Do you know that your LinkedIn profile picture makes the first impression on any recruiter on LinkedIn? Yes, you’ve seen it right. The profile picture is the key element that gets your profile more views than ever.
That’s why choosing proper LinkedIn profile photos is important if you want some attention. A professional photographer is always a better option if you’ve got the opportunity to get one. It is because he can ensure proper lighting and ratio of the picture.
If you don’t have the option to get one, you can manage it with your smartphone with some little tricks. In this guide, we’ll discuss LinkedIn pictures do’s and don’ts and LinkedIn photo tips that’ll surely increase your profile views and leave a good impression on a potential employer.
The Dos for Your LinkedIn Pictures
Let’s take a look –
Always Use Your Recent Photo
Do you recently want to be recruited and used a five-year-old photo on your LinkedIn profile or have you don’t change your LinkedIn profile photos for the past few years? No! That won’t work. Outdated photos don’t make you look professional.
If you want to make a personal brand and get an impression on others, you need to upload your present linkedin profile photos. It will show regular updating in others’ timelines which is good for highlighting business relationships.
- Image Should Be of High Resolution
Low-resolution and small images don’t look professional at all. The ideal LinkedIn profile photo size usually is 400 x 400 pixels. Also, you can use a size of 8 MB maximum. Try to post fresh and clear images of high resolution.
Usually, the image gets blurry when you capture it from another photo or use a low-quality camera. Always avoid these things and capture photos directly on a proper lighting system with a grade camera.
- Wear Appropriate Dress
Your dress should represent you as a professional and a friendly person. The dress of your profile photo has to be traditional professional attire.
The dress you usually wear in your office is the right picture attire. But remember to represent your personality. Also, you can wear any attire that you’ll prefer while going to a job interview or in any business meeting.
- You Can Include any Reference From Your Career
A little creativity in your profile picture can get a lot of attention. Interested to know how?
Well, your profile picture can be from any conference or business industry event you’ve attended recently. That’ll leave a charm and work to reference what you do.
By watching this kind of “Action photo,” the recruiter can get a fresh idea of you enjoying your work. It is always a positive image.
- Keep the Right Expression on Your Face
Keeping a rude expression on your face isn’t always preferable and it is bad body language as it makes you look grumpy. Studies have shown that people like faces with smiles more than straight face images.
The smile on your face indicates you’re easy to approach and friendly to talk to. It magically makes you approachable to recruiters and future employers. So, it’s very easy, smile!
- Ensure to Make Yourself Focused
A profile picture without any focus on you doesn’t work at all. Also, a distant image in any natural view where you’re hardly seen is very much unlikely as a LinkedIn profile photo.
Remember to cover at least sixty percent space of the photo by your appearance. It’ll make you look more focused and leave a better image.
- Use a Proper Filter
Recently we’ve noticed that people like to try different photos on a profile picture, don’t they? LinkedIn also offers six different filters that can be used when you upload a photo.
Well, before using any filter, think wisely about what will make you look more professional and how you would like to be seen.
You can try all of them before uploading them on the timeline. As we think, classic filters make you look sharp and classy.
Also, if you don’t want to use a filter in a photo, you can simply adjust the lighting and shadow before uploading the photo. But it is better sense to use natural light. Use Hyperise editor to edit your images professionally.
The Don’ts for Your LinkedIn Picture
Here they are –
- Don’t Include Any Other Person or Pet in the photo
You would like to show professionalism on your LinkedIn profile, wouldn’t you? Though we love our friends and family member and sometimes pets, they’re a part of our personal life, not professional life. Keeping them on your LinkedIn profile isn’t relevant at all.
Linkedin is not like any other social media like Facebook and Instagram, it’s a platform to show professional potential for making a career.
That’s why don’t include any other personal information in your photo and use your single photo to focus on self-branding.
- Don’t Use an Informal Photo
Though we have a personal life and often love to show it to others, you cannot do it on LinkedIn.
It’s not your Facebook or Instagram profile where you show off your lifestyle and photos from last night’s party and hangout you had with your friends.
Also, informal dresses such as miniskirts, tank tops, or evening wear don’t show any professional behavior. You must avoid them.
- Don’t Use Distracting Background
Distracting background means it distracts your hiring managers and potential employers, right? Using this kind of background usually doesn’t get proper attention. That means you have to use a simple and neat background.
Simple doesn’t indicate only white or plain background that makes people bored. It can be nature or any architectural background without much distracting and messy area. Also, you can make a customized background with tools like hyperise. A customized background can make your linkedin profile photos more professional.
- Don’t Use Partial Photos
You may like the picture of your hand with a new pair of bangles or your feet in the ocean water.
But that doesn’t mean you have to put it on your LinkedIn profile pictures. You can use it on your blog, article, or social media, but it is unlikely to use on a professional platform.
Similarly, a cropped photo of you or part of you also should be avoided as a profile picture.
- Don’t Use Front Camera If There’s Another Option
The front camera of our smartphone has made it easy for us to take photos indeed. But it isn’t suitable on every platform. Do you know why?
Well, generally, the front of our mobile phone has a low-quality camera than the back. That’s why our selfies are low-grade than a photo taken with a rear camera. It’s not wrong to use the phone to take a picture but use the rear camera.
Take a minute to ask a friend or photographer to capture your few pictures, and this way, he or she can suggest a suitable pose for the perfect picture.
Profile photos with professional headshots can increase your profile views significantly. It’ll increase your confidence too, and you can always ask for suggestions from your close ones.
Final Words
Your photo leaves the first impression on your clients, and that’s why you should think twice before uploading your LinkedIn profile picture.
Visitors will decide to click on your LinkedIn profiles by seeing the picture instead of reading the description you’ve written on your profile.
These LinkedIn pictures dos and don’ts can show you how your profile picture should be. With these incredible and simple tips, you can create a professional profile to get plenty of clients. And use Hyperise editor to edit your images professionally.