The image model only knows what it can see. Give it a clear, front-facing, evenly lit face and every one of the twelve stickers looks like you. Give it a dim three-quarter shot with sunglasses and it has to invent half your face. Here is what matters, in order.
1. Face the camera
A straight-on photo is worth more than any other single thing. The model keeps the features it can see and guesses the ones it cannot. If your head is turned, the far side of your face is a guess, and the guess changes from sticker to sticker.
2. Even light
Stand facing a window during the day, or in a room with soft overhead light. Avoid a single lamp from one side (half your face goes dark), a ceiling spotlight (shadows under the eyes), and backlight (a silhouette). Phone flash is fine if there is nothing else.
3. Distance
Head and shoulders, filling about half the frame. Too far and the face is a few hundred pixels; too close and the lens distorts your nose. Arm's length is right. Ask someone else to take it if you can.
4. Hair, glasses, hats
Whatever is on your head in the photo tends to show up in every sticker. If you always wear glasses, keep them on — that is you. If you do not want a cap in twelve stickers, take it off. Tie long hair back if it covers your jaw.
5. Background
Plain is best but it is not critical; the model cuts the background out anyway. Avoid a background that matches your skin or hair colour.
6. The phone setting that ruins everything
Beauty mode. Smoothing filters remove the exact details the model uses to recognise you — pores, the line under your eye, the asymmetry of your smile — and the stickers come back looking like a generic person. Turn it off for the one photo.
For pets
Get down to their eye level, wait for ears up and eyes open, and take the photo in daylight. A treat held just above the lens gets the look you want. For dark-coated pets, more light than you think.
What a bad photo looks like in the result
If the stickers do not look like you, it is almost always one of: turned head, dark side of face, sunglasses, or a filter. Retake the photo and run the pack again — generating is free, so there is no cost to trying twice.
Ready? Start with Hat Party for people or Pet Portrait for the dog.