the Real Headshot Over? What a Week of "I Don't Want AI" Bookings Taught Me
A few weeks ago I was sitting in my yard, listening to the morning soundtrack. Birds crossing overhead, acorns dropping through the trees, a black crow yelling in the sky. And then a thought about AI headshots came over me. I found myself wondering if the real thing was on its way out. I'd seen one too many comic-book-looking AI headshots floating around the internet, and for a moment I wondered where that left photographers like me.Then that same week answered the question for me.
Out of the blue, the bookings started rolling in. One after another. And every single person said a version of the same thing: I don't want AI, I want the real me. They wanted to be in the room. They wanted to be photographed. They wanted to look like themselves, not a polished guess of themselves. Maybe that crow was telling me not to worry.
It confirmed something I've believed for a long time. A headshot isn't about a flawless surface. It's about capturing a real person so clearly that the people who know you look at it and say, "Yep, that's her."
Nithya's session was the proof. What a joy she was to photograph. We put on music, laughed the whole way through, and somewhere in all of that, the real her showed up: smart, warm, completely herself. The intelligence and the kindness her colleagues recognize instantly. You can't generate that. You show up for it.
Here's why the human session still wins.
AI can copy your face, but it can't capture your presence. The spark that makes a headshot feel alive comes from a real moment, not a prompt. Comfort is the whole trick. When someone relaxes, laughs, moves, and forgets the camera is even there, that's when the honest expression lands. And looking like you will always beat looking perfect. A too-perfect image reads as fake, and people feel it before they can explain it.
The technology will keep improving. That's fine. But so far, people can still feel the difference between a rendering and a real human being. And when it's their own face going in front of a client, a hiring manager, or a room full of people they want to trust them, most of them still choose real.
If your current LinkedIn photo is a few years old, cropped out of a group shot, or just doesn't sound like you anymore, that gap is quietly costing you. People decide a lot about you in the half second they land on your profile.
I photograph professional and LinkedIn headshots for executives, attorneys, healthcare professionals, and teams across Lafayette and the greater East Bay. If you're ready for a headshot that actually looks like you, come sit in front of my camera. Bring your real self. We'll find it together.
👉🏾 Book your session: https://11602.17hats.com/p#/scheduling/7ppg7a1PCPV7