Do you need to get a professional headshot photo for your LinkedIn profile page?

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There are certain circumstances why you do not need a professional headshot for your Linkedin profile page.
Firstly if you have a partner or a friend who has a good eye and a decent DSLR camera, you can ask them to help you out with your profile photo.
A long or portrait lens is ideal, and if they can remember to place you on a plain background and use soft diffused light to even out any harsh shadows. Failing this, then if you have a decent camera or phone with a self-timer and plenty of time to test different angles and positions to get a half-decent headshot, then you might be able to avoid paying for a professional profile photo.
If you do not have the above, then it is not a good idea to take your own LinkedIn profile photo. Remember your Linkedin page is your shopfront to your business community, and a poor profile photo will reflect badly on you and your business abilities. Trying to get away with using an old family or holiday photo is below standard. Another bad idea is to use a selfie that you have captured on your phone. These always look amateurish, and you don’t want to send out that impression about your profession.
If you fall into the latter situation, then budget for a professional corporate headshot. Select a corporate portrait photographer who has a good portfolio of business headshota, and if you have any sample profile photos you have seen on company websites or LinkedIn, then use these to guide the photographer to the type of photo you want. Let the photographer guide you regarding stance, lighting and expressions. Also, they will have high-end post-production software to add a pure web-friendly white background and remove any blemishes and spots that need tidying up.

You will end up with a quality corporate headshot you can use across all business media, and your LinkedIn profile page will look professional.

Do you need to get a professional headshot photo for your LinkedIn profile page?

Professional corporate headshot for profile photo on LinkedIn page.

 

How to look professional in your LinkedIn profile photo.

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Three tips on how to look professional in your LinkedIn profile photo.

So you want your Linkedin profile page to look more professional. A meaningful way to do this is to get a professional Linkedin headshot. It sounds pretty straightforward until you think about what looking professional actually means. Most people would assume it is putting on your best clothes, getting a haircut and smiling at the camera. But if you think about what your clients or potential customers want from you as a professional, you might want to change how you look in your LinkedIn profile photo.
Why do your clients use your business? Let’s assume it is because you deliver a quality service on time and at a competitive rate. Showing this in your Linkedin profile photo is how you will appear professional.
To do this, you will need to bring several factors together. Firstly, think about your facial expression. We have all been told as children that we should smile in portraits, and to this day, most people break out in a grin whenever a camera appears. Think about your business sector and decide whether it is appropriate to smile. If you are in the financial, legal or corporate services, would your clients want you grinning at them? A simple natural expression sits much better when you want to appear professional on your LinkedIn page.
Secondly, you are spending time and money getting a new Linkedin headshot so why not go out and get yourself a new business outfit. Also, if you are doing that, get your haircut. Stop; you need to look like yourself. We would suggest that you look like you are just going into a typical business meeting. Dress in everyday work attire, what you wear daily in the office. This way, you will appear normal to current clients and recognisable to any new clients upon meeting them for the first time.
Thirdly, think carefully about your background. Please don’t assume it is not essential as long as you look good. Get it wrong, and you will do more damage than good to your professional profile page. It needs to be a plain background or in an office environment. We have seen Linkedin headshots with boats, gravestones, fairgrounds and steam engines in the background. Your headshot background has to relate to your business sector, or it will hamper you looking professional in your LinkedIn profile photo.

City professional headshot for LinkedIn profile photos

City professional headshot for LinkedIn profile photos

How to choose the right professional photographer for your LinkedIn profile photo?

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Guidance on how to find the right professional photographer for your new corporate headshot.
When you decide to get your LinkedIn profile photo taken professionally, you have to find the right professional photographer. Do not assume that all pro photographers will be able to capture a quality headshot for you. As with all fields of industry and business, you have different sectors and specialists. There are many kinds of professional photographers such as landscape, travel, lifestyle, product, sports, nature, artistic, and portrait. Each photographer may be brilliant in their own field, and you may love their work but do not assume they will have all the skills and experience to capture your LinkedIn headshot.
You need to find a portrait photographer. When searching, remember you want to find the style of corporate headshot you want. Do not choose a photographer because they are the best value, and you hope they will be able to copy the style of another portrait photographer you prefer but can not afford.
When searching, you can find the average costs for a professional LinkedIn photo in your area. We have researched our own pricing and have seen prices from £90 to £375 for a single corporate headshot session in London.

You will have your budget, and as you have made a good decision to get your profile photo taken professionally, then spend what you can to get it right. Choose a couple of portrait photographers who fit with your vision of what you want. Ask to see a few of their last photoshoots as well as their portfolio. Check out their reviews, and there is no harm in asking for a discount if you have a friend who also needs a new LinkedIn headshot and can come along to the session at a reduced rate.
Another thing to make sure you have included in the commission is that a fixed amount of the images will be retouched/airbrushed, and edited. They need to be formatted and ready to be uploaded to LinkedIn. All professional portrait photographers should have pro editing software. Get this service included in your commission, and do not try to edit the headshots yourself as this is a skilled process and can easily look wrong if processed incorrectly.

Choosing the right professional photographer for your LinkedIn profile picture in London

Choosing the right professional photographer for your LinkedIn profile picture.

How To Get A Great London LinkedIn Profile Photo

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If you want your LinkedIn profile photo to show that you are a London professional then the best way to achieve this is to have a London cityscape as your profile photo background. The first way to achieve this would be to simply have your headshot taken with some London landmarks behind you. This is certainly the easiest way but this  has several reasons why it can fail to produce a great London LinkedIn profile photo. The great British weather is always a factor and wind, rain and bright sunshine can all conspire to the headshot not working. The ideal weather needs to be a calm day with soft hazy clouds which as we all know can never be guaranteed.

LinkedIn profile photo set in The City near St Pauls in London

The ideal weather for a LinkedIn profile photo outside with a London landmark in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another problem is that you need your London cityscape in the background but most areas of London are packed with tourists and business people who are not really interested in keeping out of your way and are more concerned with getting to where they want to be. This means a constant stream of traffic walking between the photographer and the subject. Also, the photographer is unable to set up and studio lighting as you need a permit from the local borough and an assistant to secure the lights. This increases costs and makes the process not viable.

Our solution to getting a great LinkedIn profile photo is that you come to our studio or we bring our studio to your London offices or home. We capture a headshot using our white background and professional lighting sets which gives you a high-quality professional headshot. Follow this process we then add a London cityscape in post-production. We have a photo library of London views around The City and West End and can digitally drop them in behind your new headshot.

London studio LinkedIn profile photo.

Studio LinkedIn headshot captured with professional lighting and a white background

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

London LinkedIn profile photo

LinkedIn headshot with London cityscape added in post-production