With LinkedIn now said to have more than 530 million users in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, it makes sense to invest in your own presence on the site to ensure you gain the best results from it.
LinkedIn is a highly useful portal for professionals who I regularly work with.
However, if you haven’t updated your LinkedIn headshot for a while and believe now is the time for a ‘refresh’, it is worth bearing the following tips in mind for producing the best ones ahead of your next big career change or job search.
Ensure you look the part
Your LinkedIn headshot plays an instrumental role in supporting the message that you wish to convey about yourself through your profile.
If you have great career ambitions, you should present yourself as a successful individual in your field. At the very least, that is likely to mean having your hair cut and your suit dry cleaned.
Those in creative fields are able to be slightly more relaxed in how they present themselves, but should still pay close attention to their outfit ahead of any photo shoot.
Make the right choice between colour or black and white
Whichever package you choose when you work with me, Steve Lawton, you can be assured that all of your headshots will be produced in both colour and black and white.
This raises the question of which of the two is the most suitable choice for your LinkedIn profile.
While colour images are more common on LinkedIn, well-lit corporate and actors’ headshots in black & white are very striking, injecting a certain drama that you may feel will be more impactful on the viewer.
There is no definitive answer to whether a colour or black and white image is best for any one person’s LinkedIn profile. However, black and white images are generally regarded as most suitable for those in creative fields such as media or architecture, rather than more corporate environments like banking or law.
Extract the maximum value from the available space
The size of your headshot as it appears on your LinkedIn profile does not afford you a great amount of ‘real estate’, so it is important to make the most of the space provided.
A well-proportioned shot of your head and the top of your shoulders will help you to fill this space. The background of your image should also not be too busy, as the objective should be to draw attention to the main subject – you.
I, Steve Lawton, shoot corporate and actors’ headshots in both black & white and colour, capturing and selling the qualities that make you unique. Contact me today with any queries about my service and the packages that I offer at various price points.
