Why an IU Student on a Budget Should Choose a Real Headshot Over an AI Headshot

Summary

John addresses the budget-conscious IU student who wonders whether a free AI-generated headshot is good enough. His honest answer is that they can try AI, but the real problem is that people will know it’s fake the moment the student shows up and doesn’t actually look like the generated image. He emphasizes that a headshot needs to match the real person walking through the door. On the money side, John says he works hard to keep his pricing competitive, especially for groups: if a student rounds up five or ten roommates or classmates, he runs aggressive group deals that get everyone taken care of without wrecking a tight college budget. The message is that a real, affordable headshot beats a fake one that falls apart in person.

Answer

A lot of people tell me, well, I don’t have the budget for a professional headshot because I’m poor and young and broke and I’m in college and whatever the sad story is. And that’s all true, I’m sure. But they ask me, can’t I just generate an AI headshot and look super legit, and it’ll just be fake and then everyone will think I’m great? And the short answer is, sure, you could try that, why not, give it a go. But the real truth is that people are going to know it’s fake when you walk up and you don’t really look like the AI image that you created. As far as budgets and pricing go, I try to be very competitive with my pricing, especially with groups. So if you had five or ten people who you lived with or who you were in classes with, we run ridiculously competitive deals and we can get y’all straightened out really, really well for something that won’t break your precious, fragile college bank account.