The quality of your profile picture is vitally important. When it comes to online interactions, a lot of people look for a photo in the profile. This is not to look at the pictures; it just lets them know you are serious about your page. We are sure that when you are scrolling through pages, you place more merit on people with profile pictures. You are not alone. When it comes to online reputation management, you must have this profile picture proudly displayed. Therefore, you are going to want to have the best possible view of yourself. This is not going to be accomplished by your smartphone. I can be done if you are in a tight spot regarding money. However, the first chance you get, you are going to want to update that picture. Below, you will find tips and tricks to help you present the best picture of yourself to the internet.
Go with Your Normal Look
The reason you want to do this is you want to set expectations from the start. The point of putting your profile picture on the internet is to have people get used to the real you before they even meet you. Let’s say for instance that you generally shave your face. However, you put a picture up of yourself with a big bushy beard. You are throwing the people that meet you a curveball. You are probably wondering what the big deal is. After all, they will get used to it, right? Of course, they will. Just remember that it takes people, on average, 7 seconds to decide on their first impression of you. Why waste that time with them getting used to the way you look now. The same goes for glasses. If you wear them regularly, make sure you are wearing them in your profile picture. Mainly, you will want to meet people in a similar fashion that you presented yourself on the internet. When your look changes, it is time to change your profile picture.
Focus on Your Face
This may seem fairly obvious, but it is often overlooked. The entire point of putting your picture up is for people to be able to see who you are. If you don’t provide them with a clear picture of yourself, what’s the point? The rule to follow is to make sure that your face takes up approximately 60% of the shot. Anything more seems creepy. Anything less and the picture will lack detail. We think it is fair to mention that you should not be wearing hats, sunglasses, or anything else that will disguise your face. Basically, show your awesome face off, and you will be just fine.
Head and Shoulders, but Not Knees and Toes
We consider this an important follow up tip to the one we just provided you. There are two shots that you want to avoid when taking your profile picture. You don’t want to have a face only or full body pictures. When you are thinking about a profile picture, think back to school when you would take your yearbook photos. This is the type of image that you want to put on the internet. A lot of times people take the above “focus on your face” tip a little too literally. When you have a shot of only your face, it looks amateur and can even seem a bit creepy to those viewing it. So, stick to the classic head and shoulders, and you will look great.
Look Friendly
When you look friendly and approachable in your profile picture, you will receive a warmer response from people. At no time should you attempt to look serious or intense. This usually comes across as unnecessarily fierce. On the other hand, don’t try to look too friendly, either. Huge smiles or laughing is a little over the top. Again, think back to school and have an average looking smile on your face. Your profile picture should be about a great picture of you, not an attempt to win awards for the biggest smile.
Business Casual
Profile pictures are not a time to show of your Saturday morning t-shirt. While it does give you that personable vibe, it also gives you an air of too relaxed. People do like to see this side of you, but it should not be in a picture you are taking to make yourself more appealing to the business world. It is best to stick to clothes that you will be found in at the office. Much like the first tip on going with your natural look, you should dress like you usually do at work. This goes for both extremes. There is no reason for you to rent a tuxedo for your picture. You will likely not be wearing that on a daily basis to the office.
No Filters
It may be very tempting to apply a filter or even airbrush the pictures. This is a definite no-no. You will not look like that at any point, so don’t make your profile picture be something you are not. You shouldn’t be hired based on your look anyhow. Instead of applying a filter or touching up the photo in any way, just take more pictures. We are living in the age of digital images. Therefore, you can take as many pictures as you want until you are happy with the one you have taken.
Conclusion
When we have our customers take their pictures for our purposes, we do our best to make sure they follow the above tips. Your online reputation depends on having a great photo. It will allow people to see who they are talking to. It will also set the expectations of who they are dealing with. Make every attempt to follow the above rules, and you will have more genuine interactions with people on the internet. You may even wind up having a great job or reputation for merely taking a great picture.