Teller Stories
AI-powered storytelling that turns your photos into personalized stories.
Hypothesis
Personalized content is the next evolution in media. Media went from edited and linear, to recorded and saved, to recommended and shared. Next, personalization algorithms will give way to content that features the viewer and their world. I'm not sure how much space it will take up, and professionally made content will always dominate, just as linear still has its place, but personalized content will keep growing.
Timeline
6 weeks
The Problem
After we travel, I always make a photo book. The photos bring back memories, and I started wondering how AI could recast them in a fun way.
The Solution
Teller Stories turns your photos into short stories you'll want to read, keep, and share. Upload 1 to 8 photos, name your characters, add an optional note, and pick a genre. You get a complete story with your photos woven through it. A morning walk becomes a children's story. A vacation becomes a sci-fi adventure. A date night becomes a romantic comedy. The photos stay yours. The story is something new.
How AI Is Used
I focused on quality, so the AI mimics famous authors in each genre. With AI, context is the key to quality. Claude reads the people, setting, and mood in each photo, then writes a story in the chosen genre, placing each photo where it feels like it was always part of the telling.
Tech Stack
Next.js, Expo, React Native, Supabase, Claude API, RevenueCat, Vercel.
What I Learned
Carefully chosen references can avoid "AI slop." At first, people were surprised by the quality and shared stories with friends and family, but it proved to be a novelty.
Still, it was my first end-to-end app with accounts and a monetization strategy, and that experience was invaluable.
*I'm a die-hard fan of em dashes — both visually, and as a form of written communication. All em dash placements are my own.