Why you should get a professional LinkedIn profile photo

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We are often asked why you should get a professional LinkedIn profile photo. Here are three simple answers.

  1. You will look professional. It’s as simple as that. Your LinkedIn profile page is your business shopfront. This is where potential clients and employers will get the first impression of you as a business person. So, would you want to get into business with a shop owner who had amateur handwritten signs outside his shop? No, of course not. So spend some money and hire a professional corporate portrait photographer and ensure you look your best; above all, this will make you look professional.
  2. Pride. You should want to look your best on your LinkedIn profile page. We assume that in your day-to-day business, you take great care over how you run your business and how you look after your clients. So why cut corners when it comes to your LinkedIn profile photo? Remember, it is the first thing people look at when they visit your LinkedIn profile page, so it makes sense that they get a good first impression. as we have said many times before, you don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.
  3. Confidence. If you spend a relatively small amount of money and get a professional LinkedIn profile photo, you can sit back and know that people viewing your LinkedIn profile page will be seeing you in your best light. A professional corporate portrait photographer will advise you on the best wardrobe, how to stand, and the best stance. Also, advice on expressions and will be capturing your LinkedIn profile photo with a professional portrait lens. They will also have good quality studio lighting, flattering you and softening harsh shadows on your face. Finally, they will be used to working on headshots using the latest version of Photoshop to remove any spots, soften eye bags and tidy up any imperfections.
Why you should get a professional LinkedIn profile photo

Why you should get a professional LinkedIn profile photo

 

What size should a LinkedIn profile photo be?

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What size should a LinkedIn profile photo be? The ideal size for your LinkedIn profile picture is 400 x 400 pixels. Larger file sizes are also fine (although 8MB is the max), but try to avoid small, low-resolution images. Another thing to remember is that the screen resolution is 72 dpi and not 300 dpi, which is used for print. Most corporate portrait photographers will capture your LinkedIn profile photo at a high resolution so that you can use it for print or on a larger scale for your corporate headshot on your company’s ‘about us’ or ‘meet the team’ pages.

When we say, ‘What size should a LinkedIn profile photo be?’ we are actually talking about what format ie shape should it be. Should it be a tight crop only showing the head and maybe a little of the shoulders? Or should you see more of the person’s torso so that you can see what they are wearing and get a feeling for more of their personality and character? We think that a tighter crop is the better option for your LinkedIn profile photo, as it appears quite small on your profile page. Usually, people will get a corporate portrait photographer to capture a profile photo and then use that image over all their business social media profiles and company website pages. When you commission a photographer, get them to capture your portrait with a wide crop. We suggest from the waist upwards. This way, you can crop in for your LinkedIn profile page and any other uses. Remember, you can not crop out on your corporate headshot, so always have a wider crop.

Once you have commissioned your LinkedIn profile photo, get the photographer to resize your preferred headshot. They will be used to working with Photoshop. So you want the LinkedIn profile photo square at 400 x 400 pixels and dropped down from 300 dpi to 72 dpi. If you have any further queries or need more information, please check out our page Frequently asked questions about LinkedIn profile photos.

What size should a LinkedIn profile photo be?

What size should a LinkedIn profile photo be?

 

 

Three things you should not do if you want a quality LinkedIn profile photo.

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Today we are going to look at three things you should not do if you want a quality LinkedIn profile photo.

These might seem very obvious things not to do, but you would be surprised how many times we have seen professional people using unsuitable photos for their LinkedIn profile page.

Number one is do not under any circumstances use a selfie on your LinkedIn profile page. Selfies are fine for friends and family, and they can cheer you up and show people you are having a great time. But LinkedIn is a business platform and you want to look serious about your profession and not like it is a day out at the park. You might think you look great in your selfie, but LinkedIn is not the place where using a selfie will make you look professional.

Number two is do not use photos of yourself taken whilst you were on holiday. You might look nice and tanned, and you are having a great time and looking happy, but this type of photo is not suitable for a LinkedIn profile page. I have seen LinkedIn profile photos of people with boats behind them on the beach, and one guy had a sombrero hat once. This is totally inappropriate for LinkedIn and sends the wrong impression when clients or employers look at your profile page. Remember, when a person looks at a website page, the first thing they look at is the photos. It’s a natural human reaction. So when you upload a holiday photo to your LinkedIn profile page, you are giving the viewing a bad impression of you as a business person.

Number three is do not use photos of you taken at a wedding. Although you will be looking smart, you are not in traditional business attire, and wedding dresses and suites are a bit too over the top for a LinkedIn profile page. Also the background will be all wrong for LinkedIn as normally wedding photos are taken outside a church or registry office. LinkedIn profile photos should have a plain white background or an office or cityscape background.

Three things you should not do if you want a quality LinkedIn profile photo.

Three things you should not do if you want a quality LinkedIn profile photo.

 

Why you need a professional LinkedIn profile photo.

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This is why you need a professional LinkedIn profile photo.

We have posted many times on why you need a professional LinkedIn profile photo. The benefits for your LinkedIn profile page and how it makes you look like a business professional. Well, once you have made the decision and commissioned a corporate portrait photographer to capture your professional LinkedIn profile photo, what else can you do with it? After you have uploaded it to your profile page, think of where else you use a photo of yourself. Ignore social media as most people use the dreaded selfie, and a pro-LinkedIn profile photo is not really suitable for Twitter or Instagram.

Most people appear on their company website, personal business site or on a blog. Here, your new profile photo can be uploaded as it is suitable as a corporate headshot, and all the benefits of uploading it to your LinkedIn page apply here as well. Just a note here: when you first commission a corporate portrait photographer, talk to them about where you want to use your new headshot and make sure they do not crop it too tightly in the camera. Ask them to shoot your corporate headshot wider than a standard LinkedIn profile photo. As on LinkedIn, your profile photo is very small, and therefore, you need a tighter crop. If you choose to use it elsewhere, then you might need a wider crop to fit in with current corporate headshot styles on the ‘about us’ or ‘meet the team’ company website page.

Another use is the increasingly popular style of adding a corporate headshot to your email signature. I first came across this idea working with an estate agent and thought what a brilliant idea. You have already paid for the professional LinkedIn profile photo; now put it to other uses. Seeing an email for the estate come in, you can see the face of the person you are dealing with. They look professional and have thought about getting a great first impression.

Why you need a professional LinkedIn profile photo.

Why you need a professional LinkedIn profile photo.