Photo face replacement guide
To put a face on another picture you need two images: the picture you want to change and a clear photo of the face you want to add. Match the angle, lighting, and resolution first, run one test in the photo workspace, then fix what you see one variable at a time.
Direct answer
Whether you call it putting, inserting, replacing, changing, or switching a face, the photo task is the same: one picture provides the scene and a second photo provides the face.
In the DeepSwapAI photo workspace, the picture you want to change goes in Source Photo, and the photo of the face you want to add goes in Target Face.
It is not a fifty-fifty merge. Source Photo keeps the body, hair, pose, clothing, light, framing, and background, while the Target Face image supplies facial identity cues. That is why the two photos need to agree on angle, lighting, and detail before you generate.
Five-step photo workflow
Do not treat the two uploads as interchangeable. Source Photo is the scene you want to edit. Target Face is a separate portrait whose visible facial landmarks guide the replacement.
Choose the two photos
Most disappointing results start with the wrong pair of photos. Choose each image for its own job, and leave the decision about which face to use until you have checked that the angles roughly agree.
Pick a picture where the face you are replacing is clearly visible, reasonably large in the frame, and not covered by hands, hair, sunglasses, or a mask. Everything except the face stays as it is, so the clothing, body, hair, and background should already look the way you want.
Pick a single, sharp portrait with even light and both eyes visible. A photo taken from roughly the same direction as the face in the picture works better than a perfect studio portrait at a very different angle.
Avoid heavily filtered selfies, screenshots of screenshots, tiny faces cropped from a crowd, and images where the face is in deep shadow. Upscaling a small face does not recreate the detail that is missing.
Match angle, light, and resolution
Start with identity visibility and pose. Fine texture cannot compensate for a face that is too small, blurred, hidden, or facing a very different direction. The current photo workspace accepts JPEG, PNG, and WebP images up to 30 MB.
| Variable | Prefer | Avoid | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity reference | One sharp, well-lit, unobstructed face | Group shots, heavy filters, tiny faces | Clear landmarks reduce identity ambiguity. |
| Pose | A similar yaw and head tilt to the target | Front-facing reference for an extreme profile | Large angle conflicts can distort facial structure. |
| Expression | A neutral or target-like expression | Closed eyes or exaggerated expression unless required | Mouth and eye geometry affect the perceived match. |
| Lighting | Even light with visible facial detail | Crushed shadows, blown highlights, colored face light | The target scene still determines light and skin shading. |
| Occlusion | Eyes, nose, mouth, and jaw mostly visible | Hands, hair, glasses glare, masks, or objects covering landmarks | Hidden landmarks leave fewer reliable identity cues. |
| Resolution | A face with enough pixels to inspect at normal size | Upscaled thumbnails or compression artifacts | Upscaling does not recreate missing identity detail. |
Use the photo workspace
Common failures and fixes
Use a closer, sharper reference with fewer filters. Make sure the face occupies enough of the image to show eye, nose, mouth, and jaw detail.
Reduce the angle difference between reference and target. Extreme profiles and steep head tilts are harder than near-matching poses.
Choose a target with more even facial light or a reference without strong colored lighting. Preserve the target scene as the lighting source of truth.
Hair and accessories belong to the target scene. Select a target where they do not hide critical landmarks, and inspect edge transitions at normal viewing size.
Use a reference with a compatible mouth and eye state. If the target expression is extreme, test a closer expression before changing other variables.
Check the file type and size first, then make sure the face is large and unobstructed. For upload errors, stuck tasks, and failed results, follow the troubleshooting guide.
Move to the video guide or GIF guide and inspect motion blur, turns, occlusion, lighting changes, and loop seams frame by frame.
Stage-by-stage checks for upload, queue, and result problems: face swap troubleshooting guide.
Batch or group instead
Use the standard Photo Face Swap workspace. Put the scene in Source Photo and the identity portrait in Target Face.
Use Multiple Face Swap. It detects people in the group image and maps each selected face to a separate reference.
Use Batch Face Swap and review the batch versus multiple-face decision guide before uploading a set.
Consent and responsible use
Read these before uploading or sharing: privacy and consent checklist, Terms of Service.
Review checklist
For one image, open the photo face swap workspace. For a set, test one representative target before using the batch workflow.
Photo face questions
Upload the picture you want to change as Source Photo and a clear, evenly lit photo of your face as Target Face, with a head angle close to the person in the picture. Confirm the 6-credit cost, generate, and check the eyes, mouth, jaw, and edges before you share it.
Source Photo is the main scene image you want to edit. Its body, hair, pose, clothing, lighting, framing, and background provide the visual context for the result.
Target Face is the separate identity-reference portrait. Use one clear, unobstructed face with an angle and expression reasonably close to the person in Source Photo.
Yes. The photo workflow replaces the face only, so the body, hair, clothing, and background all stay from Source Photo. Choose a picture whose head angle, skin lighting, and framing are compatible with the face photo, because head shape and hair are not transferred.
Use Multiple Face Swap for a group photo. It detects the people in one image and lets you map a separate identity reference to each selected face. The standard photo workflow is for one scene image plus one identity reference.
The current photo workflow costs 6 credits per generated result. The live workspace shows the final credit amount before submission.
Yes. Only use a face you are allowed to use and a picture you are allowed to edit, and do not share a result that could mislead people about what someone said or did. The privacy and consent checklist covers what to confirm first.
Record the review
The free face swap quality scorecard converts the visible checks above into seven documented criteria for photos, videos, and GIFs. It calculates locally, exports JSON or CSV, and keeps consent, identity mapping, and disclosure as critical gates that a numerical score cannot override.
How this guide was made
The DeepSwapAI Product Team reviewed the live Source Photo and Target Face labels, upload order, accepted formats, 6-credit cost, trial image export rule, and observable quality variables, then connected those facts to the batch, group-photo, video, GIF, and output-scorecard workflows. This guide does not measure output quality or promise that one input will produce a particular result. The linked scorecard is a transparent human-review rubric, not a biometric metric or provider leaderboard. Product facts and limits were reviewed on October 5, 2026; see the verification methodology.
Next workflow checks
Put the picture to change in Source Photo and a compatible face photo in Target Face, confirm the 6-credit cost and complete-email trial watermark, then inspect the result before scaling.
