Creating realistic AI-generated photos of yourself used to require serious technical chops: GPUs, Python scripts, and days of setup. Now, thanks to platforms like Photo AI, it’s as simple as uploading some selfies and in less than a minute later you have your own highly photorealistic AI photos indistinguishable from real life.
Behind the scenes, it’s powered by advanced machine learning, specifically a technique called DreamBooth, running on an AI model called Flux. Here’s how it works and how you can do it both easily through Photo AI or manually on your own machine.
The core process is called fine-tuning. A general-purpose AI image model (originally Stable Diffusion, now improved into Flux) learns your unique identity: your face, body, expressions, angles, and overall appearance.
This is achieved using DreamBooth, a method created by Google researchers. It takes a pretrained image generation model and retrains it using 5 to 20 images of you. That re-training implants your likeness into the model’s internal structure so it can generate entirely new photos of you in different contexts, outfits, and styles.
Flux, used by Photo AI, improves over regular Stable Diffusion by producing more consistent faces, better lighting, and sharper image quality. It is designed to handle real-world people more accurately than off-the-shelf models.
If you don’t want to mess with code or hardware, here’s how to do it through Photo AI in a few minutes:
Sign up to Photo AI, login and then click [Create new AI model]
Fill in your info:
Name of your model (example: “Pieter 2025”)
Gender
Age
Ethnicity
Eye color
Then upload 20 photos of yourself:
Vary the angles, lighting, backgrounds, and expressions
Avoid filters, sunglasses, Instagram screenshots or group photos
Click [Create model]
The model will start training automatically. It will be done in about a minute. Then you’ll receive an email that it’s done.
Each model you train receives free photos automatically generated which you’ll show pop up (if not, reload the page!).
Every model on Photo AI comes with dozens of AI-generated photos automatically, including:
Professional headshots for resumes or LinkedIn
Dating profile photos for apps like Tinder and Hinge
Instagram-ready lifestyle content
You can generate more at any time by writing your own prompt or running a photo pack — pre-made styles with curated lighting, outfits, and backgrounds:
Tinder – Eye-catching dating profile pics with great poses and vibrant colors to help you get more matches
Hinge – More natural, candid moments to reflect personality and spark real conversations
Luxury Lifestyle – You in Dubai penthouses, yachts, and private jets. Opulence everywhere
Old Money – Ivy League tennis clubs, polo outfits, and timeless rich-kid energy
Instagram – Influencer-ready content with lighting and vibe tailored to maximize likes
LinkedIn Headshots – Studio-quality portraits with neutral backgrounds and sharp lighting
Startup Founder Headshots – Bold, modern photos for pitch decks, websites, or investor decks
CEO Headshots – Strong, formal looks for media, board meetings, and executive branding
1950s Film Noir – Black and white drama shots with classic Hollywood lighting
Santorini Summer – You in Mediterranean paradise, bathed in Greek island light
Cosplay – Transform into your favorite characters with cinematic flair
Bali Influencer – Pool villas, tropical vibes, and that Canggu aesthetic
You can browse and run photo packs any time after your model is ready. Each shoot takes just seconds and generates a full set of high-resolution, lifelike images that look like you hired a pro photographer.
With Photo AI, any photo you take you like, you can turn into a realistic video. Just hover over the photo you like, press [ Make video ], and wait a minute:
Then you’ll get a video:
If you’re highly technical and prefer to run everything offline, here’s how:
Get a high-end GPU (RTX 3090 or better recommended)
Install the following:
Python
PyTorch with CUDA
Hugging Face diffusers library
Stable Diffusion or Flux base model
Clone a DreamBooth repo (like diffusers/examples/dreambooth)
Prepare your dataset:
10 to 20 high-quality images of yourself
Use one consistent keyword (like person_pieter) to tag them
Run the training script:
accelerate launch train_dreambooth.py
--pretrained_model_name_or_path=CompVis/flux
--instance_data_dir="./my_photos"
--output_dir="./my_model"
--instance_prompt="a photo of person_pieter"
After training, load the model into a local UI like AUTOMATIC1111 WebUI to generate photos
This gives you full control over the model and data. The downside is it’s slower and far more complex.
Training a model of yourself with Photo AI takes 1-3 minutes. With an average laptop that’d take about 25-50 hours hoping it doesn’t crash.
Generating a photo with Photo AI takes 5-10 seconds depending on the complexity, and you can take up to 16 photos in parallel. With an average laptop it’d take 5-10 minutes per photo and that’s the only photo you can take in that timespan.
This used to be deep AI territory. Now, it’s creative tooling. With Photo AI, you can generate stunning photos and videos of yourself without needing technical skills. For advanced users, local DreamBooth training is still an option, but for 99 percent of people, the hosted route is easier, faster, and just works.
You upload photos. The AI learns your face. Then you get high-quality photos and videos of yourself in any style you want.