Oftentimes, during a session, someone is either not looking at the camera or is making a goofy face. With my little ones? It’s more than likely a goofy face. However, no worries! If you have a good handle on how to swap heads in Photoshop Elements (aka PSE) you’ll have a little less stress when you’re editing the session. This is a really handy editing tip that you’ll love to use.
Keep in mind, this isn’t just used for head swaps. You can also use the steps if you need to swap arms, legs, dogs, cats, even eyes. In this example, I’m going to swap the head of my little girl’s best buddy.
Step 1: Open the images you are working with (in this case, I’m using two) and determine which head is being swapped. Select the area you want to use in THE NEW IMAGE. You do this by selecting the lasso tool. I over select the area so that it’s easy to blend in.
Step 2: Once you’ve selected the area, copy it by going to Edit > Copy
Step 3: Bring up your second image. THIS WILL BE YOUR FINAL IMAGE. Paste the area that you just copied into this image by going to Edit > Paste. Use the Move tool to drag the area into the correct spot in the new image. You can adjust the opacity of this layer if you want to see the OLD head that is hiding underneath. This is sometimes helpful to do in order to match it up easier.
Step 4: Now you’ll need to add a mask to this layer so that you can brush off the extra area and blend in this new head. If you are in PSE9, simply go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All to add the mask. If you are Elements 8 or lower, you will need to download an action that will allow you to add a mask. You can get a free action from The Coffeeshop Blog. Just search “layer mask action”. This action will change your life!
Step 5: Now comes the fun part. You’re ready to brush and blend in the new head by selecting a soft black brush (remember, black reveals what’s underneath) and setting the opacity of the brush to 100%. Zoom in a bit and start brushing the edges. If you mess up? No problem, just select a white brush (remember, white conceals…or covers up) and brush over your mistake. You can switch back and forth between black and white brushes until you have it just right.
Once you have the image looking great, just flatten and save. I like to save a copy that is NOT flattened as well.
And there you have it! How fun is that? I really love doing head swaps…or foot swaps….or doggie swaps. I hope this tutorial was helpful and I’m happy to answer any questions you may have!
Thank you Melissa for this great tutorial! Would you like to learn more about PSE? Melissa will be helping out the incredible Erin from Texas Chicks Blogs and Pics with her new Photoshop Elements workshop that starts on Monday. Read more and sign up for this incredible online workshop here before the last few seats sell out!
Melissa Gibson, Georgia
CM Mentor
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Melissa is a proud MWAC who gears up with a Nikon D700, prime lenses, and edits her “fun, childlike, and whimsical” photography solely in Photoshop Elements. Her goal both now and when she first began her photography journey in 2005 is to, in her own words, “remember my girls’ lives for them. They are so young yet growing so quickly. I know they won’t remember it all so I feel it’s my job to document it for them.” She is a self proclaimed goofball that loves reading, giggling, sweet tea, her iPhone, kisses, instagram, and having fun with her small family which includes her husband and three darling girls.
Read more photography tutorials by Melissa Gibson.
sponsor giveaway update!
Congratulations the lucky random winner Ellen K in MD who said, “Thanks for sharing- I tweeted! :) https://twitter.com/stevellenk/status/25794513841“! Email me at april@clickinmoms.com to claim your prizes!
Thank you to Shaded Studio for sponsoring today’s blog post! Shaded Studio offers actions, presets, designs, and templates to simplify your workflow and free up your time. How great is that?! They have also generously giving away a $100 gift card to their store to one lucky random winner!
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AWESOME tutorial! I mostly use LR, but do have PSE8 and this is going to come in handy. Thank you!
This is awesome, Melissa! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the tips. I end up doing quite a few head swaps in sports team shots since they're usually spur of the moment ones.
I have a photo or two that could try this out on! Thank you Melissa!
Thanks for this! I shared on fb :)
Thanks for taking the time to put this together and sharing with us. I shared on FB & Pinned it.
Thank you for sharing Melissa!
Great tutorial, Melissa!!
Thank you! Little different technique then I usually use so I’m excited to try it:)
Thank you Melissa! I'm totally going to give it a try!
thanks for sharing these super helpful steps, melissa!
Great tutorial! And I shared by tweeting.
http://sahlinstudio.com/a-giveaway-and-a-freebie/…
whoops, sorry, wrong link!
https://twitter.com/melt003/status/25756658479990…
Thanks for sharing- I tweeted! :) https://twitter.com/stevellenk/status/25794513841…
This is great! I shared on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/dana.hayesszympruch
I just tried a head swap using your tutorial. Wow! It is the first time I would say my head swap might possibly pass as completely un-noticible to anyone. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this out and share it!
Wow, just tried this! I will keep this tip handy. Thanks !
Thanks for posting this tutorial and sharing it on Rock the Shot’s post. I think I have a clearer idea of how to do this for the family portrait I’ve been working on (my family). Of course, it’s a classic tale of the photographer’s children have no photos…my daughter loves having her picture taken, but my boys… you’d think I was going to poke them with hot needles!
please put more tutorials.thanks