Headshot Advisor

For anyone deciding how to appear at work

AI headshots, considered before you use one

A headshot is a small picture with a large job: it stands in for you before anyone has met you. Here is plain advice on professional headshots made with AI: when one suits the job, what makes it read as real, and where it falls short.

About Us

Suited to the work

When one suits the job

A generated portrait does modest work well. It helps when the picture is doing a small, practical task and nobody is relying on it as a record.

  • The team page

    Where a row of small faces sits side by side, matching light and a matching background can matter more than any one picture being striking. A generated set can give a scattered team that common look without getting everyone into one room.

  • The profile that has gone stale

    A photo from ten years ago misleads in its own way. If a sitting is not close, a recent generated portrait can stand in on a networking profile, provided it still looks like the person who will turn up to the meeting.

  • The stand-in before a sitting

    A new role or a new company can need a picture this week. Treated as a stand-in and replaced later by a photographer's work, a generated headshot asks little of you and does a modest job honestly.

Looking closely

What makes one read as real

People rarely name what bothers them in a false portrait. They feel it first, and the feeling tends to start in a few familiar places.

The likeness
Whether a colleague would know you from it. A flattering stranger fails this, however polished the picture.
The eyes
Reflected light should sit in the same place in both eyes, and both should look at the same point.
The hairline
Loose strands are where generated images tend to smear, or melt into the background behind them.
The collar
Lapels, buttons and necklines should finish the way real clothes do, and match on each side where the garment does.
The light
The shadow on the face and the brightness of the background should agree about where the light came from.
The skin
Pores, lines and small marks are part of a face. Skin smoothed to one even surface reads as a render.

Knowing the limits

Where they fall short

Some jobs ask a picture to be evidence of a person, and a generated image is poor evidence.

  • Official documents

    Passport and identity photo rules generally call for an unaltered photograph. Check the issuing authority's own requirements before assuming otherwise.

  • Work built on trust

    Doctors, lawyers, advisers and others chosen partly by face may want a picture they can stand behind when someone asks how it was made.

  • Portraits that must say something

    A press portrait or a book jacket shows a particular person in a particular place, and that takes a photographer's direction and an actual place.

  • Workplace and platform rules

    Employers, professional bodies and some platforms hold views on generated images of real people. Those rules are worth reading before the picture goes up.

Articles on these questions are on the way.

In their words

What this site sets out to answer

  • What professional headshot AI tools handle glasses and facial hair well?
  • What headshot generator tools work from a handful of casual selfies?
  • Is an AI professional headshot acceptable for a corporate team page?
  • Which AI headshot generator produces results that pass as a real studio photo?
  • How much does an AI headshot cost compared to booking a photographer?
  • Are AI generated headshots okay to use on a company website?
  • Can you recommend a professional headshot generator for a whole remote team at once?
  • Which AI professional headshot generator offers different backgrounds and attire?
  • Which AI headshot generator free plans give usable resolution?
  • Is there a free AI headshot generator good enough for a professional profile picture?