Updated Oct 4, 2026
The short answer
An AI hug with a deceased loved one turns two pictures into a short clip: yours as you are today, and one of the mum, dad, grandparent or friend who has died. The Memorial Hug effect sets the two of you in a calm place glowing with warm light, where you notice each other, walk closer, hold on in a long embrace and then turn to the camera with quiet smiles, over a soft, hopeful piano with light strings. It takes a few minutes, with nothing to install and no prompt, and an old or faded print is enough. It is an imagined moment rather than a recording; people often make one for an anniversary, a funeral or a holiday with an empty chair. 5 seconds at 720p costs 5 credits, and a failed render is never charged.
One more hug, from two photos
Wishing for one more hug is about as old as grief itself. People ask for it every day in bereavement groups: a video of holding a mum who has passed, a dad who missed the wedding, a grandparent the children never knew. The memorial hug builds that moment from your own photos: you as you are now, and them as you remember them.
The Memorial Hug effect is deliberately quiet. There are no ghosts and no flashy effects, just the two of you in warm, hazy light, walking toward each other, holding on with eyes closed, then turning gently to the camera, with soft piano and strings underneath.
Making the memorial hug, step by step
- Upload your photo. A clear, recent picture of you, head and shoulders.
- Upload theirs. A picture of the person who passed away; a phone photo of an old print is fine.
- Keep Memorial Hug as the effect and press Make the effect. Minutes later you can keep it, download it or share it with family.
When people make it
- On a birthday or an anniversary they are no longer here for.
- For a funeral or celebration of life, as a brief pause inside the tribute.
- At the holidays, when the empty seat is felt most: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, Father's Day.
- For a wedding or a new baby that a parent or grandparent did not live to see.
- For the grandchildren, so they can see themselves beside a grandparent they never met.
Tips for a hug that feels like them
- Pick the photo that looks most like them. A face you instantly recognise matters more than a technically perfect shot.
- Copy old prints carefully. Lay the print flat in daylight, no flash, then crop to head and shoulders.
- Restore a faded photo first. Run it through the free old photo restoration to clear scratches and add color, then press Hug them below the restored picture.
- Frame both photos alike. Two upper-body pictures of similar size sit together most naturally.
- Skip sunglasses, hats and tiny faces in group shots. Each face is taken from its own photo.
- Go at your own pace. If the first clip doesn't feel like them, try a different photo of them; a failed render costs nothing.
Other ways to remember them
A hug is only one way to remember. Animate old photos lets their portrait blink and smile on its own, the AI hug generator does the same for anyone in your life today, and the studio's Rap video tab can turn a shared memory into a song. Browse all AI video effects.