How To Swap Heads In Photoshop [Guide With Steps]

You’ve taken a great photo with perfect lighting, poses, and background, but closed eyes or a downturned corner of the mouth ruined the overall harmony? Don’t rush to get upset and press “Delete.” With Photoshop tool Face Swap, you can easily replace the “troublesome” head and save the image.

It's hard to keep track of everyone during the shoot, especially in group photos, as someone forgot to smile while another person got distracted by a pigeon. However, in your artist's workshop, you can copy the good head of a person with a magician's skill from another image. Then, you can place it onto the unsuccessful one. Wondering what the process is? We offer you a step-by-step guide on how to swap heads in Photoshop!

A Detailed Tutorial on How to Swap Heads in Photoshop

Photographers use the head swap technique as an alternative to reshooting to edit facial expressions and move heads. A combination of Photoshop tools allows you to copy the top section from another picture to replace the face in a photograph. Head swapping methods help create a special arrangement and boost productivity.

Before the head swapping, find a photo with the face you want to replace the failed one with. Check for a photo that contains the head, which should be changed before swapping begins.

To avoid visible editing, decide on photos that support similar lighting conditions, coordinate body position, and photography angle. Look for facial appearances which are completely exposed by other objects. Find photographs featuring people in simple backgrounds, matched hairstyles, and clothing styles. Once you find the perfect image for the swap, you can learn how to do a head swap in Photoshop.

1. Open Both Images and Choose the Region with the Suitable Head

Launch the application and select both photos containing the faces that need swapping. The Lasso tool becomes available by using either keyboard command L or by picking it from the left panel menu. This tool allows you to select the head that will appear as an animated blinking dotted circle. Create a sufficient area of space around the head to let smooth integration with the background of the other image. After that, you need:

• Copy the head: The duplication of selected region requires users to press Ctrl + C. Mac users should employ the Command + C combination during pasting to achieve the results. A blinking dotted line will appear around the head.
• Move the head: Users of Windows can duplicate content by using Ctrl V whereas Mac users should press Command V to insert the copied elements in the target picture. After pasting duplicated content to the destination, a new layer appears in the Layers panel. The new layer demands a meaningful name when you create it.
• Change the face: Use the Move tool (V key) to place the new head above the original one in the duplicate process. To align the swapped heads, lower the layer's opacity to 30–50%. The old face's eyes and the new face's eyes should line up.

With the Clone Stamp, you can remove the background of the image if it’s unnecessary. After these editing steps, don’t forget to restore the layer’s opacity to 100%.

2. Apply Mask and Merge Layers

You can reach the Layer Mask when you hit the white rectangle situated at the base of the Layers panel. Use a black foreground color for work with the created mask. Then, duplicate the original layer using Ctrl J (or Command J on Mac). Click the eye icon to hide the original image and work with the copy. Set the "Soft Brush" hardness to 100% and opacity to 40-50%. Carefully erase the hard edges of the new layer to blend it with the image. Use the brush to hide parts of the new face that don’t match the original. Zoom in for better results.

3. Rotate the Picture (if needed)

To make the expression of the photoshopped heads fully match and the changes look more natural, you can open the layer with the new face and flip the image in Photoshop. To do this, go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal.

4. Final Preparations Before Saving

How to head swap in Photoshop to make the photos flawless? Select the face by holding Ctrl (Command) and clicking on the layer thumbnail. Hide the face layer and increase its size using "Select > Modify." Remove excess pixels with Delete (Backspace). Select two layers by holding Shift, and open the Panorama function to fill the transparent areas.

Don’t forget to save the edited image by pressing Ctrl + S. For a beginner photographer, the head swap in Photoshop can be hard to learn. Therefore, it’s worth looking for a simpler service that can handle the task just as well. One such photo editor is Luminar Neo. Its ease of use is combined with high quality and artificial intelligence, which allows for creating more natural and realistic replacements than in Photoshop.

How to Do a Head Swap in Luminar Neo

If you have limited time for photo retouching but need high-quality adjustments, Luminar Neo is what can help you. This editor, powered by artificial intelligence, can auto edit photos and photoshop a head on a body in just a few clicks. Once you’ve learned how to replace the head in Photoshop, try going through the steps of the process in Luminar Neo:

Step 1: Create a New Layer

Head swaps are effortless with Luminar Neo. First, open the image that needs modification. Before adding a new image layer, select the replacement face you want to use.

Step 2: Adjust the New Layer’s Opacity

Lower the opacity of the new layer to 25% to check if both faces align correctly in size and position. Once they match, return the opacity to 100%.

Step 3: Use the Brush Tool

Go to Masking and select the Brush tool. Adjust the size and softness using the sliders. Use Erase to remove unwanted areas. If you erase too much, switch to Paint to restore the details.

Step 4: Final Touches

When the image is saved and the “old” head is gone, you can calmly experiment with filters and presets offered by Luminar Neo. For example, you can choose the "Artistic Look" effect from the "Portrait" category. 

Above everything, this app's wide range of tools allows you to unleash your imaginative sparks: the Sky AI tool will help change the sky, Enhance AI will highlight necessary details, and Relight AI will adjust the lighting.

FAQ

How Can I Change The Head in Photoshop CS5?

To move the head from one image to another, use the selection and mask tools.

How Can I Open Two Pictures in Photoshop to Perform a Head Swap?

Open both photos as independent layers, use the selection tools to isolate the heads, and then slide one layer onto the other to swap heads.

How Can I Head Swap Photoshop Easily?

Head swap photoshop requires separating the heads using selection tools, then copying and pasting one head onto the other image.

How Can I Make a Photoshop Head-on-Head Swap Smaller?

For a natural appearance, use the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) to change the size of the head proportionally.

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