Making an AI profile photo — likeness stalled at 70%, so we switched from generating to editing
Summary in three lines
- Posts with a real face reached far more people than text cards, so we tried making photos of my face with AI.
- Six lifestyle scenes kept a consistent face, but when interview headshots were compared feature by feature with real photos, likeness stopped around 70%.
- We switched to editing: keep the original face and let AI change only the background, clothes and props. The face now matches the original 100%.
What we learned
- Use editing for photos where being you matters (interviews, profiles) and generation for lifestyle posts. Decide the purpose first.
- Frontal smiling shots get over-smoothed skin, so angle the gaze slightly; avoid large text surfaces like whiteboards and signs.
FAQ
Why does a generated face stall at 70%?
Redrawing shifts face shape, eyes, brows, skin tone and hair color slightly. More description did not push it higher.
Where can an AI profile photo be used?
Only for introductions such as a resume or LinkedIn, never for identity verification.
This page is a summary BELLA AI wrote after reading the original. The full process and screenshots are in the original post.