DIY guide
Professional Headshot Examples, Before and After
Twelve professional headshot examples, each next to the everyday selfie it was made from: men and women, aged 25 to 70, from webcams, cars, kitchens and car parks. All are fictional people. Each headshot is what our retouching produced on the first try, with nothing picked or touched up afterwards.
Updated 2026-10-19. Every person pictured is fictional, generated for our likeness test, and every headshot was made by the same retouching you get here.
Before and after
The number on each is how closely the headshot’s face matches the selfie’s on our face check: 1.00 is identical, different people score below about 0.40, and we redo anything under 0.60. These range from 0.76 to 0.93.
Woman, early 30slikeness 0.90
Laptop webcam, home office
Flat overhead light and a cluttered room. The backdrop and a soft key light give the face shape without smoothing it.
Man, mid 40slikeness 0.87
Phone, parked car
Harsh side sun, seat and window in frame. The polo stays; the car goes. Beard texture and grey kept.
Woman, mid 60slikeness 0.92
Phone, kitchen
Red reading glasses and every laugh line kept. Glasses are where weaker models fail; keep yours on if you wear them daily.
Man, mid 20slikeness 0.87
Phone, dorm at night
Warm desk lamp corrected to neutral. A hoodie reads casual: fine for a start-up page, less so for a law firm.
Woman, early 50slikeness 0.92
Phone, backyard shade
Open shade is already flattering light, so this needed the least work. Curls and grey kept as they are.
Woman, early 30slikeness 0.93
Phone, open-plan office
Her arm reaching to the camera and the office behind are gone. Hijab and blazer unchanged.
Woman, mid 20slikeness 0.90
Phone, bedroom
Window behind her and an unmade bed. Braids and hoops kept; a white tee on grey is simple and clean.
Man, early 70slikeness 0.81
Phone, lamp at night
Grainy lamp light. A bold plaid shirt pulls the eye more than a plain one would.
Man, late 30slikeness 0.93
Low-res webcam
Dim meeting room, screen glare in his glasses. The cleanest webcam result, but a phone photo gives more detail.
Man, early 30slikeness 0.89
Phone, car park
Overcast daylight is soft and even, a good input. Framed as head and shoulders rather than arm’s-length.
Man, early 30slikeness 0.76
Phone, against a window
Strongly backlit: his face was in shadow, so the model had less to go on. The lowest likeness of the twelve.
Woman, mid 40slikeness 0.89
Phone, car passenger seat
Seatbelt across her shoulder removed; denim shirt and centre parting kept.
Questions
- What makes a headshot look professional?
- A plain or softly blurred background, soft light from the front that still leaves some shadow to show the shape of the face, eyes in sharp focus, a head-and-shoulders crop with the camera at eye level, and simple clothing. Expensive equipment matters far less than those five things.
- How much of the frame should my face fill?
- In the twelve examples here, the face (hairline to chin) fills between about 38% and 51% of the photo’s height. Much smaller and it reads as a portrait; much bigger and LinkedIn’s circular crop cuts off your hair.
- Should I smile in my headshot?
- For most jobs, yes: a relaxed, natural smile reads as approachable. Some actors and executives choose a neutral expression. Either way, take both and pick the one that looks most like you on a good day.