How to Take a Professional Headshot for Linkedin

LinkedIn is a professional social networking site and it helps you find a job as you can showcase in that your education, your certifications, your previous jobs, and your skills.

It somehow acts as someone is interviewing you. You have a photo, you mention your job, you provide a summary of your career, you showcase your experience, and many more.

The headshot is one of the features you should provide but why is it so important to have a headshot on your LinkedIn profile? Let’s find out.

Why is it important to have a professional headshot on your LinkedIn profile?

First of all, you need to have a professional headshot because this is the first impression a recruiter or a potential employer will get of you.

Also, a LinkedIn profile that has a headshot ensures the people viewing it that it is genuine because spam accounts or people that are not active on LinkedIn do not usually have headshots.

Finally, the LinkedIn profiles that have headshots receive a lot more attention which is translated to views, and also they are more likely to receive a message from a recruiter or potential employer.

At this point, we will share some tips on how you can take a professional headshot on LinkedIn.

1. Take the headshot in front of a blank wall. Also, try to have natural light.
2. Make sure that you face it at the height of the camera. You don’t want to have a photo that depicts you from above or down.
3. Don’t fill the whole photo with your face as it is best for your shoulders to be shown as well as the upper part of your torso.
4. Dress appropriately for the job you want. In order to look more professional, a blazer never goes wrong.
5. Smile when you pose because that makes you look more approachable. Also, the headshots that show teeth are rated as better than those with closed teeth.
6. It is better for your body to be angled, either on the right or on the left, because this will make you look less stiff.
7. Your head needs to be straight and you need to look in the camera. Eye contact is extremely important because if you don’t look in the camera it is as you are not looking at someone and it gives the impression that you have something to hide.
8. It is best to take 50 to 100 photos and then just take your time to pick the best one. You must bear in mind that the photo has to show that you are approachable but also competent.
9. Finally, avoid too much editing because you should always have in mind that the picture must show your real self.

Conclusion

In this article, we have explained the importance of having a headshot on your LinkedIn profile but most importantly we have shared some tips in order to take a professional headshot for your LinkedIn profile.

Rijon Islam