Best photos for AI headshots

AI headshots can only be as honest as the photos you provide. Sharp, well-lit, front-facing selfies produce cleaner LinkedIn portraits and waste fewer credits on retries.

Lighting that works

• Face a window or soft daylight — even light across both sides of the face.
• Avoid strong overhead bulbs that carve shadows under the eyes.
• Skip heavy backlight (bright window directly behind you) that silhouettes your face.
• Turn off beauty filters and HDR gimmicks that smear skin texture.

Camera, distance, and framing

• Hold the phone at eye level, roughly arm’s length.
• Include head and upper shoulders — not an extreme close-up of only eyes and nose.
• Keep the lens clean; wipe fingerprints before you shoot.
• Use the rear camera when you can — it is usually sharper than the selfie cam.

Expression and variety

Neutral-to-warm expressions read best for work. Take a few frames: soft smile, slight smile, relaxed closed mouth. Small variety helps; wild angle changes do not.

What to avoid

• Group shots, mirrors with heavy clutter, or screenshots of screenshots.
• Sunglasses, hats that hide the hairline, or hands covering the face.
• Heavy makeup filters, animal lenses, or warped wide-angle selfies.
• Very low-resolution images pulled from old social posts.
• Photos where someone else is equally prominent in the frame.

After you upload

1. Open Create and confirm the clearest frames are selected.
2. Choose a style that matches the job — start with LinkedIn Profile for most corporate uses.
3. Generate a small set, then judge likeness on your phone before you update LinkedIn.

Next reads: how AI headshots work and the LinkedIn headshot guide.