The best photo for a Drake AI video

The Drake AI video puts one person into the party scene of the Burning Bridges music video: a warm private dining room under a chandelier, a handheld camera, friends with metal cups behind you. Whatever tool you use, it all starts from one photo, and that photo decides more of the result than any setting. Here is what to pick, and why.

What the photo has to survive

It helps to know what the video does to your photo. The camera is handheld and moves the whole time. You sway, point into the crowd, flick a hand at the lens, raise a cup, wave and cover your eyes. The light is warm, low and coming from above.

So the model has to keep your face recognizable while it turns, while a hand passes in front of it, and under light that is nothing like the light in your photo. A photo that gives it a clear, honest look at you makes that much easier.

The best photo for a Drake AI video, in one list

• One person. Only you in the frame. Crop group shots before you upload.
• Facing the camera. Both eyes visible, head level, looking at or near the lens.
• Waist-up or full body. Your outfit carries over into the party, so include it.
• Empty hands. The video puts a cup in your hand. A phone or drink already there can merge with it.
• Even, neutral light. Daylight from a window or soft indoor light. No color filter.
• Sharp and recent. The original photo, not a screenshot or a heavily compressed copy.
• You, or someone who agreed. No public figures and nobody under 18.

Framing: waist-up beats a tight selfie

A tight selfie gives the model a great face and nothing else. It then has to invent your shoulders, clothes and arms, and invented clothes rarely look like yours. A waist-up shot keeps the face large enough to read and shows what you're wearing. Full body works too, as long as the face is still clear.

If your best photo is a group shot, crop it so only you are left and the face takes up a good part of the frame. Leave a little room around the head; a photo cut off at the forehead tends to give odd hairlines.

Angle: straight on, eyes visible

The camera in the video moves around you, so the model needs a solid front view to work from. A three-quarter angle can be fine; a full profile usually isn't. Tilted heads, faces looking down at a phone and photos taken from far below all make the face drift away from you over the 15 seconds.

Take off sunglasses. Hats are okay if the face is fully visible, but a cap pulled low hides the eyes and the model fills them in.

Light: neutral in, warm out

The party room is warm and amber. That is part of the look, but it means the video already pushes skin and clothes toward orange. If your photo is warm too, from a sunset, a warm filter or yellow indoor bulbs, the two add up and the result can look sunburnt.

Start from a photo with neutral color: daylight from a window, open shade outdoors, or soft white light indoors. Avoid strong shadows across half the face, flash glare and colored party lights. Beauty filters are a problem of their own, because they change the face shape and the model copies the filtered version.

Hands and props

Of all the details, this one is the most often missed. In the video you raise a silver cup. If your photo already shows a drink or a phone in your hand, the model may try to keep both and blend them into one strange object. Use a photo with relaxed, empty hands, or one where the hands are out of frame.

Outfit

What you wear in the photo is what you wear at the party. Darker or plain clothes sit naturally in the dim room. Busy patterns and small text on a shirt can shimmer as the camera moves. If you want a certain look, take a fresh photo in it rather than hoping the model will change it.

Photo quality

Use the original photo from your camera roll. Screenshots, photos sent through a few chat apps and images saved from social media lose detail around the eyes and mouth, which is exactly where likeness lives. On this site the upload limit is 10 MB, and JPG, PNG and WebP all work.

Photos you can't use

Only upload a photo of yourself, or of someone who has agreed to be in the video. Photos of celebrities, politicians and other public figures aren't allowed, and that includes Drake himself. Photos of anyone under 18 aren't allowed either. Uploaded photos are deleted after 7 days.

A quick check before you upload

Look at the photo and ask: is it only one person, facing me, in neutral light, with empty hands and a sharp face? If yes, it gives the generator here, or a CapCut or LightX template, its best chance. If you're unsure between two photos, pick the one where the face is larger and better lit.

For the full set of methods, see the step-by-step guide. If you are deciding between a template and the generator, the comparison post covers what each one gets you.

This site is independent and isn't affiliated with Drake, OVO or his label.

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