When you’re just starting out as a solopreneur, every dollar matters. You want your brand to look polished, your Instagram to feel cohesive, and your content to communicate trust and professionalism. But hiring a professional photographer? That can easily set you back hundreds—sometimes thousands.
Sure, there’s value in getting high-quality, professional photos. You pay once, get it done, and reuse them for years… right?
Well, maybe not. Truth is, your business might evolve. Your style might shift. What once felt “so me” may feel dated or out-of-sync within two years. And then what? Pay for another round of professional shots?
That got me thinking: is there a more flexible, affordable way to create good-enough images that still feel personal and high-quality?
What if AI could help?
What I’m Trying to Do
I’m experimenting with generating my own personal photos using AI—pictures I can use for social media, blog posts, maybe even landing pages.
But I’m setting some ground rules. I want:
- Front-facing shots (standing or sitting),
- Full-body photos (to allow contextual, background-rich edits),
- Well-lit, clean visuals, and
- A few portraits for facial clarity.
Limiting the scope helps the AI model focus. Fewer variations mean better performance when fine-tuning the model. And just like real photography—garbage in, garbage out. The quality of what you feed the model matters a lot.
My Approach So Far
1. Data Curation
I started by taking a bunch of photos of myself. But instead of dumping them all into the model, I carefully picked the best ones—well-lit, diverse poses, clear resolution. I even touched up a few manually to bring out details I want the model to preserve.
2. LoRa Training
I’m using a method called LoRa, a lightweight way to fine-tune large AI image models without needing to retrain everything from scratch. It’s quick, affordable, and works by adding a small adapter layer to the main model.
I’m following an online tool and tutorial for this. Yes, there’s a small cost involved—but it saves time, which I value more right now.
3. Testing and Iterating
Once trained, I’ll generate new photos and see if they hold up. If they don’t? I’ll tweak, retrain, try again. The goal is to get decent results I can actually use—without needing Photoshop skills or expensive software.
Open Questions I’m Still Wrestling With
- How many photos do I need to train the model well?
- Is it better to vary lighting conditions or keep them consistent?
- Will the AI output be good enough out of the gate—or will I need to polish everything in post?
- And what if I want to add more people into the image? How smart is the model really?
Where Does This Leave Photographers?
I don’t believe professional photography is dead. Far from it. I still think I’ll hire a photographer one day—for a rebrand, a product launch, a season when I just want to focus on content creation instead of image generation.
But if AI can get me 80% of the way there—especially in these early days—why not use it?
Plus, learning how to generate good photos now might give me a head start. AI will only get better. It’s not about replacing photographers. It’s about buying time, gaining flexibility, and staying agile as a solo creator.
If you’re a solopreneur, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Would you try something like this?
Or do you still swear by pro shots?
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