AI Headshots: Do They Have a Use?
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The Executive Headshot · The AI Headshots Edition
By Tony Taafe
AI headshots: pros and cons
Pros
- Cheap
- Looks pretty
- Cheap
- No effort required
- Cheap
- Easily accessible
Cons
It’s just not you.
AI headshots have their place
I actually do think AI headshots have their place. You get my joke up top about them being cheap, but it’s a genuine pro for them. Great headshots are not inexpensive, and that doesn’t fit everybody’s budget. So cheap and “good enough” checks a lot of boxes for people.
I’ve even photographed some AI execs and a couple of AI company founders. They were great to talk to about the technology and how they’ve done some AI images too. But ultimately, they decided to go with in-person headshots for their pitch decks and marketing materials.
A little while ago, I was asked by Fstoppers to do an interview about AI headshots. I had a different take from most. So much so that the headline said, “Why AI Headshots Are Great for Photographers.”
Check how uploaded photographs will be used
My concern is how an AI headshot provider stores, uses and shares the photographs you upload. Before uploading your own or your team’s images, check the provider’s terms and privacy policy, including the rights you grant it and whether those terms meet your company’s privacy requirements.
AI headshots and in-person photography
I’m not against AI headshots. They’ve earned their own place in our headshot house, and they’ll make themselves at home.
What I mean by that is that there are different types of headshots available out there. Great headshots, bad headshots, studio headshots, outdoor headshots: the list goes on and on. And now, add to that AI headshots. There’s a market for all of those types of headshots. But one thing I know for sure: people who are serious only want the great headshots. All the other types are acquired by accident until they get some great ones.
As I said in the interview, “AI headshots are a very decent social media product; what we provide is an exceptional marketing product.”
Authentic headshots for professional marketing
I genuinely believe that headshot photography, even with a potential short-term rollercoaster of companies who dip their toes in the AI water, will come out of this stronger and even more valuable than it is today.
We’re the key to authentic marketing in a world where everything will look and feel the same.