Can the quality of your LinkedIn profile picture really have an impact on your professional ambitions? Well, LinkedIn photos matter way more than people usually think, and they're even more important than CVs nowadays. At a time 90% of employers use social media to reach out to candidates, replacing your old LinkedIn pic with a new, improved one is more important and urgent than ever.
In this article, we will be exploring 10 expert tips for taking professional LinkedIn profile pictures that can help you land your dream job and improve your personal brand online.
1: Dress Appropriately
Different jobs demand different skills and different… attire. While we expect doctors to wear lab coats in their LinkedIn profile pictures, it would be simply ridiculous to dress in a white coat for applying for a marketing job (for example).
Therefore, the attire you use in your LinkedIn profile picture should reflect the industry you work in or the job you want to get. To put it simply, dress in the same style of clothes you would wear to the job.
2: Go for a Duchenne Smile
If you're not a very photogenic person, you know how hard it can be to decide on what expression to put on while posing for the camera. The safest option? A light but confident smile that shows you're nice without ever looking unprofessional.
That smile has a name: the Duchenne smile. According to the psychologists, this smile (which involves the muscles that "wrap around the eyes") has a better chance of being perceived as genuine rather than fake, helping you look much better in your LinkedIn profile picture.
3: Avoid Busy Backgrounds
Your LinkedIn profile picture should be about you. For this reason, it's key to avoid busy backgrounds or other elements that can make it confusing for recruiters to see what you look like.
In addition to busy backgrounds, your LinkedIn pic should not show other people or include accessories that hide your face, like sunglasses or hats.
4: Use Front-Facing Lighting
Good lighting is an essential characteristic of any good photo, LinkedIn profile pictures included. The most common mistake is to snap photos with excessive overhead lighting that creates shadows under the eyes and makes you look tired and even older!
Front-face lighting is the way to go, and natural lighting is always better than artificial lighting.
5: Avoid Close-Ups
The ideal LinkedIn profile picture should show not only your face, but part of your upper body. It's recommended to include the shoulders without going below the waist.
Full body photos have the disadvantage of not showing your face clearly, while extreme close-ups can have an unprofessional look (not to mention they can be a bit disturbing to look at).
6: Snub Filters
Yes, Instagram and Snapchat filters can make you look amazing, but they're for your TikTok and Facebook accounts, not your LinkedIn profile.
A LinkedIn profile picture with Insta filters or other image-modifying tools is a huge no-no, and they can persuade recruiters to discard your job candidacy instantly.
7: Consider Psychological Factors
If you want to go one step further with your photo, consider the psychology behind a powerful LinkedIn headshot. Knowing the value of first impressions and some of the biases involved in online recruitment processes, you can make better decisions regarding your LinkedIn profile pictures.
8: Ask for a Second Opinion
When you're standing "too close to the elephant", you can sometimes miss out on the whole picture. After taking your LinkedIn profile pictures, share them with a friend and ask for feedback—other people may notice something important you're just not seeing.
Based on external opinions, you can edit your profile pics accordingly before publishing them online.
9: Update Every Six Months
We know it's hard work, but getting the perfect LinkedIn profile picture once is just not enough. The experts recommend that you update your headshots every six months to show recruiters and colleagues that you're in control of your social media.
By keeping your LinkedIn photos fresh and current, you're making a big statement, showing that you care about your personal brand and are not afraid to put in the work to develop it.
10: Use AI Headshot Generators
The final and most important tip? To follow all nine tips above without the hassle of hiring professional photography services, you can cut the work short by using an AI headshot generator to instantly create up to 250 new LinkedIn profile pics.
All you have to do is collect 13 selfies of yourself, upload them to Headshot Kiwi, and wait no more than one hour to access hundreds of downloadable AI headshots. This is an example of what a Headshot Kiwi AI headshot looks like:
Professional headshot made using HeadshotKiwi platform.
As you can see, it meets all of the requirements of a perfect LinkedIn profile picture listed in our previous tips:
- The photo shows the right professional attire.
- The expression used is a light, Duchenne-style smile that boasts confidence.
- The background is appropriate and non-conflicting.
- The framing is ideal, without extreme close-ups.
- The photo looks authentic, without filters and unnatural AI artifacts.
The advantages of changing your old LinkedIn photo for a professional AI headshot?
Boosted job applications and networking, and the ability to stand out in an increasingly competitive online job market. Get yours right away with Headshot Kiwi!
