AI WORLD HQTurn a casual selfie into a clean LinkedIn headshot with one Gemini prompt
A copy-paste prompt template that swaps a phone selfie for a tidy, professional-looking headshot with a simple background.
This guide was written by AI. It passed automated fact and quality checks, and our editor spot-checks published guides every day.
See AI World HQ first on GoogleAdd us as a preferred source and our stories show up higher in Google’s Top Stories.Add on GoogleYou have a decent selfie on your phone and a LinkedIn profile that still shows a logo, an old vacation photo, or no photo at all. The good news: Google's Gemini (the AI assistant that lives at gemini.google.com and in the Gemini mobile app) can take that one casual photo and reimagine it as a tidy headshot with a simple background, in roughly the time it takes to boil water. This guide gives you a copy-paste prompt and walks you through every click.
💡 Tip: tap a step’s number when you finish it — a green tick appears and your browser remembers how far you got.
- A Google account (the same one you use for Gmail or YouTube).
- The Gemini app on your phone, or the gemini.google.com website on a computer. Both work the same way for this task.
- One clear selfie — face the camera, even lighting, no sunglasses, nothing covering your face. A simple background in the selfie helps.
- About 5–10 minutes total.
- Heads-up: image generation in Gemini may sit behind a paid plan depending on your region and account. The free tier usually offers a small number of image generations per day. If you hit a limit, you'll see a message in the chat saying so.
⚠️ What this guide can — and cannot — do. Gemini can generate a new image based on your selfie, but it is still an AI creation, not a real photo. It will not look identical to you, and it may slightly change your face, hair, or features. Treat the result as a polished starting point, and check your platform's rules before uploading it as your official headshot.
Paste the headshot prompt
Now click into the text box and paste the prompt below. The wording matters: it tells Gemini what kind of image to make, what kind of background to use, and that you want a head-and-shoulders crop (the kind LinkedIn prefers). Do not edit the wording yet — paste it as-is for your first try, then adjust later.
Look at the attached selfie. Generate a new image of me as a professional
LinkedIn headshot. Keep my face, hair color, and general appearance the same.
Use a soft, even studio light, a plain light gray background, and frame me
from the chest up. I am wearing a simple, neutral top. The photo should look
clean, friendly, and suitable for a public profile picture.
Gemini starts generating — you'll see a small spinner, then a loading bar, and finally the new image appears in the chat.
- Wearing sunglasses, a hat, or a face covering in the original selfie. The AI has trouble rebuilding features it can't see. Take a quick new selfie in even indoor light before you start.
- Asking for too many things at once in the prompt. "Office background, formal suit, holding a coffee cup, cinematic lighting" tends to confuse the result. Start simple, then add one change at a time in Step 4.
- Uploading a group photo or a very small thumbnail. Gemini needs a clear, single face to work with. Crop the photo first on your phone, or pick a different selfie.
Open Gemini right now and paste the prompt from Step 3 with any selfie you have on your phone. Spend two minutes on the first result, then send one short follow-up like "softer light, lighter background" to see how a small change shifts the whole image. You'll have a headshot by the time your coffee is ready.
❓ Quick questions
How long does this take?
About 6 minutes — the guide has 6 steps, and you can tick each one off as you go.
Which tool do I need?
This guide uses Google Gemini — but the approach works very similarly in other AI assistants.
Do I need to prepare anything?
- A Google account (the same one you use for Gmail or YouTube).
- The Gemini app on your phone, or the gemini.google.com website on a computer. Both work the same way for this task.
- One clear selfie — face the camera, even lighting, no sunglasses, nothing covering your face. A simple background in the selfie helps.
- About 5–10 minutes total.
- Heads-up: image generation in Gemini may sit behind a paid plan depending on your region and account. The free tier usually offers a small number of image generations per day. If you hit a limit, you'll see a message in the chat saying so.
⚠️ What this guide can — and cannot — do. Gemini can generate a new image based on your selfie, but it is still an AI creation, not a real photo. It will not look identical to you, and it may slightly change your face, hair, or features. Treat the result as a polished starting point, and check your platform's rules before uploading it as your official headshot.
What mistakes should I avoid?
- Wearing sunglasses, a hat, or a face covering in the original selfie. The AI has trouble rebuilding features it can't see. Take a quick new selfie in even indoor light before you start.
- Asking for too many things at once in the prompt. "Office background, formal suit, holding a coffee cup, cinematic lighting" tends to confuse the result. Start simple, then add one change at a time in Step 4.
- Uploading a group photo or a very small thumbnail. Gemini needs a clear, single face to work with. Crop the photo first on your phone, or pick a different selfie.
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✦ Generated by AI in AI World HQ's automated newsroom, written in plain language. Checked by automated fact and quality gates, and our editor spot-checks published guides every day. Spot a mistake? Use the buttons above.
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