How Good is Your LinkedIn Profile Picture?

First impressions last. Whether that English proverb is true or not, we’re pretty certain your audience impression to your LinkedIn headshot is vital to your traffic, and business. On this side of the virtual world, we’re happy to inform you — yes, you need to get that headshot a revamp.

What’s good about having an online platform is you can spend most of your day in your pajamas, while people can constantly visualize you as a formal, well-groomed professional. In short, you can be a slob, a hippie, or whatever you want to be, but still land a good, businesslike character with the use of technology. Now, we are not saying you are not a professional, neither you are a poser entrepreneur. Truth is, you are a genuine expert in your niche that’s why you are polishing the impressions you could get from people. We just can’t deny the fact that people judge based on appearance, and in the field that you chose, looks are important.

Don’t fret. Maintaining a particular image is now easy. Thanks to the world wide web, just a few tweaks to your online accounts, and you’re on your way to nailing that first impression. To begin, here are 8 tricks to have the most flattering LinkedIn profile picture:

1. Accept the fact that you need changes. There are several points to ponder on to determine if you need a new LinkedIn profile picture. First, when was your photo taken? Is it your most recent look, or is it what you looked like 5 years ago? Updated photos of yourself is important, so people could at least recognize you when they see you in the flesh. Second, are you with other people in the picture? Or did you cleverly crop them out? Believe us when we say everyone will know if the picture has been cropped or not — and cropped photos aren’t very professional. Third, are you holding a beer, getting a tan, or does your picture contain anything about your personal life that you wouldn’t want your audience to know?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you need to get your LinkedIn profile picture fixed. Your photo must be simple, and professional-looking to get equally-reflecting audience impressions.

1. Seek professional help. If you’re not confident with your ability to take decent photos, go pro. Some people are fortunate to have the eyes and the skills in capturing the best-looking selfies with minimal effort, and simple backdrop. However, it’s also true that many people are not. If you doubt your selfie-taking skills after a couple of tries that resulted in blurry shots, wrong angles or bad lightings, then better find a professional photographer. Let the pros do what they do, and help you get a flattering headshot.A good place to start is Snappr. Upload your photo, and it will analyze what could be improved. For free.

1. Walk away from the professionals in malls. Learn from other people’s mistakes. The mall is not the place to look for professional photographers to take your portrait. Typically, workers in malls are inexperienced teens, or people who don’t care about the outcome of your photo shoot, or both. Try it, and you’ll probably end up with laughable, cringe-y shots. If you want a help from a pro, don’t be scared or shy to reach out for photographers within your network. These people care about their work. They care enough to produce an outcome that both of you can be proud of. If you don’t know any photographers, you can casually ask your Facebook friends with great profile pictures for a photographer referral. It’ll be worth a try.
2. Going for DIY’s mean a ton of selfies. If you choose to do-it-yourself, make sure to exert effort and allot a glorious amount of time for taking selfies. Prepare to take not one, but multiple selfies (10 shots at least), so you can choose the best LinkedIn professional-level looking photo. Get your hair and makeup done, trim your nose hair, too, and play with lighting and backgrounds. Make sure you are prepared enough for an intense solo photo shoot session. Choose a background and location with good lighting — natural lighting is preferred, if your chosen venue isn’t well-lit. Your background must be the most decent, tidiest place in your home if you’re going for an indoor shoot. However, keep in mind the first tip: your photo must not give away anything about your personal life that you wouldn’t want your audience to know — like a weird collection, maybe.
3. Use a decent camera. Borrow from a friend if you need to, and borrow your friend. Aim for quality. Aim for elegance. Do not settle for less. To do it, you need a decent cam that creates professional-looking photos. Don’t worry, you need not to buy, just borrow from a friend. You may want to borrow your friend, too, if ever you get lost in the technicalities of the camera world. Pick the best location, pose like the expert that you are. It doesn’t matter if you get 999 bad shots in 1000. The important is, you get at least one — and you will only able to if you try for multiple times.
4. The secret to a flattering shot: bird’s eye view. It doesn’t matter if you were hailed the prom king or queen during your juvenile days. The golden rule for selfies remain — the best angle is always slightly from above. Whether you choose to get a shot from the left, right, or upfront, always keep in mind to place the camera a little higher from your face, and there will be a higher chance for better selfies.
5. Pick a reliable photo editing app or software. After all the photo shoots, awkward poses, and bad angles, you will eventually get one that best shot. When you are done picking the most decent photo among the rest, the next step is to play around photo editing apps. Give that picture a couple of tweaks to make it look undeniably professional. There are a couple of purchasable and free software that you can use for editing. However, if you are baffled with everything that you can do to your selfie, go for the safest trick: black and white. It will give your photo an instant layer of sophistication.
6. Reach out to your most brutally-honest friend. This friend of yours who is totally clueless about when to step on the brakes, is rather an ally. All of us have this one friend, and for such crucial moments you’ll need her help. Present all your photos to your friend, and let her do what she does. We need brutal honesty at some points in our lives, and this picking-your-best-selfie is one of those. We bet, now feel grateful for having such a friend.

I hope you enjoyed these tips to improve your personal brand. Your company’s Linkedin page also needs a revamp? Check our tips here.