This silly Pixel 9 camera feature has made my day over and over again

When the Pixel 9 series was announced, one of the camera features I thought I’d rarely, if ever, use was Add Me. I love standing behind the lens, not in front of it, so being forcibly added to group photos isn’t my jam. However, I quickly discovered that Add Me can be used on the same subject, which means I can stay hidden behind the lens and make my favorite photography subjects — read: my husband — begrudgingly change position in the same frame.

The results are funny clone photos that will make everyone smile, but you can use them creatively to snap photos of unlikely scenarios. Playing with a beach ball with your clone? Tanning your front side while your clone tans their back? Berating your clone in public? Anything is possible. I’ve barely scratched the surface of all the silliness this feature provides, but if you’re skeptical, I have a few tips to get you started.

Simply open the Google Camera app on your Pixel 9 series phone, swipe to go to Add Me, and start by taking one photo of someone. Then, when the phone asks you to hand it over and go stand in the group, don’t do that. Instead, stand still and ask the subject of the photo to move so they don’t interfere with the original photo. Add Me will overlay the original person and let you keep the proper framing so you have visual cues to get the best photo possible.

Your Pixel will save both original photos, so you can always grab one if you really like it, as well as the combined result. And yes, obviously, you can do this in Photoshop and other editing apps, but it’s so much faster and more seamless when it’s available through a single button on your phone!

Some silly ideas to get started with Add Me clones

When I first started coloring outside the lines with Add Me and using it to clone my husband, the first few attempts were simple enough. I just wanted proof of concept that it would work, so I asked him to stand in two separate places while making funny (more annoyed than funny, in his case) faces, and I snapped away.

With time, I realized I could get away with a bit more than simple shots. So, my clones became a bit more creative. Going and coming back? Check. Mirroring himself? Yes, please.

Then, I pushed it a bit further. Staring at yourself sounds dangerously self-centered — or introspective, you decide — while throwing a beach ball and catching it is something only The Flash could do.

My favorite idea, though, was the dual-side suntan shot. It took Add Me a bunch of tries (more than seven or eight, if I recall correctly) to get it right. It kept producing a final image with only one of the clones and an empty lounge chair next to him. I think it’s due to the angle of the shot and the fact that you can’t see his face lying down, but eventually, Add Me worked, and I absolutely love the end result. We tried this again on a hotel bed to illustrate just how much of a sleep fanatic he is. The end result is a photo that distills his very essence; yes, he’d clone himself if that would allow him to sleep more.

Expect failures, but they might be hilarious

Not every Add Me clone attempt was a winning combo for me, but the ones that failed were still fun photos I’ve ended up keeping, if only because of the extra layer of silliness.

In my many months with the feature, I noticed that the clones frequently fail in moving confined spaces. The cablecar photo below, on the left, is a good example of that. Add Me kept asking me to step back, but I couldn’t! So, I tried reframing the phone many times before it let me snap the second shot. Of course, the end result makes no sense.

But sometimes, Add Me will have a simple shot with the clearest subject and will still manage to mess it up. The sunset snap above on the right is a good example of that. If you look closely, those are two stacked images, not one, even though my husband moved from one side of the pier to the other.

And finally, there’s this gem above. This wasn’t supposed to be a good photo; it was just a brief test we were doing after the suntan lounge chair snap kept failing, but for some beautiful and unquestionable reason, Add Me decided to keep my husband on one side and his reflection on the other, and it’s almost like his ghost or spirit was lagging behind and didn’t know where to appear. I laughed so much that I ended up favoriting this photo, so I’d never ever delete it.

If you’re yet to try Add Me, I recommend you give it a go soon. It won’t be the highlight feature of your Pixel 9’s camera experience, but it’s bound to bring a smile or two to your face if you start thinking a bit creatively and creating fun setups with the dual photos.