View Full Version : Compare-a-Face FamilySearch
A distant contact of mine is currently trying to use the compare-a-face facility on FamilySearch to try and work out if a mystery photo is our mutual ancestor.
It is a fascinating tool. You can upload two photos, and it tells you how similar their facial features are. I am not quite sure of the science, or how the science works, but it is fascinating.
I uploaded photos of my Grandma when she was about 7, 30 and 80 and the percent match between each of the three was 99% or 100%.
Wondered if anyone else had used it or had any thoughts on it?
Olde Crone
07-07-20, 22:39
Ooh! I like the sound of this!
I have two sets of photos which niggle me.
A random photo of a businessman called John James Holden. He and my late father (also a Holden) look like identical twins. I can make no paper connection between them and the dates just don't work for any hanky panky.
The other is my 2x ggm, holding a chubby baby on her lap. She had either two, or three, children and I would like an independent opinion on which one this is. If it's the one I think it is, that would solve a small mystery but leave me with a larger one.
OC
It's definitely worth looking into, and was really easy to use.
Just remember that the original photo you upload will be compared to the next ones you upload (you can always choose to "start over" though). It will also label the original photo as being you, not that that matters though!
Let us know if it gives you any answers, or just more questions.
Contact is now sure that mystery photos are of our mutual relative, but I am still not convinced. There is a similarity to my side of the family in particular. 59% match to what would be her daughter and an 81% and 68% match to what would be one of her granddaughters. I am just not sure whether I can make the photo fit the correct time period.
I may be asking for advice on it tomorrow on Sensitive Research.
Olde Crone
08-07-20, 09:16
Yes, the time period is the stumbling block for me, too.
OC
There's one on Ancestry of a woman with the same surname as mine who is the
spittting image of me at her age,but I've never been able to make the connection
between the two families. Others much more experienced than me have tried & failed
too but I'm sure there must be a link somewhere.
Olde Crone
08-07-20, 12:47
Vita
So aggravating isn't it.
I have a useful contact in a third cousin. We share one set of great great grandparents of course. I was truly amazed to see a photo of his daughter on fb, she is very like my eldest daughter.
OC
Tom, this is really interesting. Thank you!
For anyone going looking for it, the feature can be found under Activities at the right hand side of the menu across the top of the home page.
This sounds really interesting. I might try it with photos where I know who the people are first!
Sue from Southend
09-07-20, 09:06
I tried this with a photo of my grandmother and a photo of of the man I now believe to be her father, thanks to DNA testing. That match comes up at 30%, I then compared Nan with a photo said to be of his mother and that came out at 96%! I wonder if his moustache skewed the results at all:d
I'll have to do as Merry suggests and compare two photos where I know the relationship to see how the results pan out.
Great fun, though thanks Tom highlighting it!
edit: Just compared my aunt to the same photo of her mother, my grandmother and that came up at 88%. Very interesting!
I have spent far too long comparing all sorts of photos over the last couple of days.
It has helped me identify a couple of photos that I was unsure about. I had a feeling they were a certain person, but couldn't make my mind up for definite. However, the site came back with a 99% match, and now I am pretty sure that it is him.
I am still confused about the original photos that lead me to the site though. I will try and post on sensitive research later on.
I do think facial hair can skew the results though, but it is amazing how well it works even with photos that are not the best quality.
I've uploaded a couple of individual photos and then uploaded a wedding photo with lots of people in it. The software can correctly identify the same person (100% match) and then the people with the highest % matches are all close relatives.
Mary from Italy
10-07-20, 19:00
It sounds fascinating, but I can't get it to work.
It worked once for me yesterday, comparing two people, but now the site keeps saying my session's expired after only a couple of minutes, and then won't let me back in again.
do the photos remain on familysearch or can they be deleted? I'm not keen on putting my photo out there.
Answering my own question I can't see a way to delete and you have to click that anyone can see the photos and familysearch can use them forever.
