Beard Growth Timelapse: Keep Every Shot Aligned

To make a beard growth timelapse, keep the camera in one position and match your eyes, nose, and head angle to a reference photo before each shot. Leave room below your chin for the beard to grow into the frame. Build the sequence from dated photos, then check the preview for jumps before exporting.

Choose one view for the main sequence

Start with a straight-on view that includes your eyes, both cheeks, jaw, and space below the chin. Keep your mouth relaxed and look toward the lens. If you also want a profile record, make it a separate sequence with its own reference. Alternating views makes the same area harder to follow. In Progress Photo: Before After, use a separate project for each view; the app does not organize multiple angle groups inside one project.

Set the camera position before matching the frame

Rest the phone on a stable support and mark where you sit or stand. Keep the lens near eye level, and reuse the same camera and phone orientation. Hasselblad’s portrait lens guide explains that camera position determines perspective. Keep that position fixed and check your face size against the reference. If you change phones or switch cameras, compare a test shot with the baseline before continuing.

Keep both cheeks readable

Choose light that reaches your face. The American Academy of Dermatology’s photography guidance recommends checking for blur, glare, and harsh shadows because they can hide detail. Check the cheeks, mustache, and underside of the chin. Reuse the same light placement, checking again when daylight changes. Avoid alternating between a bright window and a dim overhead light. When using another camera app for photos you will import, turn off filters and check that the picture resembles what you see.

Save a baseline you can keep using

Create a project, choose Beard, and name the view, such as Beard front. Set the start date to the beginning of your record, then choose Take the first photo. Leave space around the lower beard and the sides of your face. Retake this positioning reference now if your head is tilted or part of the jaw is missing. The first shot establishes the composition; it does not need to show a clean shave.

Align stable facial features with the ghost

On later visits, open the project and choose Take today’s photo. The Ghost tool displays an earlier photo over the live camera. It starts with Last photo; once several photos exist, you can select First photo to return to the baseline instead of following small shifts from shot to shot. Adjust Ghost opacity until both images are readable, or try Outline. Match the eye line and nose position first, then check head tilt and face size. Let the beard edge change. Grid and Center provide additional guides, and the Timer offers 3- or 10-second delays. You move into position yourself; the app does not automatically align your face.

Keep trimming and styling changes understandable

Decide whether the sequence records an untrimmed grow-out or your beard as you normally wear it. Keep a separate, dated log of trims, neckline changes, coloring, or styling changes to explain sudden jumps later. Use a consistent grooming state where practical, such as before applying styling product. Keep sparse areas visible rather than adjusting your pose to hide them. Preserve the original photos when making edited copies for sharing.

Check dates when adding older photos

Use Import photos if you already have suitable beard pictures. Progress reads the capture date from JPEG EXIF when available; otherwise, it falls back to the file’s modification date or the current date. Check imported dates rather than assuming every file retained its original information. Open a photo and use Date to correct it when you know the actual day. Photos are ordered by their saved dates. Importing does not repair framing, and the app has no crop, rotate, or alignment editor for saved photos. Prepare a separate copy elsewhere if an older image needs those adjustments.

Preview the beard before creating the video

With at least two photos saved, open Timelapse from the project. Start with Cut and a speed slow enough to inspect each face. Watch the eyes and nose for movement, then check that the beard stays inside the frame throughout. Try Vertical 9:16, Square 1:1, or Horizontal 16:9 to see which preserves the area you need: the app fills the output frame and may crop the edges. Background color controls do not create visible borders around a normal photo. The Day label control can show the project’s day, week, or month labels. Choose Create video when satisfied. Export uses MP4 where supported, with WebM as a fallback; open the saved file to check it before sharing.

Keep the photo sequence as well as the video

Keep the underlying photos so you can revisit individual dates. In Settings, use Back up everything (.zip) and keep a copy outside the phone before deleting a project or changing devices. Project deletion can lose photos even if a save error appears afterward. After restoring a backup, open the photos themselves: a success count does not guarantee that every image is readable.