35 ChatGPT Prompts for Professional Headshots

A headshot has one job that no other image has: it has to be you. Somebody looks at it before a meeting, an interview or a call, and then meets you. If the gap between the two is noticeable, the photograph has done damage rather than work.

That shapes what these prompts are for. Most of them are written to help you direct a real photograph - the brief, the lighting, the wardrobe, the framing - or to refine a photo of you that already exists. That is a better use of a model than inventing a face, and it produces something you can stand behind.

The thirty-five below run in five groups: getting the brief right, specifying light and framing, adapting to context, editing a real photo, and checking it before you publish. They work in ChatGPT and any comparable model. For image prompting more broadly, see our AI image prompts collection.

• It has to be a recognisable likeness. A headshot that flatters past the point of recognition is a problem you will meet in person. Ask somebody who knows you whether it looks like you, and believe them rather than the mirror.
• Check the platform's rules. Professional networks and some employers have expectations, and in places policies, about authentic representation in profile photographs. Worth checking where you intend to use it rather than after.
• Think before you upload your face. Several prompts below work from a photo of you. Check what the service you are using does with uploaded images and how long it keeps them, in the same way you would with any other document containing your identity.
• Editing a real photo beats generating a new person. Correcting the light, cleaning the background and fixing the crop on a photograph of you gives you something honest and usually better. Group four is built entirely around this.
• Name the audience, not the adjective. Professional is not a look. A headshot for a law firm partner page and one for a design studio are different photographs, and only the audience tells you which decisions to make.

Seven prompts that produce no image at all. They decide what the photograph has to do, which is the part that makes every later decision obvious.

1. What this photograph has to do

I need a professional headshot. Here is my role and industry: [describe]. Here is where it will be used: [list every place - profile, company page, conference bio, press]. Ask me six questions that would establish what this photograph actually needs to communicate to each of those audiences. Do not describe an image yet.

2. Three qualities, not adjectives

Here are three things I want somebody to think when they see my photograph: [list them]. For each, tell me which specific photographic decision carries it - expression, camera height, light direction, wardrobe, background, or crop - and which of the three will be hardest to convey. Be honest if one of them is not something a photograph can do.

3. Wardrobe from the industry

I work in [industry] at [level]. Recommend wardrobe for a headshot: specific garment types, three colours that photograph well against a neutral background, what to avoid entirely, and what would read as trying too hard in my particular field. Assume I will be photographed from the chest up.

4. The expression question

I am uncomfortable in photographs and my smile always looks forced. Give me four expression directions that are not smile, explain what each communicates, and tell me what to be thinking about in the moment to produce each one. Include one that involves not smiling at all.

5. Brief a real photographer

Write a brief I can send to a photographer for a headshot session. Include: what the photograph is for, the three qualities it should carry, the crop and aspect ratios I need, the background I want, wardrobe I will bring, and the two things I specifically do not want. Under 250 words and written so a professional would find it useful rather than presumptuous.

6. What to shoot in one session

I have one hour with a photographer and need images for [list the uses]. Plan the session: how many setups, what changes between them, what to shoot first while I am still self-conscious, and what to leave until I have relaxed. Include the two shots people always forget and later wish they had.

7. Look at what I already have

Here is my current headshot: [attach it]. Tell me specifically why it is not working - lighting, crop, expression, background, wardrobe, or simply that it is out of date. Rank the problems by how much each one costs, and tell me which could be fixed by editing and which need a new photograph.

Prompt 5 is the one with the highest return. An hour with a real photographer and a clear brief beats any amount of generation, and the brief is the part you can do tonight.

Seven technical specifications. Each is written so it works either as a setup to hand a photographer or as a generation prompt, because the decisions are the same in both cases.

8. The standard corporate setup

Head and shoulders portrait of a [describe person] against a seamless mid-grey background. One large softbox at forty-five degrees to camera left and slightly above eye level, a white reflector camera right to lift the shadow, and a subtle separation light on the background. 85mm at f/4, eye level, natural skin texture retained, 4:5.

9. Window light, no equipment

Head and shoulders portrait lit only by a large north-facing window at camera left, subject turned fifteen degrees towards it, plain wall behind. Soft directional falloff across the face with the shadow side still readable. 85mm at f/2.8, eye level, no fill, no flash, 4:5. Describe where I should stand relative to the window.

