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

How to pose for your LinkedIn profile photo?

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Tips and ideas on how to pose for your LinkedIn profile photo

This is not the most common question we are asked when receiving a LinkedIn headshot commission but it is the first thing we discuss with the sitter when we begin the headshot session.

If you decide you prefer to stand for your Linkedin headshot then do not follow the advice you were given as a child to stand upright with your chin in the air and grinning at the camera. It is much better to take a less upright pose as lowering the head gives a better view of the face and especially the eyes. We suggest that you stand at a 45% angle to the camera and then bring your head around to look at the camera. This stance makes you look more approachable and less confrontational. The LinkedIn profile sample photo below shows the ideal stance for your headshot.

How to stand in your LinkedIn profile photo

How to stand in your LinkedIn profile photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of our clients tend to want to stand up for their LinkedIn headshot but some prefer to be seated. We think this is because they feel more relaxed and this can help get a more natural and informal pose. This most common mistake is that when people sit down for their headshot they tend to lean back in their chair. Although they feel more comfortable leaning back has the problem of making them look less engaged and almost like they are withdrawing from the camera. We always suggest that if you are sitting that you should lean forward and this makes you look like you are interested in the person who is viewing your profile photo.

How to pose for your LinkedIn profile photo

How to pose for your LinkedIn profile photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you first stand or sit for your LinkedIn headshot do not be afraid to ask the photographer for any suggestions on how to pose. It is very hard without a mirror to know if you have the correct stance and as you are spending money and time to get a professional LinkedIn profile photo it is worth asking for all the guidance you require to get a great headshot.

Further suggestions on how to get a good LinkedIn profile photo.

 

Five LinkedIn Profile Photo Mistakes.

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  1. Follow these tips to avoid making LinkedIn profile photo mistakes. Do not use your I.D or staff photo. This type of photo is normally taken on a poor-quality office camera and is only meant for identification purposes. It might be handy to snap a photo of your staff badge but it will not be helping your LinkedIn profile page and best leave it blank until you can get a decent business-related headshot.
  2. Do not use a distant photo of yourself. A LinkedIn profile photo is approx only 4cm wide and using a full-length or distant photo of yourself means people will not really be able to see your face clearly. As the whole purpose of the photo is to let the viewer see what you look like this is not a good idea.
  3. Do not use a cropped photo where you were in a group with friends. This looks so unprofessional and is often seen on LinkedIn. Normally people like a photo of themselves with a partner or friends but however you try and crop the photo you can always see elements of other peoples heads or arms. You want a headshot with a clean background and should be dressed in business attire.
  4. Do not use a party or wedding photo. This is very common and we strongly advise against it. There are lots of good photos taken at big parties and weddings but your clothing and your surroundings are not suitable for a business profile page photo. Make sure you think carefully about what you want in your profile photo as using a photo that you think you look good in might be sending out the wrong message to a potential client or employer.
  5. Do not use a selfie captured in a mirror with your phone. This type of photo is very common on Instagram and Facebook but not suitable for LinkedIn. They look very amateur and therefore you will appear not to have been putting much effort into your LinkedIn profile page.

Good example of LinkedIn profile photo

Above is a good example of a professional LinkedIn profile photo with professional lighting a clean plain background and captured with a long portrait lens.

To avoid LinkedIn profile photo mistakes, follow our suggestions on how to improve your LinkedIn profile photo.