Below is an example of a PhotoFit avatar done for Michelle Bowman, who works in the Guest Lecture program. As you can see from the photograph that she provided, the PhotoFit program creates an avatar based upon a photograph that you provide.

If you are interested in changing your current welcome message to a PhotoFit avatar, please send me a photograph. If you do not yet have a welcome message for your advice templates, please record a short audio file and send it to me along with a photograph that meets the following guidelines.

Essential

• Faces must have the mouth closed and be in the neutral (relaxed) expression.
• Eyes must be open and looking straight ahead.
• Faces must be about 12 years of age or older.
• The entire face must be in the photo.
• Flash lighting must be used, and the face must not be otherwise brightly lit.
• Images must be in color.

• Glasses should be removed.
• Hair should not cover the forehead or any part of the face.
• The camera should be at least 5 feet away from the face.
• The face should be at least 500 pixels high in the image.
• In the frontal shot, the chin should be slightly elevated as if looking just above the camera.
• Focus your eyes on something just above the camera, rather than into the distance, to avoid a spacey look.

• Facial hair is OK.
• Flashes on both sides of the camera can be used.
• Flash diffusers can be used.

• The face should not be painted (makeup is OK).
• Avoid taking photos outdoors in daylight.
• Drawings of faces may not yield good results.