10. Darker, more serious

Head and shoulders portrait against a dark charcoal background. One softbox high and to camera right creating a defined shadow under the cheekbone, a black flag on the opposite side to deepen the shadow rather than fill it. Low key, controlled, no background light. 85mm at f/4, slightly above eye level, 4:5.

11. Bright and open

Head and shoulders portrait against a clean white background with even lighting from two large sources at equal distance either side of camera, plus a hair light from behind. Almost no visible shadow, high key, entirely approachable rather than dramatic. 100mm at f/5.6, eye level, 1:1 square crop with generous margin.

12. In a real place

Environmental portrait of a [describe person] in [describe their actual workplace], standing rather than seated, the space recognisable but thrown well out of focus. Available light from a large window behind camera. 85mm at f/2, waist up, subject placed off centre with the space filling the rest, 3:2.

13. Crops from one frame

I need one photograph that can be cropped to a circular profile picture, a 4:5 portrait, a 16:9 banner and a 1:1 square. Tell me how to frame the original shot so all four work: where my head should sit, how much space to leave on each side, and what must not be near the edges. Explain what breaks first if I crop too tightly.

14. Glasses without the glare

I wear glasses. Specify a lighting setup that avoids reflections in the lenses: light position relative to the face, the angle to tilt the frames, and where the light must not be. Then tell me what to check in the result, and what to do if the reflection cannot be avoided at all.

Always add natural skin texture retained. Smoothing is the default and it is the single clearest sign that a headshot has been through something, whether that something was AI or an over-enthusiastic retoucher.

Seven variations on the same photograph for different audiences. The subject does not change; the register does. For the profile the headshot usually sits on, our ChatGPT prompts for LinkedIn cover the words that go with it.

15. Corporate and conventional

Specify a headshot for a partner page at a professional services firm where every other photograph follows the same format. Tell me the background, wardrobe, expression, crop and light direction that would let mine sit in that grid without looking out of place, and the one small thing I could change that would distinguish it without breaking the set.

16. Profile picture, small

My headshot will mostly be seen as a small circular profile picture, often on a dark interface. Specify the framing, the contrast between me and the background, and how much of my shoulders should be visible. Tell me what will be lost at that size and what to prioritise because of it.

17. Senior without severe

I need a headshot that reads as senior and approachable at the same time, for a leadership page. Specify camera height, expression, light direction and wardrobe for that combination, and tell me which single one of those four does most of the work. Explain what would tip it into severe.

18. Creative field

I work in [creative field] and a conventional corporate headshot would count against me. Specify a portrait that still reads as competent while clearly not being a corporate photograph: background, light, framing and posture. Be specific about where the line is between distinctive and unprofessional in my field.

19. Founder, raising money

I am a founder and this photograph will appear in a deck and on a press page. Specify a headshot that reads as credible without pretending the company is larger than it is. Include what to avoid: anything that looks borrowed from a corporate template, and anything that looks deliberately casual.

20. Freelancer, working from home

I need a headshot and I am taking it myself at home with a phone and no equipment. Specify exactly what to do: which window, what time of day, where to stand, what to put behind me, how to hold or prop the phone, and which camera setting to change. Assume I have nothing but a chair and a plain wall.

21. A team that matches

We need headshots for [number] people that will sit together on one page, shot at different times and possibly in different places. Define the specification everybody must follow: background, light direction, crop, camera height, and wardrobe rules. Then tell me the two things that will drift between sessions and how to control them.

Prompt 21 is the one to write down and keep. Team pages fail because each person was photographed sensibly and nobody agreed the specification first.

Seven prompts that start from a photograph that already exists. This is the honest core of the article: every one of these improves a picture of you rather than producing somebody who resembles you. Our ChatGPT prompts for photo editing go deeper on the technique.

22. Fix the background only

Keep me in the attached photograph exactly as I am, including the edge detail in my hair and any stray strands. Replace the background with a seamless mid-grey studio backdrop and adjust only my edge lighting so it matches a single softbox from the upper left. Do not alter my face, expression, skin, hair length or clothing in any way.

