In The 5-Day Job Search, particularly in Chapter 16: Creating a Lasting First Impression With A Professional Headshot, I always advocate for getting your headshot taken by a professional. The realism and authenticity it brings are crucial, reflecting your unique blend of gifts, talents, skills, and experiences that are truly irreplaceable.
Rewinding to my days in an entry-level accounting job, I remember setting aside $150 each month for four months to fund a $600 headshot. It was a significant investment. Why? Because your headshot should project the future role you aspire to, not just the one you currently hold. It’s a strategy that can open doors to multiple offers. My photographer, putting this principle to practice, styled me as a “future CFO in the making.” Interestingly, while I wasn’t actively seeking such a role, I was offered a part-time CFO position earlier this year (without an accounting degree), which I declined.
However, I’m acutely aware that not everyone can shell out $300 to $600 for a professional headshot. Whether it’s due to student loans, unemployment, or just starting out after high school/college, financial constraints are real. That’s why I spent my own money to review 20 AI headshot generators, seeking the best on the market for those on a tight budget.
For a fair comparison, I used the same set of photos across all platforms. Below, you’ll find my original photo inputs. This approach ensures an apples-to-apples comparison, allowing you to judge the quality of the results yourself.
An interesting observation: many of these services altered my appearance to look Caucasian, despite my 100% Chinese heritage. This discrepancy means I can’t wholeheartedly recommend some services, though the photos were aesthetically pleasing. If you’re Caucasian, your experience might differ.
Note: Some of the links below are affiliate links. By using these, you’re helping me offset the cost of this thorough and honest review. I spent over 25 hours (and my own money!) testing each service to save you the time and expense. Your support is greatly appreciated!
Pricing:
I collected the prices for each of these services and saved them to an Excel sheet.
To download the Excel sheet, click here.
Don’t see https://www.photoaistudio.com on the list
That website has zero visitors. I only review the ones that show up in the top Bing results. I checked http://www.photoaistudio.com website stats on semrush.com, and of course with zero traffic, that explains why it didn’t show up in my Bing search. I will not review it, as it looks like a scam. Scroll to the bottom of the website to the footer. There’s not a single social media button so it is impossible for me to verify whether it has followers/customers. It looks like a scam.
I am also Chinese and was hesitant to try any AI headshots based on how they tend to white-wash Asian faces. After seeing your article and YouTube videos I have 2 companies a try: TryItOnAI.com and StudioShot.ai.
At first, I had some trouble with the photos I submitted to TryItOnAI – I ended up discovering that it helps if you don’t have crazy different features between photos (like don’t wear glasses in some pics and not in others, don’t have your hair up and down, etc.) I only ordered the 100 photo plan, but I was able to get about a dozen useful photos. After some feedback with the company, they said they are working on a tool to fine tune submitted photos – to tell you if you submitted photos that might be problematic for the AI. They are also adding some AI editing tools in the near future (like clothing or background swap). I think TryItOnAI is the one to watch in the future.
The same cannot be said about StudioShot.ai. I used the revised set of photos (the more consistent ones) and my photos came out terrible. My face was crepey and wrinkled. I looked like every other Asian except myself. They also aged me 10+ years. If I was going to get fake photos, why would I want to look older than I am? Supposedly humans do final edits before you receive the photos (took a couple days versus other same day companies). I cannot even image how unqualified these editors were if my weird distorted aged wrinkly crepey faces were getting through. You also only got 40-50 photos so even if you liked them, you don’t even get a lot to choose from. My non-Asians acquaintances seem to recommend this company though. Take that for what you will. After some back and forth with them, I asked them to delete my photos and account. The photos were not salvageable at all and there’s no way to get edits/touchups to make them useable. Super disappointed with StudioShot.ai.