What makes a good source photo or clip?

Nearly every disappointing swap traces back to what went in. Aim for:

• Sharp — no motion blur, no heavy compression, no dim room.
• Roughly front-on — past about 30 degrees off-centre, there's less of the face to work from and accuracy drops with it.
• Evenly lit — one hard light from the side leaves half a face in shadow, and shadow carries no detail to match.
• Unobstructed — hands, hair, sunglasses and masks all take features away.
• Pointing the same way — pick a face that's turned roughly the way your source is. Matching angles do more for realism than resolution does.

For video, keep the subject steady and in frame. A face that leaves the shot and comes back gives the engine a harder job each time it returns.

Already rendered and not happy? Try these before spending more credits.