Published October 26, 2026

How Much Do Professional Headshots Cost in 2026?

A professional headshot is one of the cheapest career investments you can make, and one of the easiest to overpay for. Prices swing from about $50 to well over $1,000 for what looks like the same photo on a LinkedIn profile.

Here's what actually drives the price, what you get at each level, and how to pay less without ending up with a photo that doesn't look like you.

The short answer

Expect three broad tiers in most cities:

• Around $50 to $150: a short studio or event session, often 15 minutes, with one or two retouched images. Sometimes a headshot booth at a conference or a franchise studio.
• Around $150 to $500: a standard studio or on-location portrait session with a photographer, 30 to 60 minutes, several wardrobe changes and a handful of retouched finals.
• Around $500 to $1,000+: corporate or executive sessions, often with a hair and makeup artist, a stylist, multiple lighting setups and a wider set of finals for a team or a full personal brand library.

For most working professionals — a job seeker, freelancer, consultant or sales lead who needs one credible photo for LinkedIn, a CV and a website — the middle and top tiers are more than the job requires.

That gap is why still. exists: upload 3 recent selfies, get 30 to 70 professional headshots in about 10 minutes, one-time from $24, no photoshoot and no subscription.

What you're actually paying for

Almost none of the price of a headshot is the camera. A photographer's fee covers:

1. Their time — the session itself, plus culling, retouching and delivery. A 30-minute shoot is usually several hours of work behind the scenes.
2. The studio — rent, lighting, backdrops, insurance, and the cost of the days the studio sits empty.
3. Extra people — hair, makeup, an assistant, a retoucher.
4. The location — city-centre studio rates are not the same as a suburban one.
5. Their calendar — a photographer who shoots 4 clients a week has to charge more per client than one who shoots 20.

Your face costs the same to photograph either way. What changes is how much overhead sits between you and the final file.

The hidden costs people forget

When you compare quotes, add these to the sticker price:

• Hair and makeup. Often $100 to $250 extra, and rarely included.
• Retouching. Some photographers include 2 images and charge per additional file.
• Rush delivery. Same-week turnaround is frequently a paid add-on.
• Usage rights. Some quotes cover personal use only; commercial use for a company site can cost more.
• Travel and time off. Half a day out of your calendar, plus getting there and back.
• The reshoot. If you change your hair, glasses or role in three years, you pay again from scratch.

That last one is the expensive part, and it's the least visible on a quote.

What AI headshots cost, honestly

AI headshots are priced as a one-time product rather than a session. At still., a set is from $24: you upload 3 recent selfies, choose a style, and get 30 to 70 headshots in about 10 minutes. There's no subscription, edit credits are included, and if the result isn't usable there's a free retry.

A few honest caveats, because they matter more than the price:

• You need 3 good selfies. Good light, your face clear, no sunglasses or hats. Bad inputs give bad outputs, in any system.
• It's a likeness, not a time machine. It should look like you on a good day, not like a different person.
• Very specific needs still want a human. A formal corporate shoot with a house style, a specific brand backdrop or a stylist on set is a photographer's job.

If you want the detail on how the process works and what it does with your photos, that's on the still. homepage.

When a photographer is worth it

Spend on a photographer when:

• Your company has a defined visual standard and someone to enforce it.
• You need something beyond a headshot — full-body shots, environmental portraits, team photos on location.
• You want the experience of being directed, with someone adjusting your posture and light in real time.

All of those are real reasons. None of them is "so I have a photo for LinkedIn."

When an AI headshot is enough

Use still. when you need one or a few credible, professional photos of you — for a LinkedIn profile, a CV, a company bio page, a speaker page, a newsletter byline, a freelance portfolio — and you don't want to book a studio to get them.

It's also how a lot of people handle the team problem: hiring one person at a time and buying a set each, instead of coordinating a shoot day for twelve schedules.

A quick way to decide

Ask one question: what is this photo for?

• LinkedIn, CV, bio page, email signature → a $24 set gets you there today.
• Company-wide standard, stylist, art direction → budget for a studio.
• Both → many people use an AI set now for speed and book a shoot later for the hero images.

Start with the cheap option, not the expensive one

You can always spend more later. It's harder to get back a half-day and a $500 invoice for a photo you end up cropping to a circle.

Upload 3 selfies to still., pick a style, and see what comes back in about 10 minutes. If it isn't right, the retry is free — and you'll know exactly what you want before you ever pay a photographer.

AI-generated by Holo (openai/gpt-image-2.5). No attribution required.