How to Add a Person to a Photo: 4 Methods

To add a person to a photo, cut them out of one picture, place them into another, then match the light, scale, and shadow so they look like they were there. You can do it by hand in a layered editor, with the cutout tool on your phone, or by describing the result to an AI image editor.

Created: October 4, 2026. Updated: October 4, 2026.

This guide covers how to add a person to a photo four ways, what each one costs you in time and quality, and how to avoid the tells that make an edited photo look pasted together.

How to add a person to a photo: four ways and when each fits

Method	Best for	Skill needed	The catch
Phone cutout	A quick group shot for a chat	None	Edges and light rarely match
Layered editor (Photoshop, GIMP, Photopea)	A photo you will print or keep	Medium	Slowest, and every adjustment is manual
Online editor	One-off jobs with no install	Low	Cutout quality varies a lot by tool
AI image editor	Matching light and shadow for you	Low	The whole frame is redrawn, so check every face

Adobe Photoshop is a product of Adobe. GIMP and Photopea are independent tools. None of them is affiliated with GPT-IMG.

Start with two photos that agree

The method matters less than the pair of photos. Most failed edits come from a mismatch that no tool can fully hide.

• Light direction. A person lit from the left will look wrong in a scene lit from the right. Pick a source photo where the light comes from a similar side.
• Camera height and distance. A full-body shot taken at eye level drops into a similar scene much more convincingly than a close selfie dropped into a wide landscape.
• Resolution. If the person is only 300 pixels tall in their photo and you need them 900 pixels tall in the scene, they will look soft. Start from the larger version.
• A clear outline. Hair against a plain wall cuts out cleanly. Hair against a busy hedge does not.
• The whole body, if you need it. If your scene has them standing, their feet need to be in the source photo.

How to add a person to a photo on your phone

On recent iPhones, touching and holding a person in a photo lifts them out as a cutout. Many Android gallery apps offer a similar subject cutout. Paste the result into any app that supports layers or stickers, then scale it with two fingers.

This is the fastest route and good enough for a group chat. It will not match the light of the second photo, and thin hair often comes out with a halo. Use it when speed matters more than polish.

How to add a person to a photo in Photoshop, GIMP, or Photopea

This is the traditional answer to how to add a person to a photo, and it still gives you the most control. The steps are the same in every layered editor:

1. Open the scene photo and the photo of the person.
2. Select the person (Select Subject in Photoshop, Foreground Select in GIMP, the Quick Selection tool in Photopea) and refine the edge.
3. Copy the selection into the scene file as a new layer.
4. Scale it with the proportions locked, then place it where the person should stand.
5. Match the tone with Curves or Levels so the shadows and highlights agree with the scene. Check the colour temperature, too: a warm indoor photo and a cool daylight photo will not blend until you correct one of them.
6. Add a contact shadow. Duplicate the person layer, fill it black, blur it, lower the opacity, and flatten it under their feet in the same direction as the other shadows.
7. Add a layer mask and soften the edge by a pixel or two.

Plan for the shadow and the colour match to take longer than the cutout. They are what separates a believable result from a sticker.

How to add a person to a photo with AI

An AI image editor takes both photos and redraws one scene that contains everyone, which means it can match light and shadow without you touching a curve. The trade-off is that the picture is redrawn rather than composited, so small details can shift.

On GPT-IMG, the add a person to a photo page runs this workflow. The steps:

1. Upload the scene photo first, then the photo of the person to add.
2. Number them in the prompt: "image 1 is the scene, image 2 is the person to add". There is no role selector, so the prompt is the only place each photo gets its job.
3. Say where the person stands, and ask for matching light, scale, and shadow.
4. Add a line that keeps everyone already in the scene unchanged.
5. Generate, then zoom in on every face before you use the result.

An edit of this kind costs 25 credits at 1K Standard on GPT Image 2.5, and 15 credits on FLUX 2 Pro, which is the cheaper way to settle the placement before a final run. The button shows the exact cost before you submit, and failed jobs are refunded automatically. See credit pricing for the full table.

Three prompts to start from

These are templates. Change the names, positions, and clothing to match your photos.

Add the person from image 2 into image 1,
standing at the right edge of the group with
a relaxed pose. Match the scene's light
direction and scale, add a soft shadow on the
ground, and keep everyone in image 1 exactly
as they are.

Image 1 is a family photo taken at a table.
Image 2 is my sister. Add her seated at the
empty chair on the left, matching the warm
indoor light and the camera angle of image 1.
Keep every other person unchanged.

Add the dog from image 2 sitting at the feet
of the woman in image 1, on the grass, in the
same afternoon light. Keep the woman, her
clothing, and the background unchanged.

The same approach works for objects and pets. The rules about light, scale, and shadow do not change.

Five checks that make it look real

Run through this list on any result, whichever method you used.

1. Light direction. Do the highlights on the new person fall on the same side as everyone else's?
2. Scale. Hold your thumb over the new person's head and compare it with the heads next to them at the same distance from the camera.
3. Grounding. Is there a shadow where their feet meet the floor, and does it point the same way as the others?
4. Colour and grain. Does their skin tone sit in the same range as the people around them, and is the sharpness similar?
5. Edges. Look at hair, fingers, and anywhere the person overlaps another object.

Where each method breaks

Phone cutouts struggle with hair and with anything the person is holding. Layered editors are accurate, but a convincing shadow and colour match is slow work. Online editors vary: try the free version on a hard photo before you commit.

AI editing has its own limits. Faces can drift away from the source photo. Hands, jewellery, and small print on clothing are redrawn and may come back different. A person who is partly hidden in their source photo, say behind a table, gives the model parts to invent. Always compare the result with the original, and keep the original file.

Add only people who agree to it

Use this for a relative who could not attend, a friend who will be in the next shot, or yourself. Do not put someone in a scene they have not agreed to, and say that a photo is edited when you share it as a record of a real moment. GPT-IMG blocks edits that sexualise real people. For rights questions on edited photos, read the terms and the privacy policy.

FAQ

How do I add a person to a photo for free?

A phone cutout, GIMP, and Photopea are free tools. The AI route uses credits: new GPT-IMG accounts start with 30 signup credits, and images made on free signup credits carry a watermark. Pick the free manual route if you need an unmarked result and have the time for it.

Can I add someone to a photo on my phone?

Yes. Lift the person out of their photo with the built-in cutout, then paste them into an app that supports layers or stickers. For a better match of light and shadow, use an AI editor on your phone's browser with both photos uploaded.

How do I match the lighting when I add a person to a photo?

Choose source photos with light from the same side, then correct tone and colour temperature so the shadows agree. Add a soft contact shadow under their feet. If you use AI, say "match the light direction and scale" in the prompt.

Is it okay to add a person to a photo?

Yes, when that person has agreed and the photo is not presented as a record of a real event. A relative who missed the trip is a fair use. Putting someone in a scene they never agreed to is not, whichever tool you use, so ask first and label edited photos when you share them.

Next step

Now that you know how to add a person to a photo, upload both photos on the add a person to a photo page and use the first template above. To build a portrait of several people from separate photos, try the family photo generator. For the general method of giving each photo a role, read the reference image guide.