We’ve already established that you need to have a great profile picture on LinkedIn and your other social media accounts. The stats have proved it over and over again and there are countless articles to support that fact.

But how do you choose the right headshot? Given all the photos that you surely have to choose from, which one is the best one?

You probably have a bunch of really great images of your dog or your cat, a whole bunch more of your kids, a few from that great trip to Mexico last winter, and maybe even some that you got from your professional headshot photographer.

The key thing to remember is that your social media profile picture is probably the first impression that you are providing your leads, clients, prospects, and potential referral partners. This usually happens long before you actually meet face to face.

So shouldn’t your first impression be Great! And realistic? And represent the image that you want to portray for your business or profession?

Here are 3 great tips that should help you prepare for your business portrait session and for choosing which image to upload to your social media accounts:

1. Make sure that the photo still looks like you – If the image is several years old then your appearance may have changed dramatically. Major changes to anything from your weight, your hair style or color, your glasses, or even the clothes that you wear may cause the photo to not look like you anymore. When in doubt ask a friend or loved one that you trust to tell you the truth if you need to update the photo.
2. Use a photo that represents the image you want to portray – The photo of you sunning on the beach in Bali might make you look and feel great, and it might be the perfect image for you if you own a tanning salon, but it’s possibly not the right image to project if you are selling homes in Calgary. You should instead choose a photo in which you are wearing the types of clothes that your clients will see when they meet you in person for the first time.
3. Use a high quality photo that is well lit, not blurry, and has a clean background – We all know that your iPhone has a great camera. But that doesn’t mean that you should take a picture of yourself in your dark office with stacks of files behind you. If you want to look great in a photo then it needs to have great light and a background that enhances the image rather than distracting the viewer.

This is a great start but there’s a lot more to it. Here is a link to another great article that has a few more tips that you can use to make the best first impression on your social media profiles:

11 Tips For Choosing Your LinkedIn Photo | CAREEREALISM

Engaging a professional photographer to help you make a great headshot is always a good idea!