Oops, I Did It Again: From One Selfie to a Full-Blown Side Quest

It all started innocently. I just needed a new profile picture for LinkedIn. My old one was—let’s say—historical. Over ten years old — and I looked more like an intern than someone you’d actually hire.

So I went outside (because lighting, obviously), took a few selfies, and realized my self-shading glasses decided to cosplay as sunglasses. Not great. I tried again indoors, standing in front of a window. The light was perfect, the background messy, my T-shirt wrinkled—but hey, we have AI now, right?

Enter: The AI Facepalm

I uploaded my photo to ChatGPT and Copilot with a confident prompt:

“Remove background, fix the clothes, but don’t touch my face.”

Guess what I got? A perfect professional portrait… of someone else.

Apparently, both AIs decided to generate a woman who looked vaguely like me, just ten years older and slightly more well-fed. Not quite the LinkedIn glow-up I had in mind.

Original selfie

ChatGPT Version

Copilot Version

After several failed prompts (and a small identity crisis), I started searching for something more face-focused. That’s when I found Lift—an AI portrait app with a one-week trial for two bucks. (ADHD tip: cancel the subscription immediately.)

And oh boy, it worked. Suddenly, “almost me” was sitting in cozy cafés, fancy offices, even a library. Pretty cool, actually.

LitfApp Café mockup

LiftApp Studio mockup

LiftApp Library mockup

LiftApp Party mockup

But then I saw the extra filters—Disney, Ghibli, and a “cyberpunk” one that doesn’t really make you a hacker rebel, just... turns you blue and slightly electronic—and, well… I might’ve played a little too long.

Disney filter

Ghibli filter

Cyberpunk filter

Comic book filter

The Rabbit Hole Gets Deeper

Then I stumbled upon HeyGen, an AI that can make your photo talk.

All you need is a picture and a script, and voilà—a moving, speaking version of your “almost face.” I made two test videos during the free trial and instantly knew: I was in trouble.

I added captions and background music in Canva (because of course Canva does that too). After some experimentation—and a few muttered curses—I had two polished mini videos ready to share.

From Profile Picture to Project #42

Now, what to do with them? Coincidentally, I’d just watched one of those “Grow your Instagram to a million followers in 90 days” webinars. You know the type—motivational, slightly scammy, but weirdly energizing. I didn’t buy anything, but it pushed me to finally make an Instagram account for Glitches & Glory.

LiftApp meshup: my selfie to café mockup and the result to Disney style

Later, I remembered I already had a YouTube channel (classic ADHD moment), so I uploaded the videos there too.

And the verdict?

YouTube seems to love me. Instagram… not so much. Either neurodivergent gamers prefer YouTube, or Instagram just doesn’t show new creators to anyone.

Anyway, stay tuned for updates on my AI social media quest—and if you want to see those “almost me” videos, go follow Glitches & Glory on Instagram.

Because what started as a simple LinkedIn update somehow turned into another creative detour. But hey, that’s just how the glitches roll.

Back to the Original Quest

Oh right — the LinkedIn photo. After all that AI experimentation, I finally got it done the old-fashioned way (well, sort of). I used an app called Picofme, which nicely cleared the background and added some bold colors — a bit of extra life for a professional face. But my hair? Still too wild for corporate LinkedIn vibes. So I ended up fixing the crown of loose strands myself, with a pen, tablet, and a good old non-AI editing app.

Because sometimes, even in the age of artificial intelligence, you just have to take the stylus into your own hands.