People Are Discovering This Photo-Editing Hack That Transforms Your Everyday Pics Into Headshots, So I Had To Try It

If you're a working professional, then you likely know how expensive headshots can be. On average, they'll cost you anywhere between $150-$450 out of pocket, and I honestly just don't have that kind of money laying around.

That's why I was THRILLED when a video by TikTok user @amy_king_v went viral. In the clip, Amy uses Canva's new AI photo editing tool to transform one of her regular photos into a professional-looking headshot within seconds. You can see the magic below:

TikTok: @amy_king_v / Via tiktok.com

Similar to the other 10.3 million viewers who stumbled across the video, I was curious about the possibilities and immediately searched through my Instagram profile for a photo I thought had potential. Here's what I chose:

Canva's AI tool is free to access for anyone with a login. I already had an account so, to get things started, I plopped the photo into an Instagram post template.

(You can use any template style, but I chose the Instagram square because it felt close to a headshot's classic shape.)

Then, you'll want to click once on your image and once on the Edit Photo button.

The left side of your screen will populate a few editing options. We'll be working with the Beta AI tool called Magic Edit.

The AI will prompt you to outline whatever it is you'd like to edit within your photo. In Amy's video, she highlighted her torso and arms to generate new, work-appropriate tops. And since these spaghetti straps wouldn't fly in an office, I'll be doing the same for my photo.

When you're done, click continue, and a box will pop up that asks you to "describe what to generate." So, I wrote "professional shirt."

And that's where everything went wrong. Unlike Amy, I wasn't given four cute options to choose from. Instead, the AI morphed my body, turned it a different way than I was facing, and completely got rid of my arms. And this was the best option! The others featured heavy blurs and scrambled letters across my chest.

There's a button under the photo options that says "Generate New Results," so I tried that but to no avail. The new images still turned my torso around. But, then I wondered if perhaps this tool works better when the subject is facing straight toward the camera. 🤔

With that in mind, I refined my Instagram search. (To be clear, I think I could get away with this outfit in a headshot. But it was the only forward-facing photo I had, and some offices still require women to put their shoulders away. So, here's what we're working with!)

Repeating the steps above, I outlined my second option and crossed my fingers.

At first...the options were similarly odd. They mostly consisted of phrases written across my torso.

But after generating more, I actually got new shirts! This one is giving Terminator, but at least the tool is working.

And after a third regeneration, I got a top that covered my shoulders and matched my outfit. I kind of feel like an F1 car technician.

Here's the new headshot. Not really my style, but hey. A win is a win!

After trying out the tool, I'd recommend playing around with the different options until you get something you like. Even if it takes a few tries, the time commitment only cost me about 10 minutes total, and that certainly beats a two-hour-long session and hundreds of dollars.

Have you tried the tool? Let me know how things went in the comments below.