What a face or head swap is
In a group photo, the best shot of the group is often not the best shot of every person. One child blinks, an adult looks away, someone has a half smile. A face swap takes the good expression of one person from another frame and places it into the best frame.
A face swap changes the face only. A head swap moves the whole head, including hair and ears, which is often easier to blend because the edges fall on the hair and neck instead of the cheek.
What you need to send
Send the main photo and the other frames from the same moment. The frames should come from the same sequence, taken seconds apart, with the same light and the same camera settings. That is what makes the result believable.
Tell us who needs fixing and which frame has the good expression. If you are not sure, send the whole burst and we will suggest a combination.
What makes it look real
The head has to match the new body in angle, size, light direction and skin tone. The neck line, the hair and the shadows under the chin must flow into the rest of the picture. A swap that looks fine at a glance but has a pale edge around the face is easy to spot in print.
We work by hand on each swap, check it at full size and look at it again at the size you will use. The goal is that nobody can tell it was ever done, including the family.
When it cannot be done
A swap is hard or not possible when the head is turned very differently between frames, when the light changed, when the person moved a lot, or when part of the face is hidden by a hand or another person. In those cases we will tell you honestly before you pay for the work.
If you only have one frame, we can still fix small things such as closed eyes in some cases, but we cannot invent a face that is not there.
Apps versus hand work
Face swap apps are quick, but they often change how a person looks. The eyes shift, the skin becomes smooth and the expression looks a little off. For a family photo that people will keep for years, that is not good enough.
A retoucher keeps the real person, only with a better expression. At LightHouse Retouch every swap is done by hand.
Ready for Uncompromising Editorial Quality?
Hand retouching with real skin texture and revisions included. Starting at $40 or $50 per photo, with commercial and jewelry projects quoted within 12 hours.
