I Uploaded My Driver’s-License Photo to This AI Headshot App and Now I Look Like I Belong on a Forbes 30 Under 30 List

The Moment I Hit Rock Bottom

Last Thursday, 9:47 p.m. I realized my current LinkedIn headshot was literally a cropped Zoom screenshot from 2021. You could see half my kitchen in the background and a Post-it that says “buy milk.” I opened three photographer websites. Cheapest rush session: $680 + tax. I closed the tabs, poured whiskey, and started googling “please just make me look employable.”

The App That Should Probably Be Illegal: Secta Labs

Everyone’s screaming about BetterPic and HeadshotPro. Cool. They’re great. Secta Labs is the one nobody name-drops because they’re too busy quietly printing money with their new face. Process:

1. Upload 12–25 normal photos (they literally accept your worst driver’s-license disaster).
2. Pick a package ($49–$129).
3. Wait 20–40 minutes.
4. Receive 150–400 headshots that look like a celebrity stylist and a Hollywood retoucher owed you favors.

These aren’t “AI-ish.” These are the kind of photos that make investors whisper “We need to back whatever this person is doing.”

What Actually Happens When You Use It

• It fixes asymmetrical eyebrows I’ve had since birth
• It gives you perfect hair volume even if your training pics are post-gym sweaty mess
• It puts you in clothes you’ve never tried on but instantly want to buy
• It generates outdoor golden-hour shots even though you live in a basement
• My favorite: the “slight smile + direct eye contact” variant that apparently increases reply rates by 300 % (I tested it, the data is obscene)

I updated everything: LinkedIn, X, company site, even my WhatsApp profile pic. Within 48 hours:

• 3 podcast invites
• 1 cold outreach that started with “Saw your headshot and knew I had to message”
• My mom sent it to relatives with the caption “finally my son looks like a doctor”

Current 2025 Headshot App Ranking (No Cap)

1. Secta Labs – Current undefeated champion for natural skin texture and emotional range
2. TryOnHeadshot – Best clothing variety and fastest turnaround
3. BetterPic – Most consistent across ethnicities and ages
4. HeadshotPro – Safest for BigCorp compliance teams
5. Dreamwave – Artsiest results (great if you’re a designer or musician)

The Part That Keeps Me Up at Night

I now make part of my income selling “personal branding packages” to executives. 90 % of the work is uploading their selfies to Secta and picking the best 12 shots. I charge $1,500. They thank me in tears.

Stop Reading and Do This Instead

1. Open your camera roll right now.
2. Find the 15 least flattering photos of your face (yes, the bad ones train it better).
3. Go to secta.ai
4. Use code “SECTANOV2025” for 20 % off (it’s real, I begged them).
5. Come back here in 40 minutes and tell me your life didn’t just level up.

I’ll wait. (But not with my old headshot anymore.) 😈

Who’s doing it tonight? First 10 people  this headshot app to reply with their “before” get a brutal but loving roast from me personally. Let’s go.