I have thousands of photos on my phone, but none of them are LinkedIn worthy. Selfies and group photos might be a good way to remember a moment, but when it comes time to represent my best professional self, they’re a little too casual.
Enter artificial intelligence. The latest AI headshot generators promise workplace-ready photographs with minimal effort, stitched together from selfies you probably already have on hand.
But it can be difficult to navigate this space, and it’s hard to tell which services actually work, especially with more and more requests for money up front, before you even see the images. I searched through these services so you don’t have to.
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I looked at three different AI headshot generators to see which worked best, from one free service to two paid ones at different prices. For reference, here are some selfie clips I uploaded to all three platforms.
While none of the AI generators exactly matched my similarity across different contexts, one came very close.
Fast AI
This headshot generator produced the least recognizable image, but at least I didn’t have to pay for it.
FastShot AI asks the user to upload just one image to its website and generates a headshot in seconds. The first two headshots are free. The problem is that the foreground looked nothing like me.
So far the AI generator has had fewer than 500 users and generated fewer than 2,500 headshots. It’s a free introduction to AI headshots, but it’s by no means the best.
When I checked the privacy policy, I noticed the following line: “Images from free users are public, while renderings from users who purchase a subscription are private.” Free users concerned about data privacy, beware.
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Momo
Momo is the most experimental AI headshot generator I’ve ever tried. After creating an AI profile on the iOS app, I saw that I could ask for images on various topics, such as LinkedIn, tattoos, decade-related transformations, fashion, dream jobs, and travel. Under LinkedIn, I could individually opt for photos in a suit, in the office, on a black background, on a white background and more. Momo’s website says his service is “favorite by millions of people.”
I asked for suit photos and company photos. These are two of the outputs that Momo gave me:
I also asked for a 1940s makeover and this was one of six images Momo generated:
Before generating anything, I had to select a weekly or annual plan priced at $6.99 per week or $39.99 per year. In my opinion the service wasn’t worth it because the images didn’t look enough like me to make it worth it. They represented Sherin from alternate universes who were fun to glimpse but didn’t pass the LinkedIn test.
Aragon AI
Aragon AI asked the most in-depth questions about hair and eye color, ethnicity, and age range before generating headshots. The service required a minimum of six selfies taken on different days, with no mirror or group images included in the mix. When I uploaded my images, Aragon AI told me which ones passed quality control and which ones needed to be replaced.
The starter package included 20 headshots with 5 outfits and backgrounds in one hour for $35. The basic package included 40 headshots and 25 outfits in 30 minutes for $45, while the premium package featured 100 headshots with 50 suits in 30 minutes for $79.
For reference, professional headshots usually cost between $300 and $700 in New York City for 30 minutes with a photographer and a look. Sure, these live options offer more versatility and a human touch with editing.
I opted for the starter package and Aragon AI upgraded me to the premium plan for free. So, after 30 minutes, I had 100 high definition headshots waiting for me. Here are two:
This service turned out to be the best because he noticed the little details, down to the shape of the glasses I’m wearing. It’s not perfect, but it’s getting more there. Aragon AI appears to have extensive experience generating images, with over 15 million created.
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The winner
Ultimately, Aragon AI worked more magically with AI headshots, but its result is still not LinkedIn profile picture status. The prepayment model adopted by Momo and Aragon AI discouraged me because the final results of both these generators were unusable. The pictures did not justify the cost.
For a professional headshot, I’ll stick to human photographers for now.