The Irony of AI and Professional Headshot Photography
Not gonna lie, when my friend sent me her AI generated avatar, I wasn’t thrilled. Like many others I couldn’t help but wonder, is AI about to replace headshot photographers?
Turns out, headshot photography is so closely linked to the AI conversation, because of how intimately dependent a headshot is on the human factor.
As I continued using AI, and hearing the thoughts on AI headshots from my clients, my nerves settled into excitement and fascination.
Because AI clearly has value, both in creativity and efficiency.
For example, environmental portraits.
Imagine a restauranteur being featured on a channel that interviews CEOs - like The CEO Series. Since this channel isn’t technically food based, but rather success based, choosing a background that reflects the industry will go a long way in setting the tone. But actually shooting in the restaurant vs the studio poses many more challenges that make the studio much more desirable.
Aside from the lighting, shooting this way really can really help subjects relax, since it is typically inconvenient to close the business entirely for a photoshoot. Instead, with a little tidying up, we can tailor this studio portrait in a way that affords us the control of a studio, with the feel of an environmental portrait.
Clearly this is an extraordinary tool.
But it still requires a human to create anything usable.
Since AI doesn’t quite understand the human body, like hands, eyes, teeth, ears, etc., all results will require manual retouching to blend the generative AI with the original photograph.
When it comes to generating an entire headshot however, even if you retouch the errors away, there still remains one major issue for AI options - they simply lack life.
It’s kind of poetic.
And it should be somewhat obvious at the same time, that AI falls short in the human-ness category.
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
So in considering whether AI poses a threat to headshot photography or not, it’s comforting to realize that humanness is both a key ingredient to headshot photography, and a challenge - if not the challenge - of AI itself.
This client, for example, completely radiates warmth, confidence, poise, and sophistication in her headshots. In the AI image, we get mannequin vibes because the expression feels stale and the skin/color looks plastic. She said when she looked at the AI image she didn’t see herself, and chances are, if she used the AI image in any marketing, the impact she has with her warmth, confidence, etc. would be lost.
Isn’t it ironic? Humans may forever seek the true meaning of life, while AI may forever seek the answer to “what actually is life”, and “what is the difference in generating an image that looks alive vs “artificial?”
Let The Record Show: The “ AI effect” can be fitting in some industries like tech and AI itself, where the technology, not the human factor, are a core value. And of course, AI headshots can an option when budget is a limiting factor.
But for anybody looking to truly invest in selling themselves, it pays to lean into the human side. Matter of fact, the client above (blue blazer) works in AI, and was named to the 30 under 30 list!
I guess even in the AI industry, it can pay to be a people person.
