The Irony of AI and Professional Headshot Photography
I won’t lie, when my friend sent me her AI generated avatar, I wasn’t thrilled.
Like many of us I couldn’t help but wonder, is AI about to replace headshot photography?
As it turns out, headshot photography is an interesting addition to the AI conversation because of how incredibly dependent a headshot is on the human factor. It seems the art form, at least for now, is among the lucky list of services that AI can’t replicate. Don’t get me wrong, it can get close, but for humans looking for the best way to present themselves, 80% of the way is as good as 0%.
As I personally began to explore AI, in retouching, generation, etc., as well as hearing the opinions of AI headshots from my clients, my nerves settled into excitement and fascination.
Because AI both draws attention to the value of a truly authentic headshot, while offering value to photographers both in creativity and efficiency.
Like environmental portraits through generative AI.
The ability to change and explore background options in post production is a game changer, giving you the control of a studio with the visual storytelling of the environment.
Imagine a restauranteur looking for a portrait for a press release. It would be a great idea to showcase them in a restaurant, drawing people in who are interested in fine dining, culinary arts, etc.
But actually shooting in a restaurant poses challenges that make the studio much more desirable.
Not only do you have greater lighting control in studio, but it will likely make it easier for the subject to relax, as opposed to shooting with their team and employees running around.
Plus, the logistics of shooting in the restaurant aren’t great either. You either close down for the shoot, or you shoot while customers are dining. I can’t imagine any restauranteur wanting to disrupt their patrons like that.
Instead, with Generative Fill and careful blending, we can tailor this studio portrait in a way that offers us the control of a studio with the feel of a environmental portrait taken in a restaurant.
It is clearly an extraordinary tool, but it does require some tidying up. So get your bag of tricks out, as you can expect to do some masking, feathering, and cloning to blend the real image and the generated image.
When it comes to generating an entire headshot, there remains one major issue for AI - surprise surprise don’t look completely human.
This client, for example, scheduled a session because she “didn’t see herself” in the AI headshot. Over time I came to find she often posts video updates to Linkedin, and each video starts with a big smile on her face. She is a standout professional, named to the 30 under 30 list, and it’s obvious she truly knows how to leverage her skillset with the ability to connect with other humans.
So if you’re wondering whether AI poses a threat to your 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.
It’s kind of poetic - and it should be somewhat obvious at the same time, that AI falls short in that category.
So as photographers, the goal now more than ever is to hone your craft to the highest level, so AI truly cannot replicate you.
That could mean improving your lighting, your coaching, and/or the experience as a whole, because at the end of the day, people will always respond to an experience that felt good. And I don’t think many people feel much of anything from an AI App.
It is worth noting, the look and feel of an AI headshot can actually be fitting in some industries - like tech and AI itself - where the technology, not the human factor, is the product/service. But for any individual or company who places value on their human qualities as a differentiator, it pays to invest in that capture that human side. In fact, the 30-under-30 example above works in AI.
I guess even in the AI industry, it can pay to be a people person. As a photographer,
