Professionals Need A Professional Portrait - 7 Do’s and Don’ts

Did you know that your profile photo tends to be the real attention-grabber? A study by TheLadders found that recruiters spend 19% of their time on a LinkedIn profile looking at your head shot.

If you don’t have a professional photo, people will often come to the conclusion that you may not take your career seriously. 

Here are 7 Tips for professional photos that get noticed for the right reasons: 

1. Dress conservatively and wear clothes that would be appropriate for your work place.  Do not wear sexy, form fitting, or revealing clothing. 

2. Keep it simple. Dress in solid colours avoiding patterns that are distracting from your face.  

3. Hire a professional photographer with an established reputation.  Avoid having a family member or friend take your photos and spend a few dollars. It's worth the investment.

4. Make sure the photographer does at least basic retouching.  It’s important to remove small things like blemishes to project a more polished image.

5. Do have the photo taken in a place you’ll feel comfortable - your work place, home, or outdoors.  Just make sure it’s taken by an experienced location photographer so it won’t end up looking like a snapshot.  

6. "Shake it out" Don't take yourself too seriously -  shake your head and arms if need be to get rid of that rigidity that could come across in photos.  

7. Do smile!  It’s very important to smile in your professional portrait.  It’s a widely held belief that a person who smiles is more trustworthy.  

If it’s true that perception is reality, then you can immediately start changing the perception people have of you for the better. 

Anchor Studio Photography, Portraits, Toronto Photographers, Portrait Photographer, LinkedIn Profile Picture, Head shots
www.anchorstudio.ca