1. Switch to the Rear Camera
The single highest-impact change most users can make is switching from the front (selfie) camera to the rear camera. Front cameras use wide-angle lenses at close range, systematically distorting facial proportions. Rear cameras at arm's length or further produce undistorted geometry. This change alone can shift your top match to a more intuitively correct result.
2. Find Better Light
Sit facing a large window or step outdoors on an overcast day. Even, diffuse light from the front illuminates both sides of your face equally, preventing shadow-induced geometric distortions. Five minutes outdoors near a window is the second-highest-impact change for most users.
3. Remove Glasses
If you wear glasses, remove them for one matching photo. Glasses occlude the eye region, the most identity-weighted part of the face, and add reflective artefacts. Even thin-rimmed glasses can reduce embedding quality. Try both with and without to compare results.
4. Use a Neutral Expression
Relax your face to a neutral or mildly positive expression. Avoid wide smiles (which partially close the eyes and reshape the midface) and forced neutral expressions (which create unusual muscle tension). Natural resting face produces the most stable embedding.
5. Use an Original File
Upload the original camera file, not a screenshot, a social media download, or a heavily edited export. Original files have maximum resolution and minimal compression artefacts. Social media platforms compress images significantly on upload and download, degrading face recognition quality.
6. Try Multiple Photos
Upload 2–3 photos taken on different occasions under good conditions. Consistent top matches across multiple photos indicate genuine geometric similarity. Shifting matches indicate photo condition variation. The celebrity that appears most consistently across multiple good-quality photos is your most reliable match.