AI Face Swap in 2026: How to Edit a Face in a Photo

Replacing a face with AI is one of the most popular requests. In Pixyn it is done by editing the face from a reference with editing models: you upload a photo, upload a reference face and write the prompt "replace the face with this one". This gives a good result for content and social media: the model redraws the face to match the reference while keeping the light, angle and style of the source.

Below: how to replace or edit a face in a photo in the Pixyn Studio, which models to take, a ready prompt and an anti-prompt.

TL;DR

• Face replacement in Pixyn is done with editing models from a reference.
• The working models for this are Nano Banana Pro (Google) and Flux Kontext (Pro/Max). You upload two photos (the base plus the reference face) and describe the task in the prompt.
• It is a tool for content, avatars, creatives and try-on concepts.
• New accounts get welcome tokens. Plans are on the pricing page.

What "AI face replacement" means, and why "swap" and "editing" are different things

When people search for "AI face swap", they usually have one of two pictures in mind:

1. One-click face swap: take face A, put it in place of face B, and the engine aligns the geometry, skin tone and lighting automatically. Specialized swap tools work like this (the same class as Roop or Reactor). They are narrowly tuned for exactly one task, face transfer.
2. Editing a face from a reference: a general image editing model receives the source photo plus a face reference plus a text instruction and redraws the face area so that it looks like the reference, while keeping the light, angle and style of the source.

Pixyn takes the second path. It is a deliberate choice: editing models such as Nano Banana Pro and Flux Kontext are universal (they can also change the background, clothes and hairstyle or remove an object) and are connected officially.

An editing model redraws the face to match the reference, so the result "looks like" the person and fits the scene naturally. For an avatar, a cover, a creative or trying on a look, this is exactly what you need.

Which Pixyn models suit face replacement

The Studio catalog has two strong editing models for this task. Both work with an uploaded reference photo.

Nano Banana Pro (Google)

A family of Google image models under the Gemini brand. In editing mode it takes the source image plus a reference and "stitches" the new face into the existing scene well, carefully picking up the lighting and skin tone.

• Strengths: natural integration of the face into the frame, good work with light, fast.

A detailed breakdown of the model is in the Nano Banana Pro review.

Flux Kontext (Pro / Max)

The FLUX editing line, tuned specifically for precise editing by instruction: "replace X, leave the rest alone". It holds the composition of the source well and changes only what you asked for.

• Strengths: high controllability ("do not change the background/clothes/pose"), neat local edits, keeps the style of the source photo.

Flux Kontext redraws the face area to match the reference, so it works best when the angle and lighting on the base photo and the reference are close.

When to take which: Nano Banana Pro if a natural "embedding" of the face in a complex scene matters; Flux Kontext if it matters to change only the face and NOT touch the rest of the photo.

How to replace a face in a photo in Pixyn: step by step

Step 1. Sign up (30 seconds)

Open the sign-up page and log in via email, Telegram or Google. Welcome tokens are added to your account, enough to try face replacement without paying.

Step 2. Open the Studio and choose an editing model

In the header click "Studio", then the "Images" section, and choose Nano Banana Pro or Flux Kontext. These are models that support uploading a reference.

Step 3. Upload two images

• The base photo: the frame where the face needs replacing (the body, pose, background and clothes stay).
• The face reference: a photo of the person whose face you want to "put in". Take a shot with good light, the face frontal or close to the angle of the base photo: the closer the angles, the more accurate the result.

Step 4. Write the prompt

The formula is simple:

Replace the face of the person in the first photo with the face from the second photo (reference).
Keep the lighting, angle, hairstyle, clothing and background of the original shot unchanged.
Natural skin, realistic features, no artifacts around the edges of the face.

Step 5. Generate and check the likeness

Press "Generate". In a few seconds you get the result. Check the likeness and the edges of the face right away. If the face "drifted", do not redo it blindly: switch to a more frontal reference or bring the angles of the base and the reference closer. Often 1 or 2 iterations give a noticeably better frame.

Step 6. Download

Press "Download", and the finished photo is in your account.

A ready prompt that works

Copy it and substitute your task. This version explicitly fixes what should NOT change, which is critical for editing models:

Task: face replacement by reference.
Replace the face of the person in image 1 with the face from image 2 (reference).
Keep everything else from image 1 unchanged: lighting, camera angle, head pose,
hairstyle, clothing, background, skin tone of the body.
Blend the new face naturally, match skin tone and lighting of image 1,
no visible seams around the face, realistic facial features, sharp eyes.

If you need a soft version (not a full replacement but "make it resemble the reference"), change Replace the face to Make the face resemble the person from image 2, keeping the original expression.

Anti-prompt: how NOT to write

These phrasings break the result of editing models most often:

• "Make a beautiful face like this person's": too vague, the model "invents" instead of transferring. Write specifically: replace / match the reference.
• "Replace the face and improve the photo, add makeup, change the background to a beach": several tasks in one prompt. The editing model spreads its attention, and the face suffers first. Do one edit at a time.
• A profile reference for a frontal base photo: the model will not "turn" the face correctly, and you get distortion. Match the angles.
• A dark or blurry face reference: there is nothing to transfer, so the model invents the features. Take a sharp shot with even light.

Batch face replacement with Workflow

If there are many faces (for example, replacing one face across a series of 20 frames), opening the Studio one by one takes long. For this there is Workflow, a visual node-based pipeline builder. You assemble the "upload photo, editing model with reference, result" chain once and run a batch in one launch. It is handy for content series and uniform creatives. See the Workflow page.

If you need to animate a still portrait (motion, blinking) rather than change the face, that is a different task, solved by video models: see the photo-to-video guide.

What it costs in tokens

FLUX: from 2 tokens per image; Nano Banana: from 3. Face replacement is an edit of a frame and is charged on the image scale.

The studio shows the exact charge before you run it, so check against it rather than the article: the catalog gets updated. Pack contents are on the pricing page.

FAQ

How is face replacement done in Pixyn?

With editing models from a reference: you upload the base photo and the face reference and describe the task in the prompt. The model redraws the face to match the reference and keeps the rest of the shot.

Which model is better for face replacement?

It depends on the task. Nano Banana Pro embeds a face into a complex scene with light more neatly. Flux Kontext changes only the face more precisely, without touching the rest of the photo. Try both on the same frame: the cost is small and the difference in the result is visible right away.

Why did the face come out "not very similar"?

Most often the cause is different angles of the base and the reference, or a blurry reference. Take a sharp frontal photo of the face at the same angle as the base shot and remove extra tasks (background, makeup) from the prompt. The likeness will rise noticeably.

How much does one face replacement cost?

The cost depends on the chosen model and is charged in tokens per generation. Plans and packs are on the pricing page; in the Studio the cost is shown right when you choose the model.

Can I replace a face on several photos at once?

Yes, with Workflow: you build the pipeline once and run a batch of frames in one launch.

What happens to the uploaded photos?

Uploaded photos are processed for generation and stored in your personal account.

---

Ready to try it yourself? Open the Studio and replace a face in a photo → Sign-up takes 30 seconds via email, Telegram or Google, and new accounts get welcome tokens.

If there are many edits (a series of frames, uniform creatives), set up a pipeline in Workflow and run the replacement in one click.

Related reading

• FLUX: a review of the AI image generator: the FLUX line, including Kontext for editing by instruction
• Nano Banana Pro review: the capabilities of the Google model
• Photo-to-video guide: motion and portrait animation instead of face replacement

Sources

• Photo manipulation: retouching and editing