Guide
Team photographer
A professional-grade player card for every child on the team, in one style: set the look with the captain as the model, lock it, generate the whole squad, and the portraits appear on the public page, the roster, lineup images and certificates by themselves.
Every professional club has a photo day each season: the whole squad in the same shirt, the same set, the same light, and one consistent set of portraits that then appears on the website, the posters, the player cards, every match day graphic. Youth teams have no photo day, so the public page shows parents' snapshots facing every which way, and the posters show cut-outs.
The team photographer gives your team that photo day. One phone snap per child, and Hobbit generates a square 2K player card for each of them in a look you chose, all matching. It is the foundation of Hobbit's visuals: once a player has a portrait, the public page, the roster, the starting lineup image and the player report certificate all pick it up automatically, and posters draw on it too.
Open Team photographer in the sidebar and choose a team. Part of Hobbit Pro.
How it works
Three steps, in a fixed order:
- Set the look: with the captain as the model, choose a scene, an art style and a framing, generate a sample card, adjust until you like it, then lock it.
- Generate the whole squad: once locked, every other player is generated against the captain's sample: same light, same rendering, same shirt.
- Portraits fall into place: each card replaces the photo on the player's profile, and every place in Hobbit that shows a player shows the card.
The captain is the team's visual baseline and the only player wearing the armband, so step one is naming a captain in team management.
What to prepare
- The captain's reference photo: a clear face, a phone snap at training is enough.
- A kit photo (required): a real shirt; the AI reproduces it on every player, numbers included.
- The club badge (optional): used as a blurred backdrop in the "Studio · Logo backdrop" scene, not needed elsewhere.
- Photos of the other players: one each, added during the batch step or uploaded to the roster beforehand.
A player's number comes from the roster's number field. A player who should not show a number has a "hide number" switch on their profile.
Choosing the look: three dimensions
One scene, one art style, one framing, combined into your team's own look.
Scene (setting and light)
| Scene | Feel | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Studio · Dark | Classic club signing photo, goes with anything | Player wall, team posters |
| Studio · Light | Bright and clean | Recruitment, parent group material |
| Studio · Logo backdrop | The strongest club identity | Team identity pack, recruitment key visual |
| Pitch · Daylight | Warm training-day mood | Camp recaps, pre-season promotion |
| Pitch · Floodlights | Cool light, high contrast | Match day posters, fixture promotion |
| Locker room | Low-light documentary feel | Pre-match motivation, team stories |
| Custom | Describe it yourself | The more specific, the more stable |
Art style (the rendering language)
| Style | Character | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Photoreal | Closest to the child, keeps skin detail | First choice for records and the player wall |
| Cinematic | Teal and orange film grade | Pairs with floodlights and the pitch |
| Chrome card | Metallic glossy card | Skin turns smooth; dark scenes recommended |
| Retro sticker | Panini 80s and 90s sticker | Pairs with the light studio |
| Chinese ink | Non-realistic | Features become brushwork |
| Manga | Shonen manga energy | Anime features, no real-face detail |
| Custom | Describe it yourself | The more specific, the more stable |
Framing: half body (shoulders up), close-up (the face), full body (the whole pose), action (a moment in motion).
Two more things: an optional note ("smiling, holding a ball, club year in the background"; the AI does its best, with face fidelity and image safety first), and whether the captain wears the armband, which you must choose; there is no default.
For parents, and to look like the child: photoreal in a studio. For posters and impact: cinematic or chrome under floodlights. For the children's own taste: manga. A team locks one look, so decide before locking.
Preview and lock
Press "Generate preview" and a sample card of the captain appears in fifteen seconds to a minute, drafts developing as it goes. Not right? Change the look and generate again; each preview uses one image from the allowance.
Happy? Press "That's it, lock as the team look". Locking opens the squad page, and every portrait from then on follows this sample. To change the look later, press "Change look" and go through it again, locking a new sample.
Generating the squad
The squad page lists the roster, marking who has a photo and who already has a card. Select up to 5 at a time and press "Start". Several generate at once, each showing its interim drafts, with a running count and timer. Keep the page open while it runs; closing it interrupts the unfinished ones.
A failed card has "Retry" right on it; one that does not look like the child has "Re-upload photo" for another go. When a batch is done, "Continue with other players" until the squad is complete.
After generation
It replaces the player's photo: the card becomes the child's photo in Hobbit; the original is kept, and the card can toggle "View original".
It appears automatically in the players section of the public page, the roster and player profile, the attendance board, the exported starting lineup image, match results and season stats, the player report certificate and your coaching career page. Nothing to place a second time. For a match day poster, hand the card to graphic design as a reference image.
Download all: one click zips the whole squad's cards for the player wall, the parent group or the club magazine.
A new player: add a photo, generate one card, and it fits the same set.
Photo requirements, and the usual failures
- One person per photo, face clear, front or near-front, no mask, not backlit. A phone original is fine.
- Very young children: the AI refuses photos with infant features; use one that reads as a youth player.
- "Blocked by content moderation": try another reference photo; it is usually the photo.
- Non-realistic styles (ink, manga) do not keep real facial features by design; for likeness use photoreal.
Photos live in your team's own storage and are used only as references for generation.
Allowance
The team photographer is part of Hobbit Pro. Each card and each preview uses one of Hobbit Pro's 50 images a month, shared with graphic design; a failed generation is refunded. A squad of 15, one photo day plus a few previews, fits comfortably in a month. See the usage under "Subscription" in Account.
Just one child
If you do not want the whole-squad flow and only want one creative portrait of one player, use the "Player poster" scene in graphic design: a single image in any style. The team photographer is the matching set.