diff --git a/crates/metadata/src/lib.rs b/crates/metadata/src/lib.rs
index 833aa1b..4845bea 100644
--- a/crates/metadata/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/metadata/src/lib.rs
@@ -565,6 +565,15 @@ const HERO_SCORE_CONCURRENCY: usize = 4;
 /// Minimum width:height for a hero candidate. Album sleeves are exactly 1.0;
 /// every press photo across the probe fixtures measures 1.33 or wider.
 const HERO_MIN_ASPECT: f64 = 1.15;
+/// Portrait sources are admitted below this ratio, well clear of the square
+/// band where release artwork lives. The app crops tall sources to 16:9 around
+/// the detected faces (`hero_crop::maximal_hero_rect` keeps full width and
+/// slides the window vertically), so a portrait press photo is usable hero
+/// material while a 1:1 sleeve is not.
+const HERO_PORTRAIT_MAX_ASPECT: f64 = 0.92;
+/// A portrait source is cropped to full-width x (width*9/16), so its width IS
+/// the resulting hero width. Keep enough pixels that the crop is still a hero.
+const HERO_PORTRAIT_MIN_WIDTH: u32 = 1000;
 const HERO_SEARCH_WAVE_CONCURRENCY: usize = 3;
 /// A Bing image page with at most this many cards is a degraded answer, not a
 /// small result set. Bing's genuine pages run 12-100 cards; the degraded shape
@@ -8902,10 +8911,22 @@ fn score_bing_hero_image(
     // collage detector only runs at `text_penalty <= 0.70`). Camping in
     // Alaska's square "lost and found" sleeve reached a live hero slot that
     // way. Real press photos measured across the fixtures run 1.33-1.9, so
-    // the floor sits below every one of them; portrait crops fail it too,
-    // which is correct for a full-bleed banner. Trusted ticketing profiles
+    // the floor sits below every one of them. Trusted ticketing profiles
     // keep their existing exemption — that tier is identity-verified art.
-    if ratio < HERO_MIN_ASPECT && !trusted_ticketing_profile {
+    //
+    // PORTRAIT is admitted, though, because the guard is really an ALBUM-ART
+    // guard and sleeves are square: a 0.75-0.85 press portrait is not a sleeve.
+    // The app already crops tall sources to 16:9 around the detected faces
+    // (`hero_crop.rs`, recipe `vertical-yoloxnano-...-faces-first`), so these
+    // were being discarded one crate before the machinery built to use them.
+    // This is the only route to a hero for artists whose entire press corpus is
+    // portrait: Hana Vu (2000x2500, 1705x2129) and Nikki Nair (1080x1350,
+    // 1024x1365) both pass identity and died here. Text-heavy posters and
+    // flyers cannot sneak in this way — the text, flat-graphic and collage
+    // gates all run BEFORE this one.
+    let usable_portrait =
+        ratio <= HERO_PORTRAIT_MAX_ASPECT && w >= HERO_PORTRAIT_MIN_WIDTH;
+    if ratio < HERO_MIN_ASPECT && !usable_portrait && !trusted_ticketing_profile {
         if diagnostics {
             eprintln!(
                 "HERO_REJECT\taspect\t{}x{}\tratio={:.2}\t{}",