LinkedIn profile photo tips that actually work
Your LinkedIn photo is doing more work than you think. Here is what makes the difference between one that gets clicks and one that gets scrolled past.
LinkedIn says profiles with a photo get 21 times more views than those without one. But a bad photo can actually hurt you more than no photo at all. Here is what we have learned shooting hundreds of <a href="/linkedin-headshots-seattle" class="text-gold underline hover:text-gold-soft">LinkedIn headshots in Seattle</a> and Bellevue.
Your face needs to fill the frame
LinkedIn compresses profile photos down to a circle that is roughly 400 by 400 pixels. If you are a tiny figure in a wide shot, nobody can see your face. The crop needs to start at your shoulders or chest and leave just a bit of breathing room above your head.
We see a lot of LinkedIn photos that were taken at events or cropped from group shots. They are almost always too wide. A photo taken specifically for LinkedIn will always outperform a recycled one.
Expression matters more than setting
A warm, natural expression in front of a plain wall will outperform a stiff smile in a fancy studio every time. People are reading your face in less than a second. Approachable and confident beats formal and uncomfortable.
The best LinkedIn headshots look like you on a good day. Not your graduation photo, not a corporate mugshot. Just you, looking like someone a reasonable person would want to meet.
Background should disappear
Neutral backgrounds work because they keep the focus on your face. A soft blur works. A clean wall works. A busy office background, a vacation photo, or anything with competing shapes or colors usually does not.
Update it every two to three years
If someone meets you in person and spends a moment figuring out if you are the same person from your photo, the photo has already done some damage. A current photo builds trust before you even shake hands.
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