As AI headshots surge, photographers fight to keep authenticity in focus

Hmm, I need a new business professional headshot for my LinkedIn

Oh wait, I can just ask Google's AI assistant, Gemini, to add business professional clothing to my existing headshot

Huh, that was easier, much cheaper, and less time-consuming than my actual headshot photoshoot

Hmm. This is the new reality. In a tough job market, many job seekers are turning to AI to polish their resumes, even their headshots, instead of booking with a human photographer

Headshots are a huge part of my business, and it's one thing that I specialize in

With apps like Google Gemini, Canva's AI headshot feature, and dozens of other tools that generate professional images in seconds, what does this mean for the future of human photographers

For some, it's worrying, but others like Zach Dalen see opportunity. I use AI and all these AI tools in a lot of aspects of my business. So it's amazing the technology we have out there

While Dalen embraces AI potential he says the human element is what separates professional photography from a computer image Part of what we do is I take in the picture obviously but the other part of what we do is elicit a certain emotion out of someone and get a certain facial expression a certain body language

These are things that it takes a trained professional, a trained photographer that knows how to get those emotions out of someone

These are things that AI tools simply won't be able to do

Daylen says an AI headshot might land you a job, but it can't match what actually brings a photo to life

He also uses AI in his own business for tasks like sorting through thousands of images or facial tagging at weddings so guests can easily find themselves in photos

I think it absolutely is going to affect the photography industry. It already is

These tools are great. They're not going anywhere. So innovate or die, meaning, you know, find a way to embrace these tools, find a way to utilize them to offer a better experience

And if you can do that, then your photography business will thrive. With Straight Arrow News, I'm Kennedy Felton

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