This does not look like me!
The clothes are hideous. I would never wear anything like that. The hair isn't a style I've ever had, or wanted to have. And the face just isn't me. These are the professional headshots I got from an AI headshot app. Needless to say, I won't be using them. That was a €17 not well spent.
In today's digital age, having a good headshot is more important than ever. Whether it's for business or social purposes, a professional and engaging headshot often serves as the main touchpoint that people have when interacting with you. To respond to this need, there's an entire eco-system of AI tools designed to flatter you and make you look great in your headshots - or so they say.
My ChatGPT for Marketers course begins at the beginning and in week 1, we work closely on our LinkedIn profiles. A LinkedIn headshot is an essential, so I put the crew to test three AI Headshot Generator Tools and this is what we found.
AI Headshot Apps Reviewed
TryItOn
$17 for 100 headshots
No Free Trial
Delivered in 24 hours
Lensa
€29.99 per year
7 day trial for €3.50
ProfilePicture
$8 for 96 pictures in small size.
TryItOn Promise
TryItOn Reality
It's only gone and given me American style crowns!
Profile Picture
ProfilePic Promise
ProfilePic Reality
Inherent Bias
These apps are not trained on older people. I'm not sure what age they are trained on, but you can safely assume it's no one over 40. So it's not able to handle it. All the images come out looking just weird. Plus, the clothing choices are generic and outdated. It's like they think everyone over 40 wears beige T-shirts.
We've all heard about how these apps sexualise Asian women, but no one talks about how they make all women (and probably men too) above a certain age look like they belong in a different era.
Trust me, you don't want grandma's old portrait as your Facebook profile picture.
Conclusion
Portrait, Headshot, or Avatar AI is not there yet.
Be prepared for disappointing results.
"From using ChatGPT I was expecting amazing things from this, but was totally disappointed" - said Caroline Stapleton, one of our course testers who mad me laugh out loud by sharing this shot where she has been styled to look like an air hostess!!
She really does not look like this 👇🏻
You might get some shots back that you can use, but be prepared for the work of uploading 20+ shots that have to be just right, the wait to get returned, the cost, and then the disappointment as you scroll through looking for something passable.
If you're a portrait photographer, carry on! No need to worry about losing your job to AI just yet!
If you're wearing a profile pic on your LinkedIn that is a little dated, hang in there for another while and wait until the tools improve.
