How to Take a Selfie for AI Headshots
AI headshot quality is mostly decided before you tap generate. The model can relight and restyle, but it cannot invent a flattering angle or recover a face crushed by overhead LEDs. Treat the input selfie like a studio capture — quick, repeatable, and honest.
Camera height and distance
Hold the phone at eye level or slightly above. Looking up at a phone on your desk shortens the neck and exaggerates the jaw from below; looking down creates an unflattering forehead-heavy crop. Keep the camera about arm’s length so both shoulders are in frame. Center your face, then leave a little headroom — tight chin-to-edge crops give the model less room to compose a professional bust shot.
Light before filters
Face a window in soft daylight. Avoid mixed bulbs and harsh bathroom vanity strips that carve raccoon shadows under the eyes. If you only have indoor light, put the brightest source in front of you and turn off strong lights behind you. Skip beauty filters and heavy HDR — they smear skin texture the model needs to keep you looking like you.
Expression and grooming that survive restyling
Use a neutral-to-soft smile with relaxed brows. Extreme expressions (duck face, squint, open-mouth laugh) fight professional styles. Clear your face of sunglasses and hats; prescription glasses are fine if you want them in the result. Hair should be roughly how you wear it to work — the model preserves identity better when the selfie matches your real presentation.
What to skip
Do not upload a group crop, a screenshot of a Zoom grid, or a photo where half your face is in shadow. Do not use a mirror selfie with the phone covering your mouth. Do not send a heavily edited Instagram story export. One clean, recent selfie beats five mediocre ones — HeadshotCam is built for a single input, so spend thirty seconds getting that input right.
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