Austin ERAS headshot photographer
ERAS and residency application headshots built to the upload spec.
Coached studio sessions for fourth-year medical students, IMG applicants, and fellowship candidates across Austin. Composed for the MyERAS and ResidencyCAS upload. Sized for LinkedIn, program profiles, and every surface your face lands on after Match.
ERAS sessions from $395, one retouched image included · Austin metro studio · Same-week availability · Final files in three business days
Who this is for
For residency applicants, IMGs, and fellowship candidates.
An ERAS photo does specific work. It loads small, on a screen, beside your name. It sits in the file a program opens before anyone has met you. It is the one part of the application that gets looked at before it gets read. The upload path differs by applicant. The file does not.
US MD and DO applicants.The photo is optional in MyERAS. Optional is not the same as unnoticed. Files arrive sized and named for the slot.
IMG applicants.Your file clears ECFMG before it reaches MyERAS. That is a step US applicants do not have, and it is worth building into your timing.
EM and OB-GYN applicants.ResidencyCAS will not let you submit without one. Not optional, not a placeholder, not something to sort out in the last week. Both formats come out of one session.
Fellowship applicants.Your document office uploads it for you, so the file has to be right before it leaves your hands. The one that cleared ERAS clears this too.
Meeting the upload spec
Built for the file the portal will take.
MyERAS and ResidencyCAS want the same thing: a tight crop on the face, a neutral background, and a file small enough to clear the uploader. A phone photo fails on size before anyone looks at the crop. Every frame is composed and every file is sized to that spec before it leaves the studio so it goes up on the first attempt, not the third.
- AAMC does not specify what you wear.Attire, background, and grooming are not in the requirements. They get decided in the room, on the day, with direction, and that part is the photographer's problem, not yours.
- The spec is re-checked each cycle, not remembered.Requirements are confirmed against AAMC's current published guidance before the session, and the file is built to what the portal is asking for now.
- One session covers the reuse.Program profiles, virtual interview screens, a hospital badge, a first faculty bio. The same frame is sized for those on the way out, so the ERAS crop is not the only thing you leave with.
The requirements
What ERAS asks for, and what it does not.
Taken directly from AAMC and ECFMG applicant documentation rather than restated secondhand. Last checked 2 September 2026. Requirements are reviewed again before each cycle.
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| File format | JPG or PNG |
| Maximum file size | 150 KB |
| Dimensions | 2.5 x 3.5 inches |
| Resolution | 150 DPI |
| Color or black and white | Not specified |
Composition
- A clear image
- Full front view of head and shoulders
- Face centered in the frame
- Natural expression, eyes open, looking directly ahead
On color. No AAMC or ECFMG document found in this check requires a color photo, and none rules out black and white. Several pages state that color is required. That claim does not trace back to a primary source.
Sessions are shot in color as standard. If you want black and white, say so at booking.
Three sessions. One standard.
Pick the session that matches what you need the photos for. Every one includes professional lighting, coached posing, and image review on screen before you leave. All three produce a file built to the ERAS spec.
Professional Session
More than the one upload file. Multiple outfits and backgrounds, for the program profile and the LinkedIn photo as well.
Up to 1-hour session
- Multiple outfits and backgrounds
- Optional three-quarter length frames
- ERAS-ready file included
- Coached posing throughout
- 3 to 4 images typical
Studio Headshot
One look, one background, and a file sized for MyERAS and ResidencyCAS before it leaves the studio.
Session length confirmed at booking
- One outfit, single look
- ERAS-ready file included
- Coached posing throughout
- In-session image review
- 1 to 2 images typical
Executive Portrait
The long sitting. Headshots plus seated, three-quarter, and full-length frames, for a set that outlasts the application.
2-hour private session
- Unlimited wardrobe changes
- Headshots, three-quarter, seated, full-length
- ERAS-ready file included
- Advanced posing and refinement
- 5 to 7 images typical
How pricing works. The session fee covers studio time, lighting, coaching, and image review. One retouched image is included with every session. Additional retouched images are selected after the session, so you pay only for the ones you actually use.
One retouched image is included.
Chosen on screen after the session, not bought up front.
$95 each at three or more. No minimum, no package. Most applicants take one for the upload and keep a second for LinkedIn.
Applying with classmates? Sessions run back to back on the same day. Call the studio and the timing gets sorted in one conversation.
Recent studio sessions
Residency headshots that hold up on screen, at small size.
Austin studio · 2025 to 2026
The process
From booking to ERAS-ready files in three business days.
Brief and prep.
