How to combine two photos into one headstone portrait

Many couples never had a good photo taken together. Or the only shared photo is from a wedding fifty years ago, and the family prefers later pictures. So the dealer gets two separate photos and a request: put them side by side. It is one of the most common jobs, and one of the slowest. In one wholesale etcher's published 2023 price book, a two-person portrait costs $75 to $100 more than one person at each size. Up to 8×10, it is $325 instead of $250.

Pick the right two photos

• Similar angle. Both facing the camera, or both turned slightly toward each other. A profile next to a straight-on face never looks natural.
• Similar framing. Head and shoulders in both. A full-length photo cropped tight loses too much detail.
• Similar light. Light from the same side and of a similar softness.
• Similar quality. If one photo is sharp and the other is blurry, it shows. Repair and restore the weaker photo first.
• The right age. Ask the family which age they want. Some want both at the same time of life. Others want the photos they love most, even decades apart.

Match scale and position

The heads should be close to the same size, allowing for a real difference in height. Keep the eyes on similar lines, with one a little higher if one person was taller. Let the shoulders overlap slightly. A gap between them makes it look like two photos pasted side by side.

Match light and tone

After combining, look at both faces in grayscale. The stone shows tone, not color. If one face is brighter or has more contrast than the other, it will look like a different photo once it is etched. Even out brightness and contrast before you export.

Clothing and background

Mismatched clothing makes the join obvious. A suit next to a summer blouse looks like two pictures. Formal clothing for both is a common fix. Do it after the combine, as its own step. Then replace the background with something plain, or a scene the family chose. On black granite, a plain dark background stays mostly unetched and lets the two faces stand out.

Order matters. Combine first. Then clothing, background and black-and-white, one edit at a time. Keep each version, so you can go back one step if something drifts.

Size for two faces

Two faces share the space one face would have, so each face is about half as wide. Many couple portraits need to go up a size to keep both faces clear. Photo detail matters twice, too. Each face needs enough pixels of its own, about 150 to 300 per inch at the final size. A small face from one photo will limit the whole portrait. If the family also wants a scene behind them, plan on a larger size still.

Check both faces

Combining is the edit most likely to change a face, because the AI redraws both people in a new image. Compare each face with its own original, side by side at the same size. Look at the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hairline and any glasses. Run the edit twice and keep the result that is closer. See how to check a face after an AI edit.

Get the family's approval

Show both original photos next to the combined portrait and the stone preview. Ask someone who knew both people well to look at it. Get approval in writing before anything is etched. See family proof approval for what to include.

Tell the family plainly that the two photos were combined and edited. Some relatives will want to see the steps. Keep every version, so you can show what changed and why.

How Stone Portrait does it

Upload two photos and choose "Put both people together." It always runs first, as its own step, and asks for a natural head-and-shoulders couple portrait, side by side and facing the camera. Then add formal clothing, a plain background or a scene, one step at a time. Each step becomes a new version you can compare or go back to. The proof shows the photo supplied, the edited portrait and a stone preview, and the family approves it through an online proof link. Start a free trial with three portraits.