Target mapping
Create a simple target map before uploading. This prevents the most common error: applying the right reference to the wrong person.
Number people from left to right and note partial faces in mirrors, posters, screens, and the background. Decide which faces must remain unchanged.
Record the target-reference pairs before processing. Use references with similar angle, expression, age range, lighting, and image quality where possible.
Zoom in on every edited face, then return to the full composition. Confirm identity, scale, gaze direction, skin tone, and scene lighting remain coherent.
Source selection
The best source is not necessarily the highest-resolution file. Face size, overlap, lighting, and target separation determine whether each subject can be handled reliably.
Faces should not heavily overlap. Hands, hair, hats, and other people crossing the jaw or eyes make clean masking and target selection harder.
A distant background face may contain too few pixels even when the overall photo is large. Inspect each target at 100% before deciding to edit it.
Strong mixed lighting across the group can make one replacement look detached. References with compatible direction and contrast reduce visible mismatch.
Practical answers about group photos, target selection, cropping, and current tool limits.
Prepare a permitted single-face crop, use the current still-photo tool, and inspect the face boundary before placing the result into any larger composition.