How to get a headshot with AI
A studio headshot costs $200-500. Generative AI headshot services cost $30-60 and produce convincing results from your phone selfies. BOARD is neither. It is an object-removal tool, and the honest version of an AI headshot workflow with BOARD is: take a good selfie, clean it up. Your face stays yours.
What "AI headshot" actually means
When most people search for an AI headshot, they find services like HeadshotPro, BetterPics, or ProPhotos. These are generative tools. You upload 10-20 selfies, the service trains a small model on your face, and 30-60 minutes later it delivers 30-100 studio-style images in various backgrounds and lighting setups. The results are often impressive. The pricing is $30-60 per pack, with no ongoing cost.
BOARD is not one of those tools. BOARD removes objects from photos. It does not train on your face. It does not generate new images of you. Understanding the difference matters before you decide which approach fits your situation.
The honest comparison
HeadshotPro / BetterPics / ProPhotos
Generative AI. Trained on your selfies. Produces studio-quality images with clean backgrounds, professional lighting. $30-60 per pack. Results look like you but generated. Some people love them; some find them slightly uncanny.
BOARD (brd.ing)
Object-removal tool. Cleans up a real photo you took. Removes background distractions, other people, clothing issues. Your face is still your face from the original photo. $0.50 per edit, 5 free. Not a headshot generator.
Studio photographer
$200-500 for a session. Best image quality and control. Lighting, backdrop, and coaching included. Worth it for very senior roles or frequent speaking/media appearances. Overkill for most LinkedIn profiles.
DIY phone photo, unedited
Free. Usually has distracting background elements or awkward lighting. Works fine with some cleanup. The gap between this and a polished result is often just one or two object removals.
When to use a generative AI headshot service
Generative services are worth it when you genuinely do not have a single photo worth working with. If your only photos are blurry, poorly lit, or shot in contexts that cannot be cleaned up, HeadshotPro or BetterPics will produce something better than anything BOARD can do with what you have.
The tradeoff is worth naming. Generative headshots produce a face trained on yours. Some outputs look exactly like you in better light. Others look like a close approximation that colleagues or recruiters might notice does not quite match the person they meet. This is less of a problem for general profile use and more of a concern for contexts where people have strong prior expectations of what you look like (returning to a conference, reconnecting with a colleague after years).
If you go generative, run the output past someone who knows you before you post it.
The BOARD approach: clean up a photo you already have
The phone selfie you have is probably closer to good than you think. The issues are usually specific: a messy bookshelf behind you, a bright window creating lens glare, another person partially visible at the edge of the frame, a collar that creased during the shot. These are fixable without generating a new face.
This is what BOARD is for. The workflow:
Stand near a window, face toward the light. Neutral wall or door behind you. Camera at eye level or slightly above. Shoot more than you think you need. You are looking for one where your expression is natural and you look like yourself, not like someone performing "professional."
Not the most flattering. The most natural. Show it to someone you trust. The question is not "do I look good?" The question is "does this look like me on a good day?"
No account needed. Works on your phone or laptop. BOARD detects everything in the photo as clickable objects.
Tap any object in the background that draws attention away from your face: the bookshelf, the lamp, the other person visible at the edge of frame. BOARD removes each one and fills in the background behind it. One tap per object.
Tap the clothing item and choose Edit instead of Remove. Type a prompt like "make the collar lie flat" or "smooth this wrinkle." This works on visible creases and collar issues. It does not work well on very dark fabric or heavily patterned clothing where the wrinkle is hard to detect.
Download the edited image, crop to a square (LinkedIn's recommended format), and upload. Your first 5 edits are free. A typical cleanup of one photo uses two or three edits.
Limits worth knowing about
Be honest about what BOARD can and cannot do for this use case:
- BOARD cannot fix bad lighting. If the original photo is dark, flat, or has harsh shadows across your face, no amount of object removal fixes that. Reshoot in better light first.
- BOARD cannot generate a new background. If the background behind you is busy and you want a clean solid-color backdrop, BOARD can remove objects from it but cannot replace it wholesale. Generative tools or a separate background removal tool would handle that better.
- BOARD cannot alter your face. That is by design, but worth saying. If you are looking for skin smoothing, tooth whitening, or any face modification, this is not that tool.
- BOARD works better on clearly defined background objects than on textures (complex wallpaper, patterned rugs visible behind you) that blend with the scene.
A practical test: Before paying $30-60 for a generative service, spend 5 minutes cleaning up your best existing photo with BOARD. If the result is good enough, you saved $30. If it is not, you have a better understanding of what you actually need from a generative service.
Tips for phone selfies that clean up well
Not all starting photos are equally workable. A few things that make the cleanup easier:
- Shoot with at least a few inches of space between your head and any wall or object behind you. This makes BOARD's detection cleaner.
- Solid-color backgrounds remove cleanly. Patterned wallpaper or a bookshelf full of books takes more passes.
- Good light means BOARD's model can distinguish you from the background. Underlit photos produce muddier results.
- Portrait mode (which blurs the background) is fine, but the original unblurred version usually gives BOARD more to work with.
Related guides
- How to edit your LinkedIn profile photo with AI
- Best photo editors for removing objects from photos
- How to remove a person from a photo
Frequently asked
Can I get a professional headshot without a photographer?
Yes. The two main options are generative AI services like HeadshotPro (which train on your selfies and produce studio-style results) and cleanup tools like BOARD (which remove distractions from a real photo you already took). They are different products for different needs.
Are AI-generated headshots good enough for LinkedIn?
They are often convincing as photos. The question is whether the person in the generated image matches the person colleagues and recruiters will meet. Some people find the results perfect. Others find them slightly off in a way that is hard to name. It is worth comparing the generated version against a cleaned-up real photo before deciding.
Does BOARD generate a new headshot from my selfies?
No. BOARD is an object-removal and editing tool. It removes distracting elements from a photo you already took. It does not generate a new face or apply AI beautification. Your photo stays your photo.
How much do AI headshot services cost?
Most generative headshot services charge $30-60 for a pack of 30-100 images. They require uploading 10-20 selfies, then wait 30-60 minutes while the model trains. BOARD charges $0.50 per edit and gives 5 free edits with no signup.
What is the fastest way to get a decent headshot without spending money?
Take 10-15 selfies near a window with a neutral wall behind you. Pick the most natural-looking one. Open brd.ing, upload the photo, and remove any distracting background elements. Crop to square. The whole process takes under 10 minutes and your first 5 edits are free.
Your selfie is probably 2 edits away from good enough
Upload it to BOARD and find out. 5 free edits, no account, no app.
Clean Up a Photo Free →