Luma AI Image to Video: Steps, Credits and Keyframes in 2026

What one photo becomes, and what it costs

Luma AI animates a still picture into a 5- or 10-second clip at native 1080p with Ray3.2, its own video model released in June 2026 ^[1]. You upload or generate the image, describe the motion in plain words, and Ray treats the subject in the source picture as a fixed reference while the scene and camera move. A 5-second clip at 1080p in SDR costs 400 credits on Luma's pricing table ^[2]. The entry plan, Plus, costs $30 a month or $25 a month billed yearly ($300 a year) and carries 10,000 credits a month. By our arithmetic that covers 25 such clips, if every credit goes to that one job with no failed or rejected takes.

The verdict is simple. Luma suits teams that need controlled motion from an approved picture, such as a product shot, a key visual or a storyboard frame, and that can add sound in a second step. Ray3.2 output is silent. When a clip must carry speech or music from the first render, Luma also runs models with native sound in the same workspace, billed in the same credits. Luma says free trial credits are included on all plans, without stating how many, and commercial use comes with a paid plan and covers what you make while subscribed.

Fix the picture before you animate it

The source image decides most of the result. Luma's guide recommends a source of at least 1080p, with 4K ideal, and says JPEG, PNG and RAW files are supported. Because Ray anchors to the subject, a soft face or a badly cropped product stays soft or cropped in every frame. If the picture is not ready, generate or edit it first in the same workspace with Uni-1, GPT Image 2 or Nano Banana Pro, then animate the result without exporting anything. A Uni-1.1 image costs 30 credits, which is small next to a 1080p clip.

Characters need more care. Luma advises one angle per reference image and warns that a single sheet combining several angles can cause hallucinations and artifacts in new generations. Old photographs are their own case: Luma's historical photo page shows its agents enhancing an old photo before animating it, and names museums, documentaries and history teaching as uses. Plan the frame for its destination as well. Ray3.2 supports six aspect ratios (16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4, 21:9 and 1:1), while the image-to-video page names 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1 as its examples.

From board to finished clip, step by step

Everything below happens in the browser workspace. The toolbar route gives the most control, and each step maps to a setting you can see before any credits are spent. Working through the Luma Agent in chat changes one thing. By default the Agent may generate several variations or retry outputs on its own, which can use credits silently unless you ask for a single version ^[3]. Say how many takes you want.

1. Open a board, upload the image or pick one you generated, and choose Generate Video in the toolbar; the image becomes the starting frame ^[4].
2. Select Ray3.2. Ray3.14 is still listed at the same credit prices, but on Ray3.14 the 10-second length is text-to-video only.
3. Write the prompt as motion: what moves, how fast, and where the camera goes. Camera moves can be directed in plain language, without keyframes or motion path editors.
4. Set the length (5 or 10 seconds), the resolution (360p Draft, 540p, 720p or 1080p) and the aspect ratio.
5. Leave HDR off while drafting and switch it on only for a final that needs it.
6. Keep the take you want and download it as an MP4; paid plans carry no watermark.

The cheapest habit is the draft-then-final loop Luma itself describes. A 5-second Draft at 360p costs 20 credits against 400 at 1080p in SDR, so timing, motion and camera path can be judged on drafts before one final render. By our arithmetic the 10,000 Plus credits would cover 500 such drafts on their own, with no failed or rejected takes. Luma also suggests upscaling a strong draft instead of regenerating it. Upscaling is also how a Ray3.2 clip reaches 4K: Luma's upscaler costs 10, 15 or 25 credits per second to 1080p, 2K or 4K, and Topaz is also listed, at 17 credits per second to 4K. Our Ray3.2 guide covers the model's other modes.

