What a photoshoot actually costs, and what replaces which parts
A booked session is not only the photographer's fee. It is finding one, waiting for a slot, travelling, two hours of being photographed, then one to three weeks before you see anything. Worth knowing what each part is buying before deciding what can be replaced.
What you are paying for in a real session
Four things, and only two of them are the photographer. First, lighting equipment and the knowledge of where to put it. Second, a location, whether a studio or a scouted spot. Third, direction: someone telling you what to do with your hands and catching the moment your expression stops being tense. Fourth, selection and editing afterwards.
Lighting and location are the parts that generate well, because they are circumstances rather than judgement. Direction is the part that does not, because it is a person reading you in real time. Selection is somewhere in between, which is why a score on the output is useful.
The honest comparison
A generated set gets you varied lighting setups and varied locations in about a minute each, for the price of a subscription rather than a session. What it does not get you is someone in the room noticing that your shoulders are up around your ears.
For headshots and profile photos, which are about credibility and recognisability rather than art direction, that trade is usually worth taking. For a wedding, a brand campaign or anything where the photograph itself is the product, it is not, and you should book a photographer.
What a generated set is genuinely better at
Variety per unit of effort. A session gives you one day, one wardrobe and usually one or two setups. A generated set gives you a studio frame, a street frame, a cafe frame and an office frame from the same three selfies, which is closer to what a profile actually needs than forty variations of one setup.
Also iteration. If you decide in three months that you want a warmer set, you do not rebook anything.
The part worth being careful about
A photographer does not change your face. Image models will, unless actively prevented, because they drift toward the flattering average: narrower jaw, cleaner skin, more symmetry, a few years off.
That is the one respect in which a generated set can be worse than a real session rather than merely different, and it is the thing to check first in anything you get back. The test is simple: show it to someone who knows you. "Same person, different day" is the pass. "You look great in that one" is the fail.
What the alternatives cost
Photographer, half day session
$200 to $500 · 1 to 3 weeks
Studio chain retake
$50 to $120 · Same day, one setup
Corporate on-site shoot
$75 to $150 per person · Whenever it is scheduled
100xglow
From $14.99 a month · About a minute per photo
Where these photos go
Settings that work
Common questions
How much does a photoshoot cost?
A half day headshot session with a photographer typically runs $200 to $500, plus travel and a wait of one to three weeks for edited files.
Can AI replace a photographer?
For headshots and profile photos, largely yes, because those depend on lighting and location rather than direction. For weddings, events and brand campaigns, no.
What does a photographer do that AI cannot?
Direction. Someone in the room noticing your shoulders are tense and getting a real expression out of you is the part that does not generate.
How long does an AI photoshoot take?
About a minute per photo, from selfies you already have. There is nothing to schedule.
What do I need to provide?
1 to 3 selfies, front on and reasonably lit. Different angles give a better result than a single photo, however good it is.
How do I know if the result is any good?
Show it to someone who knows you. If they say "same person, different day", it worked. If they say you look great in it, the face has been changed.
From $14.99/mo · Cancel anytime