Most "AI looks weird" complaints aren't really about the model — they're about the input. A great AI headshot starts with a clean, well-lit selfie. Give the model decent material and you get a usable headshot on the first try. Give it a dim photo shot from below at arm's length and you fight the result.
Here's what actually moves the needle on the best selfie for an AI headshot, in order of impact.
1. Shoot in soft, even daylight
If you do nothing else, do this. Stand facing a window during the day, three to six feet back. Don't stand with the window behind you (silhouette) and don't shoot in direct overhead sun (raccoon shadows under your eyes).
Diffused window light flatters skin tones, fills in shadows, and gives the model the cleanest signal it'll ever get. Skip the ring light — they tend to flatten features and create a tell-tale reflection in your eyes that AI sometimes struggles to fix.
2. Hold the phone at eye level
The most common selfie mistake is shooting from a low angle, which exaggerates your jaw and minimizes your forehead. Hold the phone roughly level with your eyes or a hair above. If you can prop it on a stack of books, even better — your arm being in the frame is what gives a phone selfie that distinctive "selfie" feel.
The goal is "passport photo, but better lit." Straight on, slightly above, looking at the lens.
3. Use the rear camera if you can
The front-facing camera on most phones is meaningfully lower resolution and softer than the rear camera. If you can swivel the phone, prop it up, set a 5-second timer, and use the back lens, you'll feed the model a sharper image.
If that's impossible — you're alone, no timer, no prop — front camera is fine. The lighting decision matters more than the camera.
4. Plain background, indistinct
You don't have to find a paper backdrop. A blank wall, a neutral curtain, or an out-of-focus interior all work. Avoid:
- Patterned wallpaper or busy bookshelves
- Other people in frame
- A window behind you (the model reads the bright pane as the subject)
A clean background gives the model room to replace it with whatever the selected style calls for — studio gray, white seamless, soft bokeh — without fighting for attention.
5. Hair styled the way you actually wear it
The AI model preserves what you bring. If your hair is in a messy bun in the input, you'll get studio-grade headshots of yourself with a messy bun. If you'd rather see yourself with your hair down, fix it before you upload.
The same goes for facial hair. Trim or shape it the way you'd want a real photographer to see you.
6. No sunglasses, no hat, no shadows on your face
The model needs to see your eyes clearly. Sunglasses, brimmed hats, and harsh side-lit shadows all break this. A neutral pair of clear glasses is fine — the model preserves them and they read as part of "your look."
7. Neutral expression or a small, closed-mouth smile
Big toothy smiles can read as forced in some style presets — particularly Executive and Minimal, where the brief is "serious and composed." For the most flexible input, go with:
- Mouth relaxed and closed, corners gently lifted
- Eyes looking directly at the lens
- Brow neutral (not raised, not furrowed)
This neutral input gives you the widest range of usable variations across all six styles. If you specifically want a warm, smiling result, smile naturally — but a closed-mouth smile photographs more reliably than an open one.
8. Wear something simple
The model re-clothes you based on the chosen style — navy suit for Corporate, smart-casual for Creative, dark tailored suit for Executive, etc. — so the actual shirt you have on in the input doesn't end up in the result. But there's a subtlety: busy patterns or graphic tees can bleed into the result, especially around the neckline. A plain crew-neck t-shirt or a simple solid top makes the model's job easy.
Avoid:
- Logos or text near your collar
- Heavy patterns
- Unusual necklines (turtlenecks can confuse the model on collar shape)
9. Take three; upload the best
Take three quick variations: one straight on, one with your head tilted just a few degrees, one looking slightly off-camera. Pick the one where your eyes look most engaged and your shoulders are most relaxed. That's the one to upload.
If the first set of generated variations doesn't quite work, you can regenerate for free once per order — but the easier fix is usually to upload a slightly better input selfie.
Quick checklist
Before you upload, mentally run through:
- Daylight from a window in front of you, not behind
- Phone at eye level, ideally propped not held
- Plain background
- Hair and facial hair as you'd want a photographer to see them
- No sunglasses, no hat
- Relaxed face, eyes on the lens
- Simple top, no busy patterns near the collar
- Three takes, pick the best
Five minutes of attention here saves you a regeneration cycle and gets you a result that looks like the best version of you, not a stylized stranger.
When you're ready, head to the upload step — pick a style, generate four variations, and pay only if you love them.