Upload the Right File for a Sharp, Professional AI Headshot
Your photo's file format and size determine your result's quality. Upload a high-res JPG or PNG for best detail. Avoid tiny, blurry, or compressed screenshots.
Why Your File Choice Dictates Your Headshot Quality
Think of your uploaded photo as the raw clay for a sculptor. You can't get a detailed bust from a lump of mud. That's what a blurry, pixelated file gives the system: mud. I once had a client send a screenshot they'd saved from a video call. The result looked like a watercolor painting of their face, all soft edges and zero definition. The software can only work with the information you provide. A great source photo means crisp eyes, individual hairs, and realistic skin texture. A bad one guarantees a smudgy, artificial-looking result you'll never use.
The Two Formats That Work Best: JPG and PNG
Stick to these two. They're the universal language for this process. Use a standard JPG from your phone or camera. It's perfectly fine. Choose a PNG if your image has a simple, solid-color background you want to keep transparent—like a clean white or gray wall. That's the only real reason to pick PNG over JPG. Avoid HEIC, TIFF, WEBP, or BMP files. They often cause errors, fail to upload, or get misinterpreted. Converting a weird file to a JPG is a five-second fix that saves you fifteen minutes of frustration.
The Exact Pixel Dimensions You Should Aim For
Forget megapixels. Think in terms of face pixels. Your goal is a photo where your face from the top of your head to your chin is at least 1000 pixels tall. Open your photo on a computer, zoom in, and look at your eyes. Can you see clear details in the iris? If your face is a tiny 400-pixel blob in a huge landscape shot, the software is trying to find detail that isn't there. A perfect source is a portrait where your head and shoulders fill most of the frame. Here's a quick checklist for your file:
- Minimum dimensions: 1500 pixels on the longest side.
- Your face height (chin to forehead): 1000 pixels or more.
- File size between 500 KB and 10 MB.
A file under 200 KB is almost always too small. One over 20 MB is likely an uncompressed giant that won't upload any faster or give better results.
The Single Biggest Upload Mistake to Avoid
People upload group photos and hope the system will magically isolate them. It can't. It will try to merge features from all faces into one terrifying hybrid. I saw a result from a wedding photo where the person got a headshot with their spouse's smile and their sibling's nose. Always, always crop to a solo shot of yourself first. The background can be messy, but you must be the only person in the frame. This isn't a minor tip—it's the rule that prevents 90% of the truly bizarre outcomes.
How to Check and Prepare Your Photos Now
Open your photo folder and sort by file size. Any portrait under 500 KB is suspect. Click on it. Zoom to 100%. Is your face sharp? If it gets fuzzy or blocky, discard it. Find a well-lit selfie from your phone's main camera, not the front-facing one if you can help it. The rear camera is almost always higher quality. Email it to yourself and choose "Actual Size" when sending. That's your file. If you're on a computer, use any basic photo viewer to crop in tightly on your face and shoulders, then save it as a new JPG. This two-minute audit is more valuable than spending an hour trying to fix a bad result.
Your headshot is only as good as the photo you start with. Grab that sharp, solo, well-cropped JPG, and you've already done the hardest part. The rest is just letting the technology do its job with good material.