A Bad Times AI video is only as good as the photo it starts from. The template brings the moves, the handheld camera and Imael Angel's "BAD TIMES". Everything else — the face, the hair, the outfit or the fur, and the room — comes from one picture. Here's how to choose one that looks right and passes review the first time.
The short version
- One person or one pet in the photo.
- Face sharp and front-facing, eyes visible.
- Bright, even light.
- JPG, PNG or WebP, under 20 MB.
- An everyday photo of yourself, your pet or a friend who agreed to it.
What your photo decides
The video follows a depth map of the original BAD TIMES take. That map carries only movement and the camera — never the original performer's face or outfit. So your photo supplies:
- Face, hair and outfit. Your face, hairstyle, glasses and clothes stay as they are in the photo. For pets: fur colour, markings and breed.
- The room. The photo's background is extended into a vertical frame, so the argument happens in your own living room or bedroom. If the photo has no clear background, it happens in an ordinary living room.
That's why the photo matters more than any setting in the studio. Exact likeness isn't guaranteed — the face can soften during the lunge at the lens — but a good photo keeps the video closest to it.
Five rules for a good Bad Times photo
1. One subject per photo
The template casts one performer. Crop group shots to the person or pet you mean, because two faces in one photo can blend. The same goes for pets: two animals, or a person holding the pet, make it unclear who plays the part. Want a friend in on the joke? Make a separate video from their own photo, with their OK.
2. Face sharp and toward the camera
Front or three-quarter views with visible eyes work best. Side profiles and blurry action shots lose the likeness, and the upload box asks for exactly this: one clear, front-facing face. For a pet, that means eyes and nose sharp and pointed at the camera.
3. Bright, even light
A well-lit photo keeps skin tone, fur colour and features steady through the fast moves. Daylight or a bright room works best, without heavy filters. With pets, dark photos are a particular problem: black fur turns into a shapeless blur.
4. Show some body, keep hands empty
A waist-up photo of a person, or a pet's whole body at eye level, gives the model the shape it needs for the hand-on-hip and the lunge. For pets, head and chest is the minimum. And empty hands: anything held in the photo is left out, and the moves need free hands anyway.
5. The right file
JPG, PNG or WebP, under 20 MB. Use the photo itself rather than a blurry or tiny copy of it: the sharper the face, the closer the video stays to it.
Which photos don't pass review
Every photo goes through the video provider's review before anything is rendered. It usually takes a few seconds, occasionally a few minutes, and the render starts by itself once the photo passes. These won't:
- Celebrities and public figures. The review screens for public figures, so a photo of a famous face is turned away.
- Film and music video stills. These count as copyrighted content, not everyday photos, and don't pass either.
- People who didn't agree. The person in the result can be recognized, so you may only upload a photo if you have the right to use it and the person in it agreed to appear. Before you generate, the studio asks you to confirm exactly that, and that you won't use the video to impersonate, mislead or harm anyone.
- Children. Don't upload a photo of a child. There's one exception: in the toddler version, a parent or legal guardian may upload a photo of their own child. Even there, the provider sometimes rejects photos of children; a clearer everyday photo may pass.
The rule of thumb is the one the upload box shows: everyday photos of yourself, your pets or friends who said yes.
What happens if a photo isn't approved
You don't pay for a video that isn't made, and you don't have to ask for anything back:
- Made with credits: the credits go back to your balance automatically, and you can use them for another video right away.
- Bought as a single video at checkout: the full payment is refunded automatically to the card or wallet you paid with, usually starting within a minute. A refund that soon often cancels the pending charge, so it may simply disappear from your statement; otherwise banks usually show it within 5 to 10 business days.
The same applies when a render fails for any other reason. The full rules are in our refund policy. Then try again with a different, everyday photo.
Test a photo cheaply
Not sure a photo will hold up? Try it short first. A 10-second Budget video at 480p costs 4 credits, and the default 15-second Balanced video at 480p costs 12. If you like the result, make it again with the same photo — no new upload — in a longer or sharper version. Premium renders the whole 30-second take in 480p, 720p or 1080p, and every account's first full 480p video costs 20 credits. You can also buy one video without an account: $3.99 for 15 seconds on Balanced, or $6.99 for the full take on Premium. All prices are on the pricing page.
Using a photo of your pet
Pet photos follow the same rules, with one addition: take it at your pet's eye level with as much of the body in frame as you can. The original Bad Times template takes people or pets. The dog and cat version takes pets only and keeps their animal proportions — our pet guide covers the difference.
Are my photos private?
Yes. We never publish your photos or videos, show them to other users or use them in our examples or marketing. Only you can see them in your history, and uploaded photos are deleted 30 days after the video is made.
Quick checklist
Before you press Generate, check that the photo:
- Shows one person or one pet, no one else.
- Has a sharp, front-facing face with visible eyes.
- Is bright and evenly lit, without heavy filters.
- Shows the upper body (or the pet's body), with empty hands.
- Is a JPG, PNG or WebP under 20 MB.
- Is an everyday photo of you, your pet or a friend who agreed — not a celebrity, not a film or music video still, and not a child (unless it's your own, in the toddler version).
Upload your photo in the studio →
For the full walkthrough, see how to make the Bad Times AI video.
Bad Times AI is an independent tool, not affiliated with Imael Angel, the song's label or the trend's original creator.
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