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I have thousands of photos on my phone, but none of them are LinkedIn-worthy. Selfies and group photos may be a good way to remember moments, but they’re a little too casual when it comes to presenting your best professional self.
Enter artificial intelligence. The latest AI headshot generator promises to combine selfies you probably already have on hand to create workplace-ready photos with minimal effort.
But this space can be confusing to navigate, and it’s hard to tell which services will actually work, especially as more and more services ask you to pay money upfront before you can see the photos. . I’ve thoroughly researched these services so you don’t have to.
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We looked at three different AI headshot generators, ranging from a free service to two paid services at different price points, to see which one works best. For reference, here are some clips of selfies I’ve uploaded to all three platforms.
None of the AI generators exactly matched my preferences for different situations, but there was one that came pretty close.
Fast shot AI
This headshot generator produced some of the least recognizable images, but at least you didn’t have to pay for it.
FastShot AI asks users to upload just one image to the website and spits out a headshot in seconds. Her first two headshots are free. The problem is that the photo doesn’t look like me.
The AI generator has fewer than 500 users and has generated fewer than 2,500 headshots to date. This is a free introduction to AI headshots, but it’s by no means the best.
When I checked out, privacy policy, I noticed the line “Free users’ images are public, but subscription users’ renderings are private.” Free users concerned about data privacy, beware.
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peach
Momo is the most experimental AI headshot generator I’ve tried. After creating an AI profile in the iOS app, I discovered that I could request images on a variety of themes, including LinkedIn, tattoos, changes related to the decades, fashion, dream jobs, travel, and more. On LinkedIn, you could choose individual photos such as in a suit, in an office, on a black background, or on a white background. Momo’s website The company says its services are “preferred by millions of people.”
I asked for a photo of me in a suit and a business photo. Two of the outputs Momo gave me are:
I also requested changes from the decades of the 1940s. This is one of his six photos that Momo created.
Before I could generate anything, I had to choose a weekly or annual plan priced at $6.99 per week or $39.99 per year. In my opinion this service was not worth the money. Because the image didn’t look like me enough to be worth the money. They painted an otherworldly picture of Sherin, and while it was fun to glimpse, it didn’t pass the LinkedIn test.
Aragon AI
Aragon AI asked the most detailed questions about hair and eye color, ethnicity, and age group before generating a facial photo. The service required me to take at least 6 selfies of her on different days and did not include mirrors or group photos. When I uploaded images, Aragon AI told me which images passed quality control checks and which ones needed to be replaced.
The starter package included 20 headshots with 5 costumes and backgrounds within an hour and cost $35. The basic package included 40 headshots and 25 costumes in 30 minutes for $45, and the premium package provided 100 headshots and 50 costumes in 30 minutes for $79.
For reference, a professional photo usually costs A 30-minute shoot with a photographer in New York City costs between $300 and $700. Certainly, these in-person options allow for more versatility and humanizing editing.
I chose the starter package, but Aragon AI upgraded me to the premium plan for free. 30 minutes later, 100 high-resolution headshots were waiting for me. There are two here.
What made this service top the list was the attention to detail, right down to the shape of the glasses I was wearing. It’s not perfect, but we’re almost there. Aragon AI practices image generation extensively, with over 15 million images apparently created.
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winner
As it turns out, Aragon AI has worked its magic the most with AI headshots, but that output has yet to make it to the status of a LinkedIn profile picture. The upfront model used by Momo and Aragon AI was off-putting to me, as the end results for both generators were unusable. The images were not worth the cost.
For professional headshots, I’ll stick with human photographers for now.