# InstaFace: Identity-Preserving Facial Editing with Single Image Inference

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.20577 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.20577/

## Key facts

- Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 39 of its 55 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 Feb 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 39)

- [Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.11239/) (2020)
- [U-Net: Convolutional Networks for Biomedical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1505.04597/) (2015)
- [High-Resolution Image Synthesis with Latent Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.10752/) (2021)
- [The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Deep Features as a Perceptual Metric](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.03924/) (2018)
- [Denoising Diffusion Implicit Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.02502/) (2020)
- [Diffusion Models Beat GANs on Image Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.05233/) (2021)
- [A Style-Based Generator Architecture for Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.04948/) (2018)
- [Adding Conditional Control to Text-to-Image Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.05543/) (2023)
- [Analyzing and Improving the Image Quality of StyleGAN](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.04958/) (2019)
- [FaceNet: A Unified Embedding for Face Recognition and Clustering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1503.03832/) (2015)
- [IP-Adapter: Text Compatible Image Prompt Adapter for Text-to-Image Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.06721/) (2023)
- [Null-text Inversion for Editing Real Images using Guided Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.09794/) (2022)
- [Imagic: Text-Based Real Image Editing with Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.09276/) (2022)
- [Resolution-robust Large Mask Inpainting with Fourier Convolutions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.07161/) (2021)
- [Animate Anyone: Consistent and Controllable Image-to-Video Synthesis for Character Animation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.17117/) (2023)
- [Generative Image Inpainting with Contextual Attention](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.07892/) (2018)
- [Paint by Example: Exemplar-based Image Editing with Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.13227/) (2022)
- [Learning an Animatable Detailed 3D Face Model from In-The-Wild Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.04012/) (2020)
- [Diffusion Autoencoders: Toward a Meaningful and Decodable Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.15640/) (2021)
- [InstantID: Zero-shot Identity-Preserving Generation in Seconds](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.07519/) (2024)
- [Pivotal Tuning for Latent-based Editing of Real Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.05744/) (2021)
- [Champ: Controllable and Consistent Human Image Animation with 3D Parametric Guidance](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.14781/) (2024)
- [HeadNeRF: A Real-time NeRF-based Parametric Head Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.05637/) (2021)
- [Morphable Face Models - An Open Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1709.08398/) (2017)
- [FlashAvatar: High-fidelity Head Avatar with Efficient Gaussian Embedding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.02214/) (2023)
- [Face0: Instantaneously Conditioning a Text-to-Image Model on a Face](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.06638/) (2023)
- [Deep Exemplar-based Video Colorization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.09909/) (2019)
- [DiffusionRig: Learning Personalized Priors for Facial Appearance Editing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.06711/) (2023)
- [GIF: Generative Interpretable Faces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.00149/) (2020)
- [StyleAvatar: Real-time Photo-realistic Portrait Avatar from a Single Video](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.00942/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [AvatarMakeup: Realistic Makeup Transfer for 3D Animatable Head Avatars](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.02419/) (2025)
- [AvatarBack: Back-Head Generation for Complete 3D Avatars from Front-View Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.20623/) (2025)
- [Toward Trustworthy Portrait Editing: Evaluation of Demographic Misrepresentation in I2I Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.16149/) (2026)
- [Are Detectors Fair to Indian IP-AIGC? A Cross-Generator Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.02850/) (2025)
- [A Large-scale Evaluation of Text-guided Models for Facial Editing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.28802/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Facial appearance editing is crucial for digital avatars, AR/VR, and personalized content creation, driving realistic user experiences. However, preserving identity with generative models is challenging, especially in scenarios with limited data availability. Traditional methods often require multiple images and still struggle with unnatural face shifts, inconsistent hair alignment, or excessive smoothing effects. To overcome these challenges, we introduce a novel diffusion-based framework, InstaFace, to generate realistic images while preserving identity using only a single image. Central to InstaFace, we introduce an efficient guidance network that harnesses 3D perspectives by integrating multiple 3DMM-based conditionals without introducing additional trainable parameters. Moreover, to ensure maximum identity retention as well as preservation of background, hair, and other contextual features like accessories, we introduce a novel module that utilizes feature embeddings from a facial recognition model and a pre-trained vision-language model. Quantitative evaluations demonstrate that our method outperforms several state-of-the-art approaches in terms of identity preservation, photorealism, and effective control of pose, expression, and lighting.