How-to
What a professional headshot costs
The price of a headshot depends less on the photo than on who is in the room: a photographer, a team, or you with a window and a phone.
The four routes, and what they cost
Prices vary widely by market and change over time, so the useful comparison is the shape of the cost rather than a specific number. A studio headshot is priced per person or per session; a corporate session is priced per day or per team; an AI set is priced per generation; and the DIY route costs your time.
- Studio session: per person or per session, usually the most expensive route.
- Corporate on-site: per day, which spreads the cost across a team.
- AI headshot set: per set generated, so the cost scales with how much you publish.
- DIY: no fee, and the cost is the afternoon it takes to get it right.
What you are paying for
With a photographer, you are paying for the set, the lighting, the direction and the retouching — the judgement about how the photo should look. That is worth paying for when the image has to carry a brand, a campaign or a formal occasion.
With an AI set, you are paying for consistency and speed: the same style applied to every portrait, without a session. That is worth paying for when the images are going into a directory, a team page or a catalogue of people.
- Photographer: direction, lighting, retouching, a considered image.
- AI set: consistency, speed, no scheduling, a batch to choose from.
- DIY: control, no cost, and the risk of a photo that looks home-made.
- The wrong choice is paying for direction you do not need, or accepting inconsistency you cannot afford.
The hidden cost: keeping it current
A headshot is not a one-off purchase. People change roles, hair, glasses and weight, and a photo from five years ago is noticeable. Paying for a studio session every year is unrealistic; regenerating a set from current photos is not.
That is the argument for the AI route even where a photographer is affordable: it makes keeping the photo current cheap enough that it actually happens.
How it works
Three steps from a phone photo to a finished image
Upload your photos
Six to ten selfies with different angles and expressions.
Pick a style
Business, editorial, black and white, cinematic — or a profession set.
Download the set
A consistent batch of portraits, ready for your profile.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much does a professional headshot cost?
It varies widely by market: a studio session is usually priced per person or per session, a corporate session per day, and an AI set per generation. Rates change, so get quotes on the same brief rather than relying on a published figure.
Are AI headshots cheaper than a photographer?
Usually, and the difference grows with volume: one photographer session produces one or a few images, while an AI set produces a batch. For a team, the comparison is between a day rate and a per-set cost.
Is it worth paying for a photographer?
For a brand campaign, a formal occasion or an image that has to be art-directed, yes. For a directory, a CV or a team page, the requirement is a clean, consistent portrait, which a generated set satisfies at a lower cost.
What does a corporate headshot session cost for a team?
Corporate sessions are usually priced per day, which spreads the cost across everyone photographed and is often cheaper per person than individual sessions. It requires a room, a rota and everyone's calendars — which is the part that usually fails.
Try it on your next photo
Free to download on the App Store. iPhone and iPad only.