How to get everyone into one photo
You can combine up to six photos into a single picture. The trick to a result that looks real isn't the number — it's doing it in rounds rather than all at once.
The photo that never got taken
Someone is always holding the camera. The relative who arrived after everyone had gone home. The friend who couldn't make it. The grandparent who was there all afternoon and somehow isn't in a single frame.
These aren't damaged photos that need repairing. The picture simply never existed — and that's a different problem, with a different answer.
This is what Merge is for
Merge takes up to six photos and builds one picture out of them, with everyone lit the same way and standing in the same place.
Getting a good result comes down to two things: which photo you start with, and how much you ask for at once.
Start with the right photo
Three starting points come written for you: a group photo, people with a pet, or putting everyone into the scene of the first picture.
Choose that last one and the first photo becomes the setting. Everyone else is placed into it, so the photo you put first should be the one whose background you want to keep — the garden, the room, the beach. For a straightforward group photo the order matters far less.
You can also change that sentence, or clear it and write your own from scratch. The starting points are a convenience, not a menu you're stuck with.
Do it in rounds
This is the part that makes the difference, and it's the opposite of what most people try first.
Don't ask for twelve people at once. Merge two or three, look at what comes back, then merge that result with the next photo — a finished merge becomes the first photo of the next round. Build the picture up in stages.
Each round is a run of its own. It's still the better way to work: you're approving each step as you go, rather than committing everything to a single large request and finding out at the end.
Ask for the merge, and little else
The built-in instructions are written around keeping faces intact — each one asks for every face to be preserved exactly as it appears in its own photo.
The bigger factor is how much you ask for in one go. The model changes what you tell it to change, so "put these four people together" holds faces better than "put these four people together, change the season, and dress everyone for a wedding".
Get the people right first. If you want the rest, do it afterwards in Edit, one thing at a time.
Then make it printable
Enhance goes last, once you're happy with the picture. Merge rebuilds the image at its own size, so enlarging before you have finished throws that detail away — there's more on that in why your photo won't print big.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will it look obviously edited?
Not in the way a cut-and-paste job does. Everyone is rendered into one picture rather than pasted on top of it, so the lighting and the edges belong together. The most common giveaway isn't the joining — it's asking for too much at once.
Can I include a pet?
Yes — one of the three starting points is written for exactly that, people with a pet. If the animal is in its own photo, add it like any other. There's more on pets in how to turn a photo of your pet into a portrait.
What if the photos were taken in different places?
That's the normal case and it's fine — choosing the first photo as the setting is exactly how you decide where everyone ends up. Photos with wildly different light are the harder ask, so where you have a choice, pick ones that aren't fighting each other.
Can I combine an old photo with a recent one?
Yes. If the old one is small, don't enlarge it first — merge while it's still the original, then enhance the finished picture. Merging rebuilds everything at its own size, so enlarging beforehand is work you would pay for twice.
Can I put everyone somewhere they've never been?
Create the setting first — a beach at sunset, a room that doesn't exist — then use that image as the first photo and merge everyone into it.
What does it cost?
Merge is charged per run, and each round of adding people is a run of its own. Current costs for every tool are on the pricing page.