Everybody has the same 24 hours in their day, but it’s the executives who find themselves searching for any edge they can get to better optimize that time to drive better outcomes.
It’s not that executives are more important than the average person working a blue collar job, however, you could argue, there’s more at stake for the person who finds themselves bouncing between board rooms and making decisions that affect the lives of thousands of people.
There are all sorts of social dynamics embedded in the lives of executives. Executives are expected to be high-performance individuals with strengths that greatly outnumber their weaknesses. They are expected to maintain an aura of confidence that inspires their employees and gives the illusion that they always know what the next step is, even when they feel completely lost.
Saved time and money taking a professional photo. Helped me update my professional profiles. - Laura
First impressions are tremendously important for executives given their role as charismatic leaders. It goes without saying that white collar charisma is very different from movie star charisma, or even ‘cool guy at the bar’ charisma. Even still, there’s no denying that an executive perceived as likable will have a much longer shelf life than a smart-but-awkward number cruncher who does the technical parts of their own job well but struggles with managing employees.
In 2024, where are executives seen by the most people? Online.
Executive Headshots Are Seen Everywhere
Jump back 20 years ago and your professional headshot might only be seen by the few dozen people who you hand your business card to. Fast forward to the present and now your headshots are used as profile pictures seen by thousands of strangers, followers, and friends on a daily basis.
LinkedIn. Twitter. Facebook. Your website. Your company website. Your Gmail profile picture.
Every tiny step you take online, there are hundreds if not thousands of people making micro-judgements on what you have to say, based on your profile picture. Do you really want an awkward selfie representing you every time you need to say something online?
This isn’t exactly a secret—professional headshots are table stakes for executives.
Sure, the world’s richest business men might have the street cred necessary to sport a cheeky grin in their pajamas as their LinkedIn profile picture… but for everyone between “just starting out” and “Forbes top 100 list”, there are tens of thousands of executives who would benefit from the professional glow up a studio-quality headshot would grant their online presence.
But don’t headshots take hours to complete? Not necessarily.
Best Executive Headshot Options in 2024
We’re all adults here, we can admit that using a selfie as a profile picture, as an executive, is a missed opportunity at representing your business in a professional manner. So what other options are there?
You could book an appointment with a local photographer. Until very recently, this was the only option executives had to acquire a studio quality headshot. You have to vet your options, find room in your busy schedule (and hope the photographer has the matching availability), and then book a day off work to attend the photo shoot.
It allowed me to affordably get dozens of shots that will support media inquiries and business growth. - John
Or you could try HeadshotPro. An option that only just this year became available to the public, HeadshotPro is an AI headshot generator that uses selfies you’ve already taken to create (up to) hundreds of incredible professional headshots that mirror the quality you’d expect from a local photographer. And it does all of this in just 2 hours, on average.
Which option is best for a busy executive? The one that requires scheduling in advance and leaving work, or the one that you can do before dinner tonight and have your completed executive headshots ready before bed?
First off, there are some things you should know about AI headshots.
AI Headshots for Executives
The promise of studio quality headshots done in only a couple of hours sounds great—but what’s the catch? Here’s what you should know about AI headshots before you place your order.
AI headshots are incredible, but not always consistent.
Lifelike photos that look indistinguishable from photos taken by a real photographer is the upside. The downside is uncanny photos with a few extra fingers and a strange facial expression. You can expect a mix of both when purchasing AI headshots—though we promise you’ll get 3-6 profile-worthy headshots in every order, so you don’t have to worry about the strange ones.
Input quality determines output quality
The photo quality of the selfies you upload to HeadshotPro will be a significant factor in determining the quality of your completed headshots. We recommend you take your selfies against a plain background, with good lighting and a natural smile. If you have to take new selfies specifically for this, we recommend you do that first—you won’t regret it after you see your incredible results.
It’s not Mom judging your executive headshot
Imagine a quick trip to the grocery store where you run in, buy milk, and run out. If someone were to ask you to recall what the cashier looked like, would you be able to provide them with a detailed description? Would you notice if you made another trip to the grocery store the next day and the same cashier had used a different color of eye liner?
Our headshots are optimized for maximum likeness, but they may not always be a complete mirror image. Just as a professional photographer touches up headshots they’ve taken with photo editing software to disappear blemishes and optimize the elements that make up a great photo, our AI headshots also pull out the most photogenic elements of yourself.
These kinds of optimizations may improve the quality of the photo while dropping true likeness by a few points. While your attentive mother may be able to spot these micro differences after a careful study of your headshot, it has been our experience that coworkers, potential customers, and otherwise strangers, will not be as perceptive. This is why studio quality photos are our priority.
Executive headshot examples
When you need urgently a proper headshot for your corporate organisational chart and there is no time to waist - HeadshotPro worked out to be a saver! - Olena
HeadshotPro produces studio quality executive headshots in just 2 hours after you upload your selfies. The following photos are real paying HeadshotPro customer headshots, shared with their permission. You can find more photos on our headshot examples page.
I was able to expand my portfolio of professional images to use for PR outreach. - Alex
Make my profile picture more processional without going to a session. It improves the way my workmates look at me. - Alejandro
It seemed to be the best option for my matters. I saved time and money not going to a processional photographer. - Tim
