An AI skin analysis can only read what the camera shows it. Most "my scores changed overnight" moments come from the photo, not the skin: a warmer light, a closer angle, a beauty filter left on. This guide is the setup we recommend before every scan on K-Beauty Picks, and it applies to any selfie-based skin tool.
1. Light: face a window, in daytime
Light is the single biggest factor.
- Stand facing a window, with the daylight landing evenly on your face. Soft, indirect daylight shows texture, pores, and shine the most faithfully.
- Avoid direct sun. Hard sunlight blows out the bright areas and deepens every shadow, so redness and shine read stronger than they are.
- Avoid overhead-only light. A ceiling lamp behind or above you puts shadows under the eyes and along the nose, which can push dark-circle and texture readings up.
- Avoid mixed light. Warm lamp on one side and blue screen light on the other shifts skin tone unevenly across the face. One light source is better than two.
If you are scanning at night, one lamp in front of you (not above) at eye level is the next best thing.
2. Distance and framing: arm's length, eye level
- Hold the phone at arm's length, roughly 40 to 50 cm, so the whole face fits with a little room around it.
- Keep the phone at eye level, not below the chin. A low angle stretches the lower face and tilts the light.
- Look straight into the lens with a relaxed, neutral expression. Smiling folds the cheeks and changes how fine lines show.
- Center your face. If the app shows a guide oval, fill it without cropping the forehead or chin.
3. Skin state: clean and bare
- Scan on clean skin with no makeup. Foundation evens out tone and hides pores, which is exactly what the analysis is trying to measure.
- Wait 10 to 15 minutes after washing or applying products. Freshly rinsed skin is temporarily tighter and less shiny, and a fresh layer of moisturizer adds gloss that reads as oil.
- Glasses off, hair back. Frames cast shadows across the cheeks, and bangs hide the forehead.
- Skip the scan right after a workout or a hot shower, when skin is flushed. Come back once it looks like its usual self.
4. Camera: no filters, no zoom, clean lens
- Turn off beauty mode, smoothing, and filters. Many phones apply these by default on the front camera; check the camera settings once.
- Don't zoom. Digital zoom lowers detail. Move the phone instead.
- Wipe the front lens with a soft cloth. Fingerprints on the lens create a haze that looks like a soft-focus filter.
- The front camera is fine. Resolution matters less than light and a clean lens.
5. For tracking over time: same spot, same time of day
If you save your analyses (My Skin on K-Beauty Picks keeps your history), consistency matters more than perfection. Pick one place with good window light, and scan around the same time of day, ideally in the morning before skincare. Changes you see between scans will then reflect your skin more than your setup.
What the analysis does with the photo
On K-Beauty Picks, the photo is analyzed and then immediately discarded. It is not stored and not used to train the AI. The result is a set of cosmetic estimates of how the skin looks: oil, hydration, pores, visible redness, texture, and six more metrics, plus one of eight cosmetic skin profiles. These are observations about appearance, not a medical assessment. For skin that feels painful, changes quickly, or worries you, a licensed health professional is the right person to see.
Quick checklist
- Window light, daytime, no direct sun
- Arm's length, phone at eye level
- Clean skin, no makeup, 10 to 15 minutes after washing
- Glasses off, hair back, neutral face
- Filters and beauty mode off, lens wiped
Set up once, and every scan after that starts from the same place.