How to Swap a Person Out in Photoshop

When someone doesn’t love their expression in an otherwise great group photo, swapping in a better shot of just that person is a common and very doable request from clients. This tutorial selects and drags a replacement portrait into a group shot, aligns it against nearby landmarks, blends the seams with a layer mask, and cleans up any leftover background overlap with the clone stamp and brush tools.

Selecting and Moving the Replacement Portrait Into the Group Photo

A generously sized Marquee selection around the replacement person, dragged directly into the group photo with the Move tool, gives enough surrounding detail to blend the two images together later.

1. Make a Generous Selection Around the Replacement Person

   Use the Marquee tool to select the replacement person, including some extra surrounding area beyond just their outline.

2. Drag the Selection Into the Group Photo

   Select the Move tool and click and drag from the replacement photo directly into the group photo, placing it on a new layer.

Lowering Opacity to Align the New Layer

Temporarily reducing the new layer’s opacity reveals both images at once, making it much easier to see exactly where the replacement person needs to line up with the rest of the scene.

3. Lower the New Layer’s Opacity

   Drag the opacity slider down on the newly placed layer to see through it to the original photo beneath.

4. Move the Layer to Match Nearby Landmarks

   Use the Move tool to position the replacement person against consistent landmarks in the scene, such as a bed or a neighboring person’s shoulder.

Why Reduced Opacity Comes Before Scaling and Masking

Trying to judge the correct size and position for a replacement person while the layer sits fully opaque hides the very landmarks needed to line it up accurately. Keeping the opacity low through the positioning and scaling stage means both images stay visible together the whole time, making it far easier to get proportions and placement right before any masking work begins.

Scaling the Replacement to Match Proportions

A slight proportional resize with Free Transform corrects any size mismatch between the replacement person and how they appear relative to everyone else in the group photo.

5. Open Free Transform

   Press Cmd/Ctrl+T to bring up the Free Transform box on the replacement layer.

6. Hold Shift and Scale to Match Size

   Hold Shift and drag a corner handle to scale the replacement person proportionally until their size matches their surroundings.

7. Confirm the Alignment and Transformation

   Fine-tune the position against a nearby landmark like a shoulder, then press Enter to confirm the transform.

Restoring Opacity and Masking the Seams

Once positioned, restoring full opacity and painting on a layer mask hides the visible seam between the two photos until the transition becomes undetectable.

8. Restore the Layer’s Opacity to 100%

   Bring the opacity slider back up to full strength now that positioning is finished.

9. Add a Layer Mask

   Click the layer mask button to add a mask to the replacement layer.

10. Paint Black to Blend the Seam

    Press B for the Brush tool, set black as the foreground color, and paint over the visible seam between the two photos until it disappears.

11. Soften the Bottom Edge and Cover Remaining Seams

    Continue painting black around the mask to soften the bottom edge and hide any other visible transition between the two images.

Why Careful Mask Blending Makes the Swap Undetectable

Leaving a hard, unblended edge around the replacement person makes it obvious that two separate photos were combined, no matter how well the person was positioned. Painting black and white carefully on the layer mask instead hides that transition completely, so the finished portrait reads as one single photograph rather than a visible composite.

Filling In Exposed Background With the Clone Stamp Tool

Because a replacement portrait rarely lines up perfectly with the original, the clone stamp tool extends the surrounding background downward to cover any gap left where the original subject used to be.

12. Create a New Layer for Cloning

    Add a new layer to hold the clone stamp work separately from the original layers.

13. Set Clone Stamp Options

    Press S for the Clone Stamp tool, set opacity and flow to 100%, mode to Normal, and Sample to Current and Below.

14. Sample the Background and Paint Downward

    Hold Alt/Option to sample a point in the background, then paint downward to extend that background over the area where the original subject used to be.

Why the Brush Tool Sometimes Beats the Clone Stamp Tool

The clone stamp tool is built for copying detailed texture from one area to another, which is more setup than a flat, evenly colored surface like a plain wall actually needs. Simply sampling the flat color with the Brush tool and painting directly is faster and just as effective for covering small details on that kind of simple background.

Cleaning Up Simple Areas With the Brush Tool

On a simple, flat background like a plain wall, sampling a color with the Brush tool and painting directly is often faster than the clone stamp tool for covering small leftover details.

15. Sample a Flat Background Color

    Press B for the Brush tool and hold Alt/Option to sample a flat background color, such as a plain wall.

16. Paint Over Small Remaining Details

    Paint directly over small leftover details, such as stray hair from the original subject, using the sampled color.

17. Use a Large, Soft Brush for Broader Blending

    Right-click to increase brush size and lower hardness to zero for a soft, large brush that blends broader areas smoothly.

Finishing Any Remaining Details With the Clone Stamp Tool

A final pass with the clone stamp tool, sampling from a nearby area that matches well, cleans up whatever small details are still left to fix.

18. Find a Good Source Area to Clone From

    Look for a nearby area in the image with texture or color that will blend naturally with the remaining problem spot.

19. Clone Stamp the Final Details Into Place

    Sample that area and paint over the last remaining details until the composite looks completely seamless.

Why This Approach Works

Lowering the new layer’s opacity before positioning it is what makes it possible to align a replacement person against landmarks in the original photo accurately, rather than guessing at placement with the layer fully opaque. Blending the seam with a carefully painted layer mask, rather than leaving a hard cutout edge, is what actually sells the illusion that both people were photographed together in the same shot. Finishing with the clone stamp and brush tools to extend the background is necessary because a replacement portrait rarely lines up perfectly on the first try, leaving small gaps that need to be filled in separately. The stock photos used in this tutorial are available here, and a related video walkthrough can be found here as well.

Final Thoughts

Swapping a person out of a group photo turns out to be a very manageable request once positioning, masking, and cleanup are broken down into their own individual steps. Photographers who shoot a few extra frames of each person during a session make this kind of swap even easier, since there’s a better chance of finding a replacement expression that lines up naturally with the rest of the group.

Quick Reference: Keys, Menus and Settings

• Bring the person overGenerous Marquee selection, then drag into the group photo with the Move tool
• Line upLower the layer’s Opacity; match the bed and the next shoulder
• ResizeCmd/Ctrl + T, Shift-drag a corner, Enter; Opacity back to 100%
• Blend the seamLayer mask, B, paint black
• Cover leftoversNew layer, S: Opacity and Flow 100%, Mode Normal, Sample Current and Below; Alt/Option-click to sample
• Plain wallB, Alt/Option-click the wall color; right-click for size, Hardness 0

No AI, no generative credits: a selection, a mask and two cleanup tools.