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Image to Video: Animate a Still Across 18 Video Models

Image to video takes a still you already have and invents only the motion. Composition, palette and subject come from your image; the model supplies the movement. That makes it the right tool whenever the frame is already approved — product shots, brand scenes, key art, storyboards.

It is also the more predictable of the two workflows. Text to video invents everything and drifts; image to video is pinned to a reference, which is why brand and product teams gravitate to it once they have tried both.

18 of the 22 models in this catalog accept image input. Send the same still to two or three image to video models and the difference in motion quality is immediately obvious in a way spec sheets never convey.

Browse all 22 modelsCompare two models

Best models for this

Ordered by fit. Every model below runs on the same credit balance, so switching costs nothing but a different prompt run.

Veo 3.185 credits

Veo 3.1

Google

Google's latest video generation model with improved quality, motion, and audio generation.

~75s / 5s clip8s max1080Paudio
Seedance 2.072 credits

Seedance 2.0

ByteDance

ByteDance's next-generation video model with a unified multimodal architecture. Generates high-quality video with synchronized audio from text, images, video clips, and audio inputs. Supports multimodal references (up to 9 images, 3 videos, 3 audio files), native audio generation, video editing, video extension, intelligent duration, and adaptive aspect ratio.

~80s / 5s clip12s max1080Paudio
Hailuo 2.352 credits

Hailuo 2.3

MiniMax

A high-fidelity video generation model optimized for realistic human motion, cinematic VFX, expressive characters, and strong prompt and style adherence across text-to-video and image-to-video workflows.

~65s / 5s clip10s max1080Psilent
PixVerse v645 credits

PixVerse v6

PixVerse

Pixverse v6 is the latest Pixverse video model with support for up to 15-second videos, customizable duration from 1 to 15 seconds, and audio generation.

~50s / 5s clip15s max1080Paudio
Vidu Q3 Pro68 credits

Vidu Q3 Pro

Vidu

Vidu Q3 Pro is a high-quality video generation model supporting text-to-video, image-to-video, and start/end-frame-to-video workflows with audio and up to 16-second clips.

~85s / 5s clip16s max1080Paudio
LTX-2.5 Fast18 credits

LTX-2.5 Fast

Lightricks

Lightricks LTX-2.5 Fast is a fast video generation model for text-to-video and image-to-video workflows, with synchronized audio, configurable duration, resolution, and frame rate.

~25s / 5s clip20s max1080Paudio

How this actually works

Step 1

Start from the strongest still you have

Image to video inherits whatever is in the frame, including its flaws. A soft, badly lit input produces a soft, badly lit clip. Fix the still first — it is cheaper than regenerating video.

Step 2

Describe only the motion

Your prompt should cover what moves and how the camera behaves, not what the scene contains — the image already says that. 'Slow dolly in, steam rising, shallow depth of field' beats restating the subject.

Step 3

Pick models by reference depth

For a single still, Veo 3.1, Hailuo 2.3 and PixVerse v6 are strong. For consistency across several shots, Seedance 2.0 accepts up to 9 reference images and Seedance 2.5 up to 30 — the strongest continuity lever in the catalog.

Step 4

Compare motion, not composition

In image to video the composition is fixed across models, so the comparison collapses to one variable: how convincing the movement is. Two models, one still, same duration — the answer is usually immediate.

Photo to video, picture to video AI, images to video — one workflow, several names

The vocabulary around this feature is still unsettled, and the search terms split accordingly. Photo to video and picture to video AI are the older consumer phrasing; images to video and ai photo to video lean towards people trying the capability out; image to video generator became the default once it hardened into a product category. All of them describe one thing: you supply a still, the model supplies the motion. Photo to video AI tools and image to video tools draw on the same models and the same controls here, so the only variable that actually changes your result is which model you send the still to.

Frequently asked questions

Which models support image to video?

18 of the 22 models in the catalog accept image input: Veo 3.1, Veo 3.1 Fast, Seedance 2.0, Seedance 2.0 Fast, Seedance 2.0 Mini, Seedance 2.5, Hailuo 2.3, Hailuo 2.3 Fast, PixVerse v6, PixVerse v5.6, Vidu Q3 Pro, Vidu Q3 Turbo, FLUX 3 Video, P-Video, Grok Imagine Video, LTX-2.5 Fast and RunwayML Gen-4.5. The four text-only models are Wan 3.0, Wan 3.0 Prime, HappyHorse 1.0 and HappyHorse 1.1.

Can you create a video from photos without editing software?

Yes — creating a video from images no longer requires a timeline. Upload the photo, describe the motion you want, and the model returns a clip: there is nothing to keyframe and no render queue. That holds for a single still and for a set of them. Seedance 2.0 takes up to 9 reference images and Seedance 2.5 up to 30, so a series of product photos can be animated one shot at a time and cut together afterwards. The limit is not the software, it is the source material — a soft or badly lit photo produces a soft clip in every tool.

Can I control the first and last frame?

Yes. Vidu Q3 Pro and Q3 Turbo support start/end-frame-to-video, and Seedance 2.5 supports first/last-frame image-to-video. That is the strongest control available when you need a clip to land on a specific frame.

Is image to video better quality than text to video?

Image to video is more controlled rather than higher quality. You trade surprise for predictability, which is nearly always the right trade for brand, product and any shot that has to match something else.

How many reference images can I supply?

Seedance 2.0 accepts up to 9 images, 3 videos and 3 audio files. Seedance 2.5 goes to 30 images, 10 videos and 10 audio clips, and can run from audio alone with no image at all. Most other models take a single reference image.

Can I keep a character consistent across shots?

In image to video work, reference images are the main lever. Seedance 2.0 and Seedance 2.5 accept multiple references, and FLUX 3 Video animates one or more reference images. Absolute identity consistency is still an unsolved problem — plan on cutting around it rather than relying on it.

Last updated September 29, 2026