Face swapping is the friendliest tool in the studio and the one with the sharpest edges, because a face is not like a backdrop or a dress. It is identity. The portraits made at LuxBio rest on a simple division: fictional muses, invented whole, may be cast anywhere their creator pleases; a real person’s face travels only with that person’s documented agreement. The checklist below is the thirty seconds of diligence that keeps the two categories from ever blurring.
The checklist
- Whose face is this? Mine, a fictional muse’s, or someone else’s. If the honest answer is “someone else’s,” the remaining questions decide everything.
- Are they an adult, and can I show it? Swaps involving anyone under 18 are prohibited absolutely — no context makes them acceptable.
- What exactly was agreed? Appearing in clothed stills is one permission; swaps, transformations and adult contexts are others. The agreement must name the use you are about to make, in words.
- Where does the agreement live? A written record saved as a file — not a vibe, not a vanished chat thread. If moderation ever asks, the record is the answer.
- Can it be withdrawn? Real consent can. If a collaborator revokes, the casting stops and published pieces come down; a workflow that cannot honour withdrawal was never running on consent.
The fictional side of the line
For a muse invented in the generator there is no person to ask — but keep her earliest frames and her muse block on file anyway. “This performer does not exist” is a claim a professional should be able to demonstrate, and the file is the demonstration.
When the answer is unclear, the answer is no
The economics are not close. One undocumented swap can cost an account, a storefront and a name; the portrait you declined to make costs an afternoon. Run the checklist, keep the record, and cast in the clear.