What makes for a good profile photo?

What makes for a good profile photo?

Normally the first thing you we see is the persons profile photo.  People click around quickly, and have the attention span of a goldfish, so its vital to have a picture that people are going to notice and remember.  If it isn't then you've failed in the first step of creating your personal brand and you may have lost your chance to make that positive first impression.

Take my photo as an example.  The hat started off life as something practical, to keep the sun out of my eyes and rain off my glasses.  However over the months its taken on a life of its own and is now a part of my personal brand.  People recognise me because of it, and if I'm meeting someone for the first time I'll wear it and finding each other in a crowd is always easy.  So I use it in my pictures.

Get a decent photo to start with.  Do you really think its the best impression to show people a photo of you half pissed at a party?  It's all about the image.

Obviously I'm going to recommend getting professional photos done, but if you don't have the budget or just want to try something yourself to start with, then do just that.

I've never been a fan of using the self timer for portrait shots as the end results normally look staged, so better to get a friend to take a few photos of you, that way you aren't expecting the "click" and hopefully the results will be more natural.

Don't fart around using a tripod, and unless you know what you're doing turn the on camera flash off.  Get outside on a cloudy day, or if its sunny find some shade, or better still a shaded area that has some sunlight bounced into it (maybe from a building), and shoot.  Take lots of shots, it's digital, it ain't costing you nothing.  So take 30, 4o, 50 shots, or more if you want.  The last time I got a friend (thanks Jules) to take my photo I think we ended up taking over 100, of which I liked maybe 10, and use just 2 or 3.

Be really critical in the selection process.  It's a lesson I learned while shooting my first wedding.  I'd been invited along by another photographer as a "second shooter", and he said I could use 20 images from the wedding for my portfolio.  Having taken over 500 pictures and being forced to get down to just 20 was hard.  At first I thought he was being mean, but in hindsight I was learning a valuable lesson.  I was only using and showing the very best images from that wedding to the world.  This is why I often limit the number of pictures I give to my clients.  Not because I'm being tight, but because I want them to use only the very best images that show both them and me in the best possible way.

Once you've found a picture you like, stick with it.  Don't go changing it every few days or weeks, leave it alone.  I refer you back to people having the attention span of a goldfish while on the internet, so give them something to remember you by.  Consistency is the key word here.

Personally I hate images that are "dicked around" with.  Sure you can use photoshop effects, make yourself look like a work of art or a cartoon, but my advice for what its worth is don't.

Keep it simple.  Keep it natural.  Keep it you.

So there you go, just my views on what makes for a good profile photo.