PicturePerfect: Diffusion-based Same-identity Facial Replacement

With the growing success of diffusion models in computer vision, we explore their potential for same-identity facial replacement in photographs. Specifically, we propose a diffusion-based method, built on top of a pre-trained text-to-image model, that takes as input a portrait image of a person and a second reference image of the same individual, potentially captured under different conditions. The goal is to seamlessly replace the input face with the reference face, while keeping the background intact. Surprisingly, despite the clear real-world utility of this task, no recently published work has directly addressed face replacement in this specific setting. To support this goal, we construct a large dataset of image pairs depicting the same person under varying facial expressions and poses. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach produces more realistic and identity-consistent results than existing face reenactment models.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
arXiv (Cornell University)
Published
2026-10-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2610.39344
Primary Topic
Generative Adversarial Networks and Image Synthesis
Type
preprint
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preprint

PicturePerfect: Diffusion-based Same-identity Facial Replacement

Guillaume Berger, Manik Dhingra, Yashesh Savani, Mahesh Reddy et al.
arXiv (Cornell University)
Generative Adversarial Networks and Image Synthesis
preprint

PicturePerfect: Diffusion-based Same-identity Facial Replacement

Guillaume Berger, Manik Dhingra, Yashesh Savani, Mahesh Reddy, Antoine Mercier, Jiahe Liu
preprint en

Abstract

With the growing success of diffusion models in computer vision, we explore their potential for same-identity facial replacement in photographs. Specifically, we propose a diffusion-based method, built on top of a pre-trained text-to-image model, that takes as input a portrait image of a person and a second reference image of the same individual, potentially captured under different conditions. The goal is to seamlessly replace the input face with the reference face, while keeping the background intact. Surprisingly, despite the clear real-world utility of this task, no recently published work has directly addressed face replacement in this specific setting. To support this goal, we construct a large dataset of image pairs depicting the same person under varying facial expressions and poses. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach produces more realistic and identity-consistent results than existing face reenactment models.

arXiv (Cornell University)
Generative Adversarial Networks and Image Synthesis
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