Keyframes, end frames and borrowed motion

One image sets the opening. Ray3.2 accepts up to 16 keyframes inside a single clip, so you can pin later moments too: a second product angle at the midpoint, a final pose at the end. Luma's older API documentation shows the basic form: a start frame (frame0) plus an optional end frame (frame1), which turns open motion from one picture into a transition between two. Keyframes also help when a plain-language prompt keeps drifting. A fixed picture at a set moment leaves the model less to invent, and that matters most for logos, packaging and faces. Luma's pricing table adds a note to Ray3.2: 'No keyframes: plus 30 credits', without defining it. Ask Luma how it applies before you plan a large batch of clips around the table below.

When the movement matters more than the words, Motion Transfer applies movement from reference footage to a new image. Luma's use-case page says it takes a reference motion clip, a target character or subject, and style or intensity preferences. That makes it the right tool for a dance, a gesture or a camera path you already have on video. Restyling an existing clip is a different job, with its own per-second pricing, covered in our guide to Luma AI video to video.

What each clip costs in credits

HDR doubles the SDR credits and HDR with EXR export triples them. HDR is off by default; EXR requires HDR and attaches an EXR ZIP for Nuke, Resolve, Flame or Baselight. By our arithmetic the 10,000 Plus credits cover 12 five-second 1080p clips in HDR, 8 with HDR and EXR, or 8 ten-second 1080p clips in SDR. A 5-second clip at 720p costs 100 credits, so Plus covers 100 of those. Each figure assumes every credit goes to that one job, with no failed or rejected takes. Clips stay at the SDR price unless you switch HDR on.

Higher plans add credits and an Agents usage line, nothing else on the pricing page. Pro costs $90 a month or $75 a month billed yearly ($900 a year) for 40,000 credits, which covers 100 five-second 1080p SDR clips by our arithmetic. Ultra costs $300 a month or $250 a month billed yearly ($3,000 a year) for 150,000 credits, or 375 such clips. Pro lists '4x usage with the Luma Agents' and Ultra '15x'; Luma does not define the term further on its pricing page.

Three billing rules shape real usage. Failed generations get their credits back, but takes you reject still cost credits (pricing). Unused credits expire at the end of each billing cycle, so a plan's allowance is use-it-or-lose-it. Beyond the allowance, Luma bills additional credits after use under an optional spending limit, and its pricing page publishes no per-credit price for them.

When the clip needs sound, or another model

Ray3.2 clips are silent. You have two routes. The first keeps the silent clip and adds voice and music later: ElevenLabs voiceover, music and sound effects are generated inside the workspace, and lip sync works by pairing a video with an audio track. The second animates the same picture with a model that generates sound with the video. Every option below takes a still image as its input and bills in Luma credits per second.

Kling 4.0, the video model from Kling AI, runs inside Luma at 53 credits per second at 720p and 79 at 1080p, with audio. A 5-second 1080p clip comes to 395 credits by our arithmetic, so Plus covers 25 of them, the same count as silent Ray3.2, with no failed or rejected takes. Kling 4.0 supports up to 10 keyframes, but with reference images attached it treats the start frame as a strong reference rather than an exact first frame. Cut the first second when the opening must match.

Seedance 2.5 from ByteDance costs 191 credits per second at 1080p, so Plus covers 10 five-second clips by our arithmetic. Veo 3.1, Google's video model, costs 140 credits per second at 720p and 1080p, or 14 five-second clips on Plus, with no failed or rejected takes. MiniMax H3, offered on self-serve (non-enterprise) accounts, takes a start frame, or a start and an end frame. Kling, Seedance, Veo and other outside models in Luma can change in availability, length limits and price, and Luma's limits may differ from other apps using the same model (review).

The bottom line

Luma AI is a sound choice for turning an approved still into a short, controlled 1080p shot: prepare the picture, prompt the motion, draft cheaply at 360p, then render one final at 400 credits per 5-second 1080p SDR clip. Keyframes and Motion Transfer give more control than a prompt alone. Skip Ray3.2 when the clip needs sound in one pass; Kling 4.0 inside Luma covers that at a similar credit count. Plus at $30 a month or $25 a month billed yearly is the starting point. By our arithmetic, Pro's 40,000 credits cover 100 such clips a month, four times Plus's allowance, if every credit goes to them, with no failed or rejected takes.