Book online or call the studio. A prep email follows within one business day with wardrobe guidance and confirmation of which upload path applies to you. No guesswork before the session.
Coached session.
Posture, chin angle, expression, and hand placement. Every shot is directed. You do not need to know how to pose. Images are reviewed on screen during the session so you choose your selects before you leave the studio.
Formatted and delivered.
Selected images are retouched by hand, sized to the upload spec, and delivered within three business days. Ready to upload, not just ready to look at.
Where these photos get used
One session that covers every place this photo lands.
01
Clearing the upload on the first try.
A file that misses the spec bounces, and it bounces at the worst possible point in the process. Every file is checked against the current requirement before it is delivered so the upload is a non-event rather than a problem to solve late.
02
Sitting in a file next to hundreds of others.
The photo loads small, beside your name, often weeks after you uploaded it. Composition holds the eyes and jawline at that size so the face still reads clearly instead of dissolving into a thumbnail.
03
Standing up on interview day.
Programs run interviews off the same application file the photo sits in. The frame is built to look like you on an ordinary day, not a version of you that has to be explained in person.
04
Outlasting the application.
The same face turns up on a program profile, a hospital badge, a first faculty bio, and LinkedIn. Files are delivered sized for those uses, not only for the one the portal asked about.
Common questions
What applicants ask before they book.
What size does the ERAS photo need to be?
JPG or PNG, 2.5 by 3.5 inches, 150 DPI, and no larger than 150 KB. Those are AAMC and ECFMG's own published values, last checked 2 September 2026. Every file leaves the studio already at that spec, so there is nothing to resize.
Does the ERAS photo have to be in color?
No document we could find says so. Neither AAMC nor ECFMG requires color or rules out black and white, even though a number of pages state that color is required. Sessions are shot in color as standard. If you want black and white, say so at booking.
Can I just take the photo myself?
You can, and the usual failure is file size rather than the picture. A phone photo runs several megabytes against a 150 KB ceiling, so it fails on upload before anyone looks at the crop or the background. Compressing it down that far by hand is where the quality goes.
What should I wear?
This is not an AAMC rule, it is our recommendation. Solid, dark professional attire, nothing with a busy pattern. Fine checks and stripes break up once the file is compressed to 150 KB. A wardrobe guide is sent when you book.
When should I book?
Applications open in September and programs begin reviewing them in late September, so the file needs to exist well before that. Book with enough room that the session is not the week of the deadline. Same-week availability is usually there if you are already late.
I am an IMG. Is anything different for me?
The photo is identical. The route is not: your file clears ECFMG before it reaches MyERAS, which is a step US applicants do not have. Worth building into your timing rather than discovering late.
I am applying through ResidencyCAS. Is that different?
Yes, and it matters. ResidencyCAS treats the headshot as a required field that blocks submission, where MyERAS leaves it optional. If you are applying EM or OB-GYN, you cannot submit without one. Both formats come out of the same session.
How much does an ERAS headshot cost?
The Studio Headshot session is $395, the Professional Session is $495, and the Executive Portrait is $695. Retouched images are $125 each, or $95 each at three or more, and are chosen after the session rather than bought up front.
Can I use the photo for anything besides ERAS?
Yes, and most people do. The same frame carries into LinkedIn, program profiles, a hospital badge, and a first faculty bio. Files are delivered sized for those uses, not only for the portal.
More on what we do
ERAS residency headshot photographer in Austin.
ATX Headshots is a dedicated headshot studio serving medical residency applicants across the Austin metro. 21 years behind the camera. 11 years specializing in professional headshots. Individual ERAS sessions available six days a week by appointment.
ERAS and ResidencyCAS headshots, done to spec.
Sessions formatted to the exact MyERAS and ResidencyCAS file requirements: 2.5 by 3.5 inches, 150 DPI, under 150KB. Built for this cycle and the ones after it. View individual session details.
Medical residency headshots for IMG and EM/OB-GYN applicants.
IMG applicants routed through the MyIntealth portal, EM and OB-GYN applicants formatted for ResidencyCAS's required-field upload. Same studio, same spec, formatted for whichever path applies to you.
LinkedIn and hospital-profile headshots for future physicians.
The same session that clears your ERAS upload also covers LinkedIn and hospital directory profiles, formatted for reuse well past Match Day. View LinkedIn Headshot sessions.
Book your ERAS session
Hire ATX Headshots for your ERAS file.
Individual ERAS sessions in the Austin metro. Formatted to the MyERAS and ResidencyCAS spec, delivered within three business days.
Or call the studio directly at (512) 790-8298. Response within one business day.
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