How to make a Growing video from your photos
By Sagie, founder of Echoes·Updated October 8, 2026
A Growing video shows one person changing over the years as a single continuous video. You upload photos of the same person from different ages, earliest first, and each photo blends into the next, so a whole life plays out in one smooth video with a personal opening, titles, and music.
What a Growing video is
A Growing video is a set of photos chained together by blending one into the next. Instead of separate pictures, the photos morph from one to the following one, so the result reads as one continuous motion rather than a slideshow. When the photos are of the same person at different ages, that continuous motion becomes them growing up over the years.
It's the kind of thing that's hard to describe and easy to feel once you see it. Age-progression - the same person over the years - is the most common way people use it, but a Growing video is really any set of photos morphed together with a steady main subject. You'll also hear it called an age morphing video or a growing-up video - it's the same idea.
This style is the reason Echoes grew into what it is:
"The pivot to Growing videos of children was a big evolution for Echoes: emotional tributes to the most valuable people in our lives - our children."
- Sagie, founder of Echoes
How Echoes makes one
- Upload in age order. Add photos of the same person, earliest first - their earliest photos through to today.
- We blend each one into the next. Every consecutive pair of photos is blended into one animation. The motion style for each blend is chosen automatically, and you can also pick it yourself if you'd rather.
- We finish it into one video. Add a personal opening with your own text, a closing title card, and music - your own song, a track from the built-in library, or one generated for you. Then download a single video.
You can see real examples of the Growing style on the site. Each step is a few clicks, and the blending happens in the background, so you can start it and come back when it's ready.
How many photos, and how it's counted
Gather as many good photos as you can - the more you include, the fuller the video. Each consecutive pair blends into one animation, so 13 photos make 12 animations. The smallest package is a 1-minute video, which takes 13 photos, and each extra minute takes 12 more. The wider the range of ages you include, the more the video moves people.
Some of the best photos won't be on your phone - they'll be with a parent or in an old album. It's worth asking family for a few clear ones from the early years. If those are prints, you don't need a scanner: photograph each one in good, even daylight, straight on. For fragile originals, the Library of Congress has a short guide to caring for and handling photographs.
Which photos to use
For a Growing video, a few things matter:
- The same person is the clear subject across all the photos - that consistency is what makes the blend read as one person over time.
- The face is clearly visible in each photo. This is the important one: if a face isn't clear, the AI fills in the missing details and it stops looking like them. Skip photos where the face is turned away, tiny, or hidden.
- Keep it to a few people per photo (ideally fewer than three), so the main subject stays the focus.
Finishing: opening, music, and titles
The blend is the effect, but the finishing is what makes it a gift:
- A personal opening with your own text, in one of a few styles - Album of Memories, Window of Time, or Door of Light.
- Music - your own song, a built-in library, or a custom track generated for you.
- A closing title card with a name, a date, or a few words.
You can re-compile the final video as many times as you like, and swap any photo that didn't blend the way you hoped. Every package comes with a full set of free retries, one for every animation, so anything that isn't right can be regenerated.
Where you'll play or share it
The finished video is an MP4, and its shape follows your photos, so think about where it's going:
- On a screen at an event - a birthday, an anniversary, a bar or bat mitzvah - where landscape suits a TV or projector.
- On a digital frame at home, where you load the MP4 onto the frame and it loops.
- In the family group or on social, where vertical fits Stories, Reels, and TikTok.
When it lands hardest
A Growing video is at its best when it sums up a whole life at once: a parent's milestone birthday, a couple's anniversary, a child's bar or bat mitzvah. Instead of a slideshow at the event, you have one video that carries the whole story - and it's a keepsake the family keeps long after.
It's a one-time purchase priced by the finished video's length, not a subscription, with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and your first animation is free to try. Your photos stay private, are never used to train AI models, and can be deleted anytime from your dashboard.
About the author
Sagie, founder of Echoes
Sagie is the founder of Echoes. He built it in 2025 after piecing together an AI video gift from his mother's old childhood photos for her 72nd birthday, and has since helped hundreds of families turn their own photos into video gifts.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to make?
- Most people finish in 15-30 minutes. Each animation is created in the background, so you can leave the tab and come back - you don't have to sit and wait for it.
- How many photos do I need?
- The more the better - gather as many good photos as you can across the years. Each consecutive pair blends into one animation, so 13 photos make 12 animations. The smallest package is a 1-minute video, which takes 13 photos, and each extra minute takes 12 more. A wider spread of ages makes a stronger video.
- Can I use old baby photos or scanned prints?
- Yes, and they're often the best part. A phone photo of an old print works fine - no scanner needed - as long as the face is clearly visible.
- What does it cost?
- Packages are a one-time purchase priced by the length of the finished video, not a subscription, and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee. Your first animation is free, and retrying an animation and re-making the final video are included.
- Can I post it on social media?
- Yes. The finished video is an MP4, and its shape follows your photos, so it fits vertical formats like Instagram Stories, Reels, and TikTok, as well as a screen at an event.
- Can I change the video after it's compiled?
- Yes. You can rearrange photos, swap the music or title cards, and re-compile the final video as many times as you like.
- What if one of the animations doesn't come out well?
- You can retry any animation (every package comes with a free retry for every animation, to spend wherever you need them), or swap that photo for a different one, until it looks the way you want.