Systems and methods are provided for enabling real-time synchronous communication with persons appearing in image or video files. For example, an image or video file is displayed on a display screen of a computing device. The computing device detects a user selection of a person present in the displayed image or video. A request is sent from the computing device to a service provider for profile information associated with the user-selected person. The computing device receives from the service provider profile information associated with the user-selected person, wherein the profile information includes a communications address of the user-selected person. The communications address is utilized to initiate a communications session on the computing device with the user-selected person present in the displayed image or video.