. Not allowed, and neither are other people without their permission.
• Crowds. A photo of fifteen people has fifteen tiny faces. Crop to the people who matter or choose another picture.
• Tiny faces. If the person is a small figure in the frame, find a closer shot.
• Heavy filters. Skin smoothing, face-reshaping apps and stickers change the features the video relies on.
• Screenshots and photos of screens. They add glare, compression and borders.
• Group photos with a stranger in the background. Crop them out first.
• Anything you do not have the right to use. A friend's picture needs your friend's okay.

Once you have a promising photo, run through the checklist below.

Quick photo checklist

Before you upload, check each of these.

1. The file is a JPG, PNG or WebP, and it is under 10 MB.
2. The face (or every face) is large, sharp and easy to read at thumbnail size.
3. Light falls on the face, with no heavy shadows or strong backlight.
4. Both eyes are visible, with no sunglasses or hat brim covering them.
5. The photo shows only the people who should be on stage.
6. Nobody in the photo is a child, a celebrity or a public figure.
7. Everyone recognisable knows about the clip and is happy with it.
8. There are no heavy filters, stickers or screenshot borders.

When the photo passes, open the generator, follow the step-by-step guide and pick a template. Not sure who to feature? The 20 ideas can help. Each video costs 1 credit; see pricing.