23. Retouch with restraint

In the attached headshot, remove temporary blemishes only. Leave texture, pores, lines, freckles and every permanent feature intact. Do not smooth the skin, do not change the face shape, do not enlarge or brighten the eyes, and do not whiten the teeth. Tell me afterwards exactly what you removed.

24. Rescue bad lighting

The attached photograph was shot under overhead office lighting and has heavy shadows under my eyes and nose. Correct it as though a reflector had been placed below and in front, lifting those shadows without flattening the face. Keep the light direction, the catchlights and the background exactly as they are.

25. Colour, not complexion

Correct the colour cast in the attached headshot so my skin tone reads naturally for me. Do not change the overall exposure, the background colour, or any feature of my face. Tell me what you shifted and in which direction so I can check it against a photograph I know is accurate.

26. Change the clothes, keep the person

Change the garment in the attached headshot to [describe] with natural drape and a correct shoulder fit. Keep my face, hair, posture, expression and the background completely unchanged, and match the fabric lighting to the existing key light. Do not alter my body shape.

27. Recrop for four uses

Here is one headshot. Produce the four crops I need: circular profile, 4:5 portrait, 1:1 square and 16:9 banner. For each, tell me where you placed my eyes in the frame and what was lost. If a crop does not work from this original, say so rather than forcing it.

28. Match an old photo to a new one

These two headshots of me were taken years apart in different light and need to sit on the same page. Match the second to the first in colour, contrast and background tone. Do not change either face, expression or crop. Tell me whether they can honestly sit together or whether the gap is too wide.

Write do not smooth the skin into every one of these. Smoothing is applied by default, it is never asked for, and once the texture has gone it cannot be put back.

The last seven, and the ones to run even if you skip everything else. A headshot is seen by people who will later meet you, which makes this the group with actual consequences.

29. Does it still look like me

Here is an unedited photograph of me and here is the edited version. List every difference between them, including ones I did not ask for. Then tell me whether somebody meeting me after seeing the second one would notice a gap, and which single change is most responsible for it.

30. Find the tells

Examine this headshot for signs that it has been generated or heavily edited: skin that is too even, unnatural symmetry, ear and jaw geometry, spectacle frames that do not sit correctly, hair edges, teeth, collar and shoulder lines. List what you find in order of how noticeable it is.

31. The five-second read

Look at this headshot for five seconds and tell me the three things you come away thinking about the person. Then I will tell you the three things I wanted, and you tell me honestly how far apart they are and what is causing the gap.

32. Against the rest of the page

Here is my headshot and here are the other headshots on the page it will sit on. Tell me whether mine belongs in the set, which specific attribute is most out of step, and whether that difference works in my favour or against it.

33. At the size it will be seen

Describe how this headshot reads as a small circular profile picture on a dark background, at the size it will actually appear. Tell me what disappears, whether my face is still distinguishable, and the one change that would most improve it at that size.

34. Where it can be used

I intend to use this headshot on [list every platform and context]. For each, list what I should check in that platform's own current rules about profile photographs and authentic representation before I upload it. Do not tell me what those rules say - tell me what to go and look up.

35. When to reshoot instead

Here is my headshot and here is what I have already tried to fix. Tell me honestly whether further editing will help or whether I should take a new photograph. If a reshoot is the answer, list the three things to do differently and be direct about it rather than encouraging.

Prompt 29 is the one that matters. Everything else on this page is craft; that one is the difference between a photograph that helps you and one you will have to explain.

The editing prompts are where model choice shows. Nano Banana Pro and GPT Image 2.0 preserve faces differently on the same file, and on a photograph of yourself that difference matters more than it does anywhere else. Run the same edit through both and compare against the original rather than against each other. An AI portrait generator takes the lighting specifications directly if you want to test a setup before booking a photographer.

If the headshot is for a job search, it sits alongside a document with the same requirement: it has to be true. Our ChatGPT prompts for resume writing apply the same principle to what you write about yourself. Chat Smith is free to try.

And the check no prompt can do for you: show the final image to somebody who knows you and ask whether it looks like you. Not whether it is good. Whether it is you. If they hesitate, use a different one.