Personal Branding Headshots: How to Create Yours with AI in Minutes
If your headshot is lacking, you might lose a potential client or employer in just about 3 seconds. It’s just as much part of your online first impression as your name or tagline after all. If you want to avoid that, read on to learn what makes a good personal branding headshot and how you can save yourself thousands of dollars, creating one in minutes.
Why personal branding headshots matter
As we’ve mentioned, these photos are a huge part of your online first impression. And when your headshot reflects your brand personality, it becomes a tiny piece of visual storytelling. It’ll appear in every aspect of your online presence (your website, social media profiles, emails) and will keep reinforcing your brand, its message, and your positioning.
Going beyond the message, a great, on-brand headshot will also help build trust. Whoever visits your website, chats with you in comments, will get to see you—exactly the way you want to be portrayed. It’ll help you feel genuine and delightfully human in this highly digitized space.
Classic headshots are portrait photos with the face and shoulders in frame, with a neutral or slightly smiling expression, typically in a business-like outfit, in front of a plain white or gray background.
Personal branding headshots have way more flexibility. Everything from the outfit, through the pose, to the expression will match your brand personality. If that’s formal, the end result might be very close to a classic headshot. But if it’s fun and casual, then you’ll see that reflected in the photo too.
The average cost of branding headshots
As with most things, the cost depends on a few things: how you do it (DIY or with a professional), how experienced and popular your photographer is, how long the photoshoot is, where you live, etc.
If you want to work with a professional photographer, then:
- In the UK, the most basic headshot packages start from £500, with bigger branding photoshoot packages going up to around £2,000
- In the US, prices tend to be higher. Entry-level photographers offer packages around $1,500 for 20 edited photos on average, while more experienced ones can easily cost $2,000-$5,000+ for shoots ranging from 2 hours to half a day.
It’s always worth looking around and getting quotes from a few different photographers to find the best fit—and the best price.
Common mistakes to avoid for your headshots
Want your personal branding headshots to feel authentic and impactful? Then make sure you avoid these common mistakes.
Mistake #1: Using old photos
This first one speaks to the authenticity of your headshot. It’s supposed to represent who you are right now, so using a photo that’s already a couple of years old is not the best idea. We wouldn’t expect you to update your headshot every few months—but getting a new one at least every year of so is recommended.
Mistake #2: Over-editing your picture
Continuing with authenticity, doing too many edits on your photo can easily backfire too.
Firstly, because sometimes people can tell, and then it’s really awkward knowing you don’t own it but try to fake the way you look. Or if they couldn’t tell from the picture, seeing someone that looks pretty different during a call or meeting will bring the bad impression for sure.
Obviously, some editing is fine: you want to look professional, after all. Just make sure to keep a good balance, and ask for other’s feedback if you’re not sure if you’ve nailed it or not.
Mistake #3: Poor lighting
Switching over to ensuring your impact, make sure you consider lighting when taking your picture. Good lighting can make the difference between a dodgy, unprofessional photo and an impressive, welcoming one.
Even if you get your headshot done without a professional photographer, you can have great lighting. Try to take it outside or near a window, as natural light is almost always the best option. And it’s free!
Mistake #4: Having a stiff or blank expression
Lighting is one thing, but the mood you exude is just as important. You don’t have to sport the biggest smile ever but if you’re stiff and visibly uncomfortable (or look plain lifeless) in your headshot, that’ll instantly turn people away.
So even if you hate getting your picture taken, take as much time as you need, try to relax, and get a shot that looks natural and inviting.
Mistake #5: Not matching your brand
Lastly, affecting both authenticity and impact, is how much your headshot matches your personal brand. Just as having a super formal tone of voice next to quirky, colorful graphics would be strange, having a headshot that doesn’t match the rest of your branding would be very odd too.
The aim that’ll move your career forward is always to have an impressive and consistent online presence, and your headshot matching your personal brand is a big part of that. So consider the colors, outfit, and expression you have in the photo and check if they all align with the rest.
How to create your personal branding headshots in minutes
In case you don’t want to spend hundreds, or potentially thousands of dollars—and want your headshots ready in just a couple of minutes, we have the best tool for you.
Try Copyfolio’s free AI branding coach, Brandi: she can generate a professional personal branding headshot for you in seconds.
All you have to do is upload a photo of yourself. It can even be a selfie taken on your phone, just make sure it’s taken from the front with good lighting. In a couple of seconds, you’ll have your first headshot ready to download.
Why first? Because if there’s anything to adjust (wanna try a different outfit maybe?) you can just ask Brandi to do so. You can tweak it as many times as you like, or create more than just one headshot using different pictures. It’s free, it’s quick, it’s fun, basically a no-brainer.
Match your headshot to your personal brand easily
And if you want to make sure your headshot matches your branding flawlessly, Brandi can help you with that too. You can chat with her to figure out the basics or your branding: your USP, tone of voice, and brand personality.
Once you have your brand character down, you can just tell Brandi to match your new headshot to your brand personality and she’ll make all the adjustments. No need to go into details, she’ll know what to change.
Wanna try getting your personal branding headshots without the hassle and the sky-high fees? Create a free Copyfolio account and generate a new headshot with Brandi!
Personal branding headshot examples: made with Copyfolio's Brandi
In case you want to see it in action, here are a few before and after examples of branding headshots made by Copyfolio's Brandi.
How would yours look? Create a free Copyfolio account and give it a try!
The rest of your branding headshot questions answered
Any things left unanswered about these headshots? You’ll find the answer below, or email us and let’s chat!
Any page or platform that’s part of your online presence probably has a spot for your personal branding headshot. Having it up on your website (preferably you homepage) is definitely a must, but it’s a best practice to also use it as your profile picture on social media. You can of course add it to your email signature too and use it as an author photo if you publish content on external blogs or sites as well.
Your brand personality can shine through in your facial expression, your pose, your outfit, your background, and the overall editing style of your headshot photo. Whenever you get your headshot, compare it to the 3 or so adjectives that best describe your personal brand. If you feel it’s not what the headshot’s giving, try iterating or taking it again.
Pros:
- They’re there to help you with styling and poses
- You don’t need to think about framing, lights, etc.
- They have all the equipment needed
- You get high-quality, edited photos
Cons:
- Sessions with them cost a lot
- You get a limited number of pictures
- The shoot will take at least 1-2 hours
- You’ll have to wait days for the final images
Deep into building your brand? You might be interested in these posts too:
