Nine headshots.

The professional headshot register

A LinkedIn headshot does one job: it makes the person who clicks your profile believe, before reading a word, that you are worth reading. That is not about being attractive. It is about the visual register the photo carries — the light, the posture, the attire, the way the background anchors or competes with the face. A good professional headshot has been deliberately staged. A bad one has not.

The LinkedIn pack works across three registers chosen to cover the main professional contexts. Smart casual — tailored knit, soft window light from the left, modern office blurred behind — reads cleanly in creative fields, product roles, and any context where "suit and tie" would be overclaiming. Editorial — business casual, soft directional light, neutral office backdrop — is the all-purpose register: formal enough for corporate, approachable enough for anything else. Urban skyline — same smart-casual attire, city view bokeh behind — signals scale and ambition without requiring either.

All three registers shoot in the same optical grammar: 85mm equivalent focal length, Kodak Portra 400 film emulation, fine grain. That grammar produces the characteristic headshot quality: shallow depth of field that separates the face cleanly from whatever is behind it, film grain that reads as texture rather than synthetic smoothness, warm tones that sit well against skin. The output is a photograph of you, not an illustration of one.

What distinguishes a professional AI headshot from a casual AI portrait is not the technology — it is the staging choices that go into the prompt. Attire matters: a tailored merino knit reads different from a hoodie, and both read different from a suit. Light placement matters: window light from one side creates the modeling that gives a face dimension; overhead bulbs flatten it. Backdrop matters: a softly defocused office environment reads as context; a blank white backdrop reads as a passport photo. Every element in this pack is a deliberate staging choice, not a default. The result is a headshot that looks like it cost a professional shoot because it was designed like one.

How to photograph yourself for an AI LinkedIn headshot

Better source photos make better portraits.

1. Use even, indirect natural lightStand beside a window, facing it or at a 45-degree angle. Avoid overhead bulbs, phone flash, and direct sunlight — all flatten the face or introduce harsh shadows that compete with the pack staging.
2. Shoot front-facing at eye levelNo selfie-stick uplook. No overhead angle. Camera at eye level, slightly below if anything. The pack frames you in a half-length composition — an extreme angle will fight that framing.
3. Use a plain, non-distracting backgroundA white wall, a soft-coloured wall, or a featureless indoor background. The AI replaces the backdrop with the pack register; a busy background makes it harder to isolate the face cleanly.
4. Wear something close to what you would wear professionallyThe pack stages you in smart-casual or business-casual attire. Starting from similar clothing in your source photo — a collared shirt, a neutral knit — helps the result read as consistent rather than transplanted.

Frequently asked questions

What does the output actually look like — is it photorealistic or does it look AI-generated?

Photorealistic. The output is a photograph of you — not illustrated, not cartoonish, not obviously synthetic. The pack stages you in professional business attire with studio lighting: smart-casual knit in a window-lit office, editorial business casual on a neutral backdrop, or smart casual with a city-skyline bokeh behind you.

Can I use these as my LinkedIn profile photo?

Yes — that is the primary use case, and it doubles as an AI profile picture anywhere else you need one. LinkedIn crops profile photos to a circle at small sizes; the pack delivers portrait-ratio (2:3) images so you have real headroom to crop. The three registers give you a smart-casual option for creative fields, an editorial option for corporate roles, and a skyline-backdrop option when you want to signal ambition.

Can I use them on my CV, resume, or professional profile outside LinkedIn?

Yes. The output is portrait-ratio and full-resolution — the shape that looks right on a printed CV, an email signature, a company about page, or a directory listing. No watermark, no logo.

Can I use this headshot for a dating app like Tinder, Hinge, or Bumble?

Honest answer: the LinkedIn register reads professional rather than approachable-social, so it is not the strongest choice for a dating profile. It will work better than a bad photo, but the styling is deliberately formal. If dating-app performance is the goal, a pack with a warmer, more casual register would serve you better.

Can I use the headshots for a press release, company bio, or team page?

Yes. The editorial and skyline registers in particular read well at the scale of a company website or a press-release photo. The output is full-resolution with no watermark. The commercial-use terms allow professional use without restriction.

Is this a good fit for an executive, CEO, or founder headshot?

Yes. The editorial register (neutral office background, polished business casual) and the skyline register (city view bokeh) are both appropriate for an executive or founder profile. If your context is specifically a pitch deck or VC press, the Founder Pitch Deck and Investor VC Partner packs have registers designed around those surfaces.

Can I use these for a professional headshot for a lawyer, doctor, financial advisor, or other licensed profession?

Yes — the pack works for any profession that uses a professional portrait. The editorial register reads cleanest in conservative professional fields: dark neutral attire, clean background, composed expression. For healthcare, law, or finance, the smart-casual register may read too casual; the editorial register is the right choice.

Can I use the output commercially?

Yes. The output is yours. You may use it for professional purposes — LinkedIn, company websites, press materials, CVs. See the terms for the full scope.

Will the photos look like me?

Every photo looks like you, well photographed. If one is nearly right, say what to change, in your own words.

Do I have to write a prompt?

No. There is nothing to write: you pick a pack, and it is ready in seconds.

How many photos of myself do I add?

Between six and twenty, from different days and in different light, with your face clear. We check each one when you add it.

What happens to the photos I add?

They are used only to create your model, on our own servers in the European Union. They are not shared and not sold.

When the LinkedIn headshot pack fits

• For a LinkedIn profile photo that reads as professional without booking a photographer
• For a CV or resume headshot in the correct portrait-ratio format
• For an email signature photo that does not look like a cropped party photo
• For an executive, CEO, or founder headshot for a company about page
• For a team page portrait that is consistent with your colleagues' headshots
• For a professional headshot for a lawyer, doctor, financial advisor, architect, or dentist profile
• For an about-page photo on a personal website or portfolio
• For a real estate agent or financial planner professional profile photo
• For a conference badge or speaker bio photo
• For a press release or media-kit photo accompanying a company announcement
• For updating a headshot that is more than two years old without scheduling a studio session
• For a professional profile photo on a recruiter, legal, or healthcare directory listing

About narcis

Most AI photo tools put every pose, job, era, and style in one giant catalog. The photos all look like every other AI photo on the internet — a glaze over a stock face. Narcis goes the other way. One job: photos of you that look like photographs. You add at least 6 photos of yourself, and we create your AI model from them. Your photos are ready in a few hours, and we email you when they are. Then this pack and every other pack on Narcis can be made with your face. Each pack is curated against real references — paintings, photographers, places — and tested on real faces before it goes live. Built and run by one small team, on our own servers.