Your LinkedIn profile photo is front and center in your personal brand.
But lots of people get it wrong – whether it’s out of focus, badly aligned, or just ‘too’ professional (to the extent of being awkward).
Here’s my step-by-step guide to creating the perfect LinkedIn profile photo that stands out.
#1. Just Use Your Smartphone
You don’t need a professional photographer to shoot a set of photos for LinkedIn. You can easily do it yourself using your smartphone.
I recommend selecting portrait setting and applying a studio light filter if possible (I’m using the iPhone 15).
Then, simply flip your phone into selfie mode and take a picture of yourself.
#2. Act Relaxed and Friendly
You don’t have to be serious or formal in your photo. Instead you should portray whatever vibe you believe best fits your personal brand.
I recommend smiling and looking friendly/approachable. That’s normally what gets the best results on LinkedIn.
Once you’ve got a nice shot that you’re happy with, it’s time to make that photo pop.
#3. Choose Your Background Color
To add the final touches, we’re going to upload that photo into Canva. If you haven’t got a Canva account, trust me, you need one.
Open up a new Canva document in this exact size.
From the color palette, choose whichever color you want to become the background of your profile photo (bonus points if it fits with your wider personal brand). You can select from a large range of solid colors and also pre-designed gradients.
If you have a specific hex code for your preferred color, you can also input it here and Canva will find the correct shade.
Then once you’ve uploaded your smartphone photo file, drag it onto the blank Canva document. The colored background will stay there behind your photo, hidden for now. We will make use of it in the next step.
#4. Remove the Original Background
Select your photo and click “BG remover” in Canva. This clever tool will remove the entire original background, leaving just your face with the colored background behind it.
This is a great way of quickly and easily creating an eye-catching LinkedIn profile photo.
#5. Add a Filter (Optional)
Another thing I like to do is experiment with Canva filters to brighten up my face and give it different styles.
This is totally optional, but I recommend playing around with a different filters to see if there’s somerhting you like. Canva has a huge range of filters and they can really boost your images.
The goal is to create a LinkedIn profile photo that’s eye-catching, approachable, and reflects your personal brand perfectly.
#6. Download the Finished Photo
Once you’re happy with the photo, hit the “share” button in Canva and download it as a JPEG file.
You could also use PNG, but I usually just go for JPEG as it’s the easiest format to work with.
#7. Upload to LinkedIn
Head over to your LinkedIn profile, click on your profile photo, and the below black box will pop up. This allows you to edit the photo. Click ‘add photo’ to upload your new one. Drag and adjust as needed.
Actionable Next Steps
Now you’ve got a brand-new LinkedIn profile photo that reflects your personal brand and gives a great impression to your profile visitors.
But that’s just the first step in creating a LinkedIn presence that helps you grow your business.
Want to do more with your LinkedIn? For a complete fine-tuning of your LinkedIn presence – grab my free profile checklist below.
