Google’s new Google Pixel 9 phones are packed with useful Gemini AI-powered features, including the Camera app’s amazingly powerful “Add Me” utility for group photos, which lets you add yourself to a group photo even if you’re the one taking the picture.
I think this is great, but I wonder if this powerful Gemini AI feature could also be used for less useful activities, like copying myself.
Before I got my hands on a Google Pixel 9 review unit, I tried out the “Add Me” feature with the help of some Google employees. It seemed easy to use. There is now an “Add Me” option in the Camera app. Once selected, the screen will prompt you to “move the camera to scan the area.”
The process is quick. You’ll know you’re done when the shutter button turns completely white. After that, you can take a group photo, but leave enough space so you can be added later. To add yourself, tell everyone in the original photo to step out and pass the camera to someone else, but you’ll need to be careful not to move the camera too far.
The viewfinder shows an augmented reality version of the scene, with a semi-transparent version of the original group still present. Those holding the Pixel 9 can use it to guide them on where they should stand in the final photo without overlapping the original group.
After you take the second photo, the system takes five to six seconds to combine the two images into a fairly perfectly stitched whole.
I loved this feature from the moment I used it and was excited about its flexibility. First, I was at home and didn’t have access to a group of people for an Add Me test. What if I created a group of myself?
Deceive yourself
Initially I thought I would just have to set the camera’s timer between shots and, hey presto, there would be multiple lances. For all its power, Add me is a somewhat limited photo feature. There is no way to set a timer at any point. I had to figure out how to take two photos of myself without holding the camera.
I put the Google Pixel 9 on a tripod and positioned it in front of my couch, placing it close enough that I could reach around the phone and find the shutter button (not an easy task since it’s a screen and not an actual button). Luckily, my arms are long enough that I was able to sit on the couch, fit in the frame, and reach the phone’s screen facing away from me.
Picture 1 from 3
I started each shot by moving the phone to scan the area, then positioned myself on the far right of the frame, grabbed the image, and took the first shot. If this were a normal “add me” shot, I’d use the Pixel 9’s viewfinder screen to position my alter ego in the frame. Instead, I simply positioned myself on the far left of the frame (knowing I couldn’t move too far since this was a pretty tight shot), grabbed the Pixel 9’s screen, and tapped until I found the shutter button.
When I turned back to look at the final shot, Pixel 9’s Add Me had stitched together a “twin” photo of me. It took a bit of trial and error at first (I took more than a few shots of myself alone and a few with no one in them), but I got pretty good at it and eventually took a few Lance clone photos.
More friends
Add Me doesn’t just allow you to take double selfies. You can create double portraits of friends and colleagues. To take this photo of TechRadar editor-in-chief Jake Krol, I had him sit in front of me while I held the camera steady. For the second photo, I asked him to slide his chair to the left while I lined him up with the original AR version of Jake. Again, the results were essentially perfect. I find they’re more entertaining when you have a different expression or action in each portrait, especially when the end result makes it seem like they’re noticing each other.
Add Me has a few notable limitations. You can’t take more than two photos for each Add Me shot, so adding more than one photo of yourself was out of the question. Add Me only works with people. No inanimate objects or, it seems, pets. When I tried it with stuffed animals, mugs, and other objects, Add Me never created the AR version of the original shot. This isn’t a big deal, and I wonder if Google might consider expanding Add Me to accommodate these types of photo subjects.
Still, it’s gratifying to discover a use for a Gemini AI feature that’s not just about utility or simplicity, but rather a bit about versatility.
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