Sue from Southend
11-07-20, 11:03
Toni, once you've uploaded a photo there is an option to delete. I've not added photos to a tree or given names to anyone so even if I left them on there I don't know that there's a problem?
Mary from Italy
11-07-20, 18:53
do the photos remain on familysearch or can they be deleted? I'm not keen on putting my photo out there.
When you access the Compare-a-Photo facility, there's a notice that says.
"FamilySearch is a family-oriented site and is intended to be appropriate for all ages. All added memories are public. Review the FamilySearch Submission Agreement and Upload Guidelines and Policies."
I had a quick look at the Submission Agreement, which indeed gives them the right to publish your uploaded content:
https://www.familysearch.org/legal/familysearch-content-submission-agreement
There is an option to delete photos, so presumably after deletion they can't be used, but it doesn't actually say so.
The upload guidelines are quite something.
No photos of nudity (fair enough), cross-dressing or kissing on the lips (!), and your uploaded content must be (among other things) "Heart-turning. Content should support individuals coming to know and love their ancestors."
https://www.familysearch.org/legal/familysearch-upload-guidelines-and-policies
Mary from Italy
11-07-20, 18:57
Content should support individuals coming to know and love their ancestors.
So I presumably shouldn't upload photos of my bigamous, criminal or cross-dressing ancestors.
Mary from Italy
11-07-20, 20:20
Anyway, I've been playing with it, but I don't honestly think it's very good.
After some very poor results with photos of various members of my family (e.g. my great-grandmother had a higher match with one of her husbands, born in a different country from her, than with her brother), I eventually tried comparing myself with my son (the only person in my tree whose parentage I can be 100% sure about :) ).
The photo of him I uploaded had a poster of the Blues Brothers just behind and above him, which the software treated as another photo.
I had a 22% match with the Blues Brothers and only 16% with my son...
Olde Crone
11-07-20, 21:48
Mary
Hahaha!
Better not upload my cross-eyed ancestor then, if the photos are meant to be uplifting.
OC
Anyway, I've been playing with it, but I don't honestly think it's very good.
That's a shame, as I have had some very good results with it. Obviously there are anomalies, but I think that might depend on the quality of the photo, or facial hair. It isn't an exact science, but I have had very good results with it picking out one person from a full group.
For example, I uploaded a photo of my gg grandmother when she was about 60. I also uploaded a wedding photograph where she was a guest (aged about 40).
Software correctly identified her, and then the people who had the highest percentage match all had a much higher percentage than the other people on the photo. I know the people she had the highest matches with were her three daughters, her son, and her sister.
Mary from Italy
13-07-20, 18:51
That's interesting; to be fair the quality of my photos wasn't all that great.
And I've just realised that in the photo of me that matched the Blues Brothers, I was wearing dark glasses :)
That's interesting; to be fair the quality of my photos wasn't all that great.
And I've just realised that in the photo of me that matched the Blues Brothers, I was wearing dark glasses :)
Haha! The glasses might have not helped, if it couldn’t see your eyes clearly. It’s worked best when I have had clearer photos.
Mary from Italy
13-07-20, 20:39
Yes, that obviously makes sense. I shall have to try again.
Did you try comparing two photos of the same person at different ages, and did it work?
Yes, that obviously makes sense. I shall have to try again.
Did you try comparing two photos of the same person at different ages, and did it work?
Yes. I've tried a few times and had very good results from it. I used photos of my Grandma when she was about 7, 30 and 80 and the match was either 99% or 100%.
Also, had a photo of my grandad's cousin as a man of about 30. I also had a school class photo, but was unsure which was him.
It picked out one of the photos as having an 80% likeness. The next likeness was 32% and then all the way down to 12% (there were about 16 boys in the photo).
Mary from Italy
14-07-20, 19:04
Yes. I've tried a few times and had very good results from it. I used photos of my Grandma when she was about 7, 30 and 80 and the match was either 99% or 100%.
Goodness, that's excellent.
I tried photos of my mum aged about 8 and 30-odd, but I only got about 20%.
However, you're a lot younger than me, so your photos were probably better quality :)
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