AI Time Machine™ utilizes text-to-image technology licensed from a company called Astria. Using a variety of photos of one person that you upload to the website, it builds a model showing that person in a variety of poses and lighting conditions that are different from those in the original photos. Then, using a series of predefined themes, it synthesizes the model with motifs from a large variety of historical themes to create the photorealistic images.
Cost: As of this writing, Complete subscribers will be able to create 3 complimentary models per year and receive all available themes for each model (Subject to change.) Keep an eye out for free promotions throughout the year.
Photos you’ll need for the best results
Do one person at a time.
Crop group photos down to one individual.
The more photos you use, the better the results. Take extra photos if you don’t have enough already on your phone.
Don’t use an assortment of photos at different ages.
Use an assortment of poses: 3 full body shots, 5 medium (waist up) shots, and 10 close-ups.
Use photos with an assortment of poses and expressions, with your eyes looking different directions.
Use photos taken on different days and with different backgrounds.
Avoiding makeup is recommended.
Step-by-step instructions
Log into your free MyHeritage account. (Don’t have one? Use our link to go to the site and sign up for a free account.)
In the menu go to Photos > AI Time Machine
Click the Try it Now button
Click the Select Photos button or drag and drop your assortment of photos from your computer onto the box on the screen. You can select all of them by clicking the first image, holding down your Shift key (Win) and clicking the last image in the collection.
Drag and Drop Photos
Uploading can take several seconds or even a few minutes. Leave your browser tab open until you see the screen telling you they will email you when your photos are ready.
When you receive the notification email, click it to go to your photos on MyHeritage.
There will be many boxes of photos, each representing a theme. You can scroll through them to quickly find ones that look good. It’s normal to see many that didn’t work out. This is due to the particular photos that you uploaded not suiting the image very well. However, if you follow the guidelines above, you should have many excellent photos to choose from.
Click the desired photos and download them to your computer.
The Results are Amazing
Here I am as an Egyptian Queen
And here I am ready to head off into the 1950 skies as a stewardess:
And I could be the third sister my Grandmother’s family in the 1930s:
It’s no surprise to find another DNA post in the #8 spot on our Top 10 genealogy blog post countdown. The topic: understanding your AncestryDNA matches.
In this post, Genealogy Gems resident DNA expert Diahan Southard takes on a confused question sent in by a listener, who didn’t understand why certain people were showing up in her AncestryDNA results.
This post explains SO beautifully a couple of key concepts:
the difference between your AncestryDNA genetic matches and the DNA Circles/New Ancestry Discoveries that pull from both your genetic results and your family tree; AND
three reasons someone may show up in your AncestryDNA matches as a New Ancestry Discovery–and which one of those scenarios actually helps your research.
Since running my own autosomal test through AncestryDNA a few months ago, I find myself coming back repeatedly to Diahan’s series of posts to help me better understand and use those results. I know I’m not alone, since three of Diahan’s DNA posts made our Top 10 this year! (We covered #10 yesterday.)
Click here to read the above post, and click here to find a list of all DNA-related posts on our genealogy blog.
If you’ve done your homework and decided that an AncestryDNA test is what should be next for your family history research, thank you for purchasing one by clicking here. Your purchase supports the free Genealogy Gem blog and podcast. (Thank you! YOU are a gem!)
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Genealogy Gems!
“Because of your consistent message of starting a family blog [and] anecdotal success from listeners, I started a family history website. A blog just seemed too small…. The ultimate goal is to display the family information for my known relatives as well as create a site that will pop up on Google search results and hopefully put me in contact with new relatives.
My question is about displaying the family tree on the website. I want to have a page that shows my family tree. I did not know how to accomplish that, so I decided to include links to my ancestry and myheritage family trees. The problem with this method is that ancestry requires you to have an account to view the tree, and MyHeritage only shows you some of the family tree and requires an account to view the rest. This is not a great method to share the family tree with relatives because not everyone has, or wants, an account with these sites. Is there a website where I can upload my family tree’s GEDCOM file and then link to it on my website where it will display all the members of my tree?”
It’s always great to hear that Genealogy Gems is helping out. Congrats on the website David! I recommend blogs to my readers because they are quicker and easier to set up, but in reality I would rather recommend they create a family history website like you are doing. It’s better suited for the long haul of getting your word out and connecting with others.
You pose a great question, and so I did what I just coached everyone in my latest episode #171 to do: just Google it! What you are describing is a ‘website plugin’ so I Googled: family tree website plugin and…Ta-da! There are some out there.
I found one for Word Press (which is where I build my site) so I may have to give that one a try. However, since you are using Weebly I went back and added “weebly” to the search and there are definitely some hits there, though I’m not sure if they specifically include a visual tree plug in. Try the searches and see if you find something you like.
A special Certificate of Recognition has been newly created by the Society of Genealogists to recognize exceptional contributions to genealogy by individuals and institutions worldwide. Else Churchill, Genealogist, Society of Genealogists in London made the announcement as follows:
Society of Genealogists Launches a New Prestigious Award for the Genealogical Community
In the first year nomination forms were made available to Fellows of the Society for their suggestions and four candidates have been recognised by the newly formed awards panel for the new Certificate in 2013. The successful candidates were:
Dick Eastman for having the vision to promote family history through the CompuServe Genealogy Forum and by founding and maintaining the daily Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter.
Dr Hugh Kearsey for actively ensuring a wider availability of materials enabling others to pursue family history in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
Rosemary Cleaver for her continuous back-room contributions to all aspects of the West Surrey Family History Society over many years.
The Polish Archive of Przemyśluin recognition of outstanding maintenance of local family records, and in the efforts to making them accessible to researchers from far and wide.
Formal presentations will be arranged over the coming months.
The GEDCOM digital file format is essential to genealogy. My expert guest from FamilySearch explains what a GEDCOM is, how to use it, and the most recent changes. He’ll also answer some of the most common GEDCOM questions.
Listen to the Podcast Episode
To Listen click the media player below (AUDIO ONLY):
Show Notes & Video Version of this Episode
Show notes article and watch the video version: All About GEDCOM
Premium Members Exclusive Download: Log into your Premium membership and then click here to download the handy PDF show notes that complement this podcast episode.
Become a Genealogy Gems Premium Member
Premium Members have exclusive access to:
Exclusive video classes with downloadable handouts
The Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast with downloadable handout
better understand and use those results. I know I’m not alone, since three of Diahan’s DNA posts made our Top 10 this year! (We covered 
recommend blogs to my readers because they are quicker and easier to set up, but in reality I would rather recommend they create a family history website like you are doing. It’s better suited for the long haul of getting your word out and connecting with others.
