Do you need a professional LinkedIn profile photo?

Do you need a professional LinkedIn profile photo? The answer depends on how important LinkedIn is to you.

If you are employed and not involved with marketing or sales, then you would not require a pro-LinkedIn profile photo.

We would suggest getting a professional LinkedIn profile photo if you are a freelancer using LinkedIn to promote your services and if you work in sales and marketing. Of course, we would push people towards commissioning a pro-LinkedIn profile photo; it is what we do, but I can give you some reasons why it’s a very good idea. Firstly if you meet someone in person or via the internet, many people will then go on to look them up on LinkedIn. Your LinkedIn profile is a great resource for people who are interested in doing business with you.

We have written before about the importance of a decent photo on your LinkedIn profile page. So if you are working in any of the business sectors previously mentioned, then start looking at corporate portrait photographers who can capture your profile photo. Many business people will come to us for their photography many years after they have been using LinkedIn. They will have spent lots of time updating their career facts and their business profile to impress potential clients and employers. But you have to understand a poor-quality profile photo is a negative impression. The first thing they will look at on your LinkedIn profile is your photo. Bad photo, bad first impression. So if you are using LinkedIn to do business, we would suggest that you need a pro-LinkedIn profile photo.

If you want to commission a pro profile photo and have any queries, please visit our LinkedIn FAQs about profile photos. If you have any further questions about your profile photo, please get in touch here.

LinkedIn profile photo captured in London studio at 45 Beech St EC2Y 8AD

LinkedIn profile photo captured in London studio at 45 Beech St EC2Y 8AD

What is the best kind of LinkedIn Profile Photo?

How to decide what is the best kind of LinkedIn profile photo depends on what kind of profession you work in.

If you work in the legal or financial sector you need to look professional and that you take your work seriously. Potential clients will be looking at your LinkedIn profile photo and asking themselves do you look like the right kind of person to help them with their legal and financial businesses. We would suggest a slight smile or a studious expression. Do not grin at the camera. Look like you take your job seriously and dress in business attire. Nothing too flashy. Remember, this is not about portraying your personality in a photo it is about giving off the first impression that you are a business professional. Keep your background simple. A plain white or dark backdrop or a company logo.

Working in sales and marketing your LinkedIn profile photo will need to make you appear approachable to potential clients. Obviously your working attire needs to reflect your business sector and a busy working environment as the background can make it appear that you are a professional at work. Things can be a little more casual in how you appear and a warm smile and always looking to camera and inviting the viewer to get to know you. Bright colours attract attention so think how you can add some with a distinctive tie or some in the background. Lots of our clients request that we capture their LinkedIn profile photo with jackets on and off also with a tie on and off. This way they review after the shoot and see what images works best for them on their LinkedIn profile page.

If you are working in the social media sector then you have to appear engaging and interesting in your LinkedIn profile page. Social media is a growing sector but still relatively new and many clients struggle with it. We suggest that you look dependable and interesting. Your headshot needs to catch the eye so try something that is going to grab the viewers attention. Their are websites that allow you to upload a headshot and get feedback on what people think it says about you. Well worth a try as it could get you a new client or a better career position.

What is the best kind of LinkedIn Profile Photo?

Typical clean cut and professional LinkedIn profile photo.

Professional headshots for business websites.

Why it is important to commission professional headshots for your corporate website.

You are going to invest in a new or refurbished website, and you approach a few website designers. They design your site and then ask for some corporate headshots for the ‘meet the team’ page. You would be surprised how often we see this page filled with snaps of people taken by friends and family. It looks very unprofessional and a lazy shortcut to save a few pounds. Pictures of people taken at the beach, on a ship, at a wedding and the worst was a lady holding a baby! This is your business’s shopfront and potential clients will visit this your website to get information about your staff and directors. Make sure you leave them with a positive impression of your company. For the sake of a couple of hundred pounds, you could be losing clients if your people look unprofessional and your rivals have decent corporate headshots.

Commissioning professional headshots is a simple process. Find a corporate portrait photographer in your area that has a portfolio that you like the look of. Check their availability and make sure all your people are in on the agreed date. Make available your biggest room and then decide on what background you want the photographer to supply. Most popular is white but you can choose a darker background if that suits your website. Becoming more fashionable is to have an office background which places the headshot in a working environment. Make sure the corporate photographer is bringing professional studio lighting with them as this is essential as they produce a soft flattering light. Ask the photographer to capture a good range of stances and expressions so you have plenty of choice when it comes to selecting your final headshot.

One of the main things to understand is that you want the rofessional headshots to look consistent in style. When you look at the ‘meet the team’ page you should see a uniform look to all the corporate headshots as this shows the potential client that you have spent time and money on your business website.

LinkedIn professional headshot in London

LinkedIn professional headshot in London

Professional corporate headshot for company websites

Professional corporate headshot for company websites

 

How To Get A Great London LinkedIn Profile Photo

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