Face swapping apps have been quite popular and can create quite fun results. But for the sake of your creative project, you may want to turn it up a notch and make it look more realistic. For this, you will need more advanced programs, but don’t worry, it’s not as complicated as it sounds. In this video from Adorama, Pye Jirsa will show you how to swap faces in three simple steps using Lightroom and Photoshop.
First things first: it’s best if you can use a tripod to take the main photo and the photo of the face you want to add to it. But even if you don’t do it, the Auto Align feature in Photoshop should do the trick. Now, here are the steps you need to take after you’ve taken photos.
- Process both photos in Lightroom: start by opening both RAW images in Lightroom, color grading them, and doing some basic adjustments. You should make sure that the look in both photos matches. If they were taken under the same conditions, you can do it by simply copying settings from one photo and pasting them onto the other.
- Open photos in Photoshop: when you’re done with Lightroom, open both photos as layers in Photoshop. Take the photo that’s mostly right and place it on top. The one from which you’ll only take the eyes should be underneath it.
- Add a layer mask: there are two ways to do this final step. First, you can add a white layer on the top image. remember: white reveals, black conceals, so use a brush and paint the mask black to reveal the face from the layer underneath. And you’re done!
The second method goes the other way around: reverse the position of the layers. Add a black layer mask to the top layer and just paint in the face or the eyes with white. A perk of this method is that you can reduce the top layer opacity to see both layers, which lets you align the face perfectly. When you’re done, bring the opacity back to 100%. And once again, you’re done!
There are two optional steps if you want to add some extra adjustments to your images.
- Add Curves adjustment layer: once you paint in the eyes or the face, you might notice a difference in brightness and contrast between the two layers. Fix this by adding a Curves layer and adjusting it until the photos blend in nicely.
- Final adjustments: lastly, you can make some final adjustments in Photoshop, or open the finished image in Lightroom to make any adjustments that you like.
Now you can use this technique to create all kinds of creative projects… Or put the face of your favorite celebrity onto a photo of your ex. I won’t judge.
[How to Swap Faces & Expressions in Photoshop | Master Your Craft via SLRLounge]
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