Adventures with AI: Updating My Headshot [2 Attempts: Fail]

One of the best ways to figure out how AI can help you – and how it can’t – is to play with it.

That’s how I got started – and that’s how I created my online training workshops and intensives to help other marketers use AI to increase their productivity.

So I decided to see if ChatGPT could help me update my professional headshot.

Backstory

I loved it then, and I love it now. It is, hands down, the best professional headshot I’ve ever had.

Did I mention, this headshot-that-I-love was taken in 2013. Yes, that was 25 years ago. I have been thinking that I’m overdue for an update.

Then I had an idea – could ChatGPT just age-up my most recent headshot? I gave it a try.

First Attempt

I was just playing around, so I uploaded the headshot (above) to the general version of ChatGPT (none of my custom GPTs seemed like a good fit for this project, although I do wonder if I could create one).

I asked the ChatGPT to age it 10 years (yes, the headshot is 12 years old, so I was kind of asking it to make me look 2 years younger in the picture than I do today).

Below are a few recent pictures of me – how do you think ChatGPT did?

I shared this experience on LinkedIn and my contacts there weren’t big fans of the AI’s image editing skills. Neither was I.

I was just going to let this go, just chalk it up to one more thing that ChatGPT wasn’t very good at yet. But then I had a thought.

In my other work with GPTs, I’d found that the more information you give it, the better job it does. And I realized that, while I had provided the 12-year-old headshot, I had not provided any recent photos of me.

Would the output be better with more input?

Second Attempt

So I tried again.

This time, I uploaded the most recent headshot and 9 recent photos of me (including the 4 above). In 5 of the 9 photos I was wearing glasses (usually the blue pair you see above, which are my favorites).

And I asked it to modify the headshot so that it looks more like I look now.

And once it had acknowledged the uploads, it went further…

And even addressed the issues of my glasses… and the background

Psyched, I asked for versions with and without my glasses as well as a couple of style options. It provided a little more detail on all the versions it would provide and then said it would update me again very soon.

I asked how long, wondering whether to wait or move on to another project and check back later. It responded:

When I said “Awesome! Thank you!” it responded that it would be worth the wait.

I think it was the next morning when I remembered I had started this and went back to it. There was nothing new in the Chat.

Better than the first one, and if I had been promised just one image I probably would have been okay with this. I am disappointed that while the color of the glasses is right, the GPT couldn’t recreate the subtle pattern of the frames.

I don’t think I would use this in place of the original headshot, but it’s not bad.

I explained that I did not disklike it, but what about the version without my glasses and the additional versions with different backgrounds.

The GPT agreed that this was just the first image. it reiterated the plan, said that it was taking a bit longer than expected because it was detailed work, and that it would have the next set of previews for me in 20 to 30 minutes.

Hours later, I checked in again. It said it was packaging everything up right now and would have it to me shortly.

Hours later, still nothing. I asked for status again. This time it delivered four images of people I do not know who do not look like me (below), then restated the original project scope which it had sent, with multiple versions, and said it was finalizing them.

Hours later, I asked for another status update.

This time the response was very different.

And then it provided me with detailed information on how to DIY my headshot.

This is fine — I just wish it had done this earlier. This experience lasted more than 24 hours. And I didn’t have much to show for it at the end.

In Closing

I decided to use one of my recent photos as my new headshot.

It’s a more recent picture of me, and it’s a more casual look, which I think is fine for these post-COVID times (curious as to which one? Visit my LinkedIn profile, and while you’re there follow or connect with me — mention the AI Headshot challenge!). But… I reserve the right to go back to my favorite professional headshot, even though it’s 12 years old, at any time.

This experience reminded me of an earlier situation I had with ChatGPT – it didn’t involve images, but it was a waste of time as the ChatGPT initially agreed to help me, then put me off, and finally just left me down.

Is there a different AI tool that might do a better job? Possibly. I went with the tool I was most familiar with, so I may try this again with another one.

Final words…

Do play with ChatGPT or the AI tool of your choice. Today’s AI tools are (a) the worst ones you’ll ever use (they’re getting better every day) and (b) the least expensive ones you’ll ever use (right now the price is subsidized; OpenAI and the others aren’t profitable on their own).

But know that it can’t do absolutely everything we ask it – not well at least – yet. I do think that as the technology progresses there will be more and more uses for it.

Until next time,

jj

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Jeanne Jennings is a recognized industry expert, consultant, trainer, speaker, and author on email marketing strategy and tactics. In 2001 she founded Email Optimization Shop, a boutique email marketing consultancy; she is their lead strategist. Email Optimization Shop helps organizations make their email marketing more effective and more profitable. Learn more at www.EmailOpShop.com.