Wikipedia talk:A picture of you

Clarification on adding images directly to the page?
I sent this to someone who wanted to upload a photo but was worried about COI and didn't want to edit their page directly. I ended up putting it in their page on their behalf, but should we add a section clarifying that this is also possible to do and is not COI? WP:AUTOPROB specifies adding a photo to the page or adding a better one is fine so it would be nice to say this explicitly. Mvolz (talk) 10:57, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

Thank you for sharing this .I was actually ready to upload a photo but since you say you say you putted on the page on our behalf...Thank you so much Noluthando Phumi (talk) 17:37, 24 June 2021 (UTC)

"You don't have to create an account"
This document currently states that you don't have to create an account to upload a photo. I believe that's wrong. Is there something I'm unaware of going on here or is this simply inaccurate? - Jmabel &#124; Talk 02:40, 17 October 2023 (UTC)


 * Section A picture of you explains the process of indirectly uploading without an account. —⁠andrybak (talk) 10:27, 17 October 2023 (UTC)
 * The implication in the essay was that it's possible to upload a photo to Commons without creating an account, that account creation just has the benefit of being notified of changes to the image.
 * This may have been true in the past, but today you get a straightforward Please log in to upload files error message at Commons if you click the upload link without an account.
 * I've updated the essay to say that you need an account to upload a picture to Commons. Belbury (talk) 17:00, 18 October 2023 (UTC)

Updated for Instagram/Facebook/Twitter
Seemed like this could use a pass for modern social media usage, so I've boldly added sections for Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

(I started writing a "Submitting selfies" essay on Commons last year, without realising this one also existed, after seeing one too many cases where a minor celebrity clearly very much wanted to put a good photo onto their Wikipedia page, but was struggling to navigate Commons.)

The apologetic "Why we can't upload your images for you" section that was previously in this essay may have been true before widespread use of public-facing image sharing apps, but it's now very easy for a person to post a photo and verifiably release it a CC licence in the caption - Commons actually lists social media as an option at "When contacting VRT is unnecessary". Belbury (talk) 16:55, 18 October 2023 (UTC)

AI generated image?
The Instagram section of the page features an AI generated image,,. It is marked as public domain on Wikimedia but I was not able to find any mention of licensing on the AI service's website, which is concerning. Besides that, I don't think it's appropriate to feature AI generated images on a page about uploading actual pictures of actual people. मल्ल (talk) 22:58, 2 March 2024 (UTC)


 * Thanks for flagging this, I used a fake example at the time because I couldn't find any good ones of an Instagram user clearly licencing a photo. I took a photo of a non-existent person from an AI category on Commons, but you're right, the provenance is questionable, the user has a lot of "created with the help of" uploads which may not be solely AI generated.
 * Looking around Commons for CC-BY Instagram selfies again today, File:Nilesh Ahuja.jpg meets the criteria so I'll replace it with a screenshot of that. Belbury (talk) 10:53, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Advanced example
@Pigsonthewing What do you think of this addition:

Skeeter Reece's wife wanted her husbands WP-article to be improved with this image, so she hunted down the photographer who took it in 1991 and persuaded him to release it on Commons. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:58, 9 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Added. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 20:55, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

"Welcome to Wikipedia!"
I do think this phrase may do more harm than good in the introduction, for the casual non-Wikipedia audience that this advice is specifically being aimed at. (I took the phrase out when rewriting the page to add more social media guidance last year, but it's back.) To me it risks establishing an unfounded sense of "strap in, you're going to need a Wikipedia account to make this picture happen" for some readers, to the point where they might lose heart.

We should obviously be friendly, but I don't think this cross-the-threshold wording really fits. Belbury (talk) 10:23, 11 April 2024 (UTC)