Get the Perfect Profile Picture: 5 Tips and Tricks

Your photo on your social media profile is how you present yourself to the world – it's your calling card and the first thing people see when they visit your LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram profile, so it's important to make it count.

If you are a public figure or business owner, it's even more important to get your profile picture right. A good profile picture can help strengthen your brand, make a valuable first impression, build customer trust, and get more followers.

Here are five simple tips and tricks to help you take a profile picture that will make a lasting impression.

1. Consider Background and Lighting

Although your camera probably has a flash feature, natural lighting is always best. Using a flash for a portrait photo can be too harsh on your features – that's why professional photographers use specialized lighting setups instead.

The background of your photo will affect your lighting, so choose it wisely. If you're going for a professional headshot, opt for the tried-and-true plain white background. Alternatively, you can create transparent background images digitally and add them later.

If you don't want to purchase expensive lights or create your background digitally, take your profile photo on a bright day around an hour before sunset to take advantage of the "golden hour." Make sure your background is well-lit and provides enough light to illuminate your face.

2. Use a Quality Camera

If you need your photo to look as professional as possible, you should use a high-quality camera. Editing a low-quality image with low resolution will be much harder than editing a high-quality one, so use the best camera you can.

If you have a tripod, use it during your photoshoot. Using a tripod to stabilize your camera will reduce any blurriness or shakiness in your photo. If you are taking a self-portrait, consider using an automatic timer feature or a remote shutter. A high-quality camera will make all the difference in your photo's professionalism.

3. Dress for Success

Plan what you are going to wear during your photo shoot in advance. Opt for clothing you feel confident and comfortable in, and make sure it complements the color of your background.

If possible, avoid wearing clothes with small, busy prints because they will distract viewers from your face in your profile picture.

4. Smile with Confidence

Smiles are universal and show that you have confidence in yourself. A bright smile will make you look more approachable – which is excellent if you want to speak to your target audience or network for your business.

Unless you're going for an expression to convey a specific emotion, it's best to wear your brightest smile in profile photos.

5. Know Which Side is the Good One

When it comes to portrait photography, everyone has a "good side." If you're unsure which side is your good one, think about whether you tend to face left or right in photos and if you prefer one side of your face more than the other.

To take a fantastic profile picture, you should know which side is your good side and take the image from the right angle. Tilting your head at an angle with your good side facing the camera instead of photographing your face head-on is one of the most flattering ways to pose.