Don’t use AI if you’re Serious About Your Business or Career!
OK, that may be a bit exaggerated – what I really mean is AI should be treated as a tool, that in the right hands can be very powerful and effective. What it doesn’t do is replace you – what you think, how you approach things, how you feel about things – your voice, your look.
Many people are trying to use AI to write content then posting that on LinkedIn, social media channels, their website, emails, etc.. – the problem is that AI generated content isn’t you unless you edit it yourself so that it’s your words. It can give you a great start, but you want it to sound like you, not what a machine interprets your voice to be. And the AI algorithms are getting better about spotting AI generated content, and it appears LinkedIn (and perhaps the search engines) are penalizing those who post using AI generated content by promoting that content less.
But there are other reasons for generating your own content – I was never a writer, but over the years I’ve definitely improved my writing skills. And I’ve found that during the process of writing and generating content, my ideas/thoughts expand and I often develop other ideas or connections to topics I hadn’t thought of previously. It’s similar to the process of brainstorming – the more you work to generate ideas the more new ideas often come to mind.
This is also true when it comes to photography, specifically headshot photography. Great photographers are always exploring and experimenting – with people’s expressions, positioning, looks, along with different lighting setups, backgrounds, camera angles, etc.. When I’m photographing a subject, I’m always looking for those micro moments where a fleeting look, expression, position catches my attention and stands out based on what I learn about the person, who they are, what their business or personal life is about, their personality, emotions, etc.. Those moments in time truly set the person apart and shows something powerful about them – the image grabs your attention and elicits an emotional reaction.
AI cannot do this, and we shouldn’t expect it to – it gathers examples/data from a huge variety of sources, algorithmically creates some different examples of what you’ve asked for based on, in the case of photography, it’s scanning of hundreds if not tens of thousands of images. But there is no emotion associated with what it created – and it’s not real.
Don’t get me wrong – if you want to replace a background, or select and replace certain parts of an image, AI can do a fantastic job in far less time it would take you (or me) to do this manually. Full disclosure - I often use AI to edit specific areas of a image (ie, removing glasses glare).
But you want your headshot so show the best of YOU – with a look that creates an impression that shows the best of who you are. The image that a potential employer will look at and feel you look like a good potential candidate. The image that a potential client will look at and feel like they want to meet or speak with you. Or the look that says you’re someone who can help you. And, it needs to be authentic.
Look at the images below – each one conveys something a bit different about each person – and that’s the point. There is a feeling, an emotion that comes through – that look was created by the collaboration between the photographer and the subject being photographed. They’re real, authentic, capturing a moment in time – truth. And at the end of the day, what clients/prospective employers want is truth.
