Your LinkedIn background photo is one of the first things people will notice when visiting your profile. It serves as your virtual first impression and can say a lot about your personal brand. Choosing the right background photo for LinkedIn is important for portraying yourself in a professional light. When done right, it can complement your profile and strengthen your personal brand.
Importance of Your LinkedIn Background Photo
Your LinkedIn background photo allows you to showcase your personality and interests beyond just your work experience. It gives your connections a better sense of who you are. This extra context can facilitate more meaningful connections on the platform.
Additionally, having an eye-catching yet professional background photo makes your profile stand out. With over 740 million members on LinkedIn, it’s important your profile gets noticed when people are searching for connections, employees, business partners, etc.
The background photo is visible front and center whenever someone lands on your profile. Since it’s one of the first things people will see, you want to make a good first impression.
Purpose of Your LinkedIn Background Photo
The main purpose of your LinkedIn background photo should be to represent your personal brand and identity. It should complement your profile rather than distract from it.
You want your photo to portray the image you want to convey to your network. This likely aligns with the professional persona you want to establish.
Your background photo is also an opportunity to display your interests, aspirations, or personality outside of work. Showcasing hobbies and interests can facilitate more meaningful connections.
The goal is to use the background image to give viewers further insight into who you are on both a professional and personal level.
Tips for Choosing a LinkedIn Background Photo
Here are some tips to choose a background photo that aligns with your personal brand:
Use a high-quality, professional looking photo
Since your background photo takes up the majority of space on your profile, you want to use a high-quality image. It should be professionally taken or at least have great resolution.
Avoid using selfies, group photos, or party photos as these tend not to look as sharp or polished.
Select a headshot or image of you
The best LinkedIn background photos feature an image of you whether it’s a headshot, photo of you giving a talk, or engaging in a work activity.
This helps reinforce your personal brand and identity. It puts a face to your name when people land on your profile.
Dress professionally
If your background photo includes you, dress professionally. This could be business formal or business casual depending on your industry.
You want to look presentable and thoughtful about your appearance. Avoid casual clothing like t-shirts or sweatshirts in your profile photo.
Display your interests or aspirations
Consider using an image related to your interests, hobbies, or aspirations outside of your career. For example, if you enjoy hiking, travel, or reading you could use an appropriate image.
This gives people more insight into your personality. Just ensure it’s done tastefully and still represents you in a professional manner.
Use relevant imagery
If you opt for an image that doesn’t include you, choose something relevant to your industry or interests. For example, someone in healthcare may choose an image of a hospital or lab.
Relevant, high-quality images that represent your field can be powerful choices.
Add text overlays carefully
Some people opt to add text captions or overlays on top of their background photo. If you do this, choose brief inspirational quotes or thoughtful phrases that represent you.
Be selective with any text overlays and ensure proper spelling/grammar – less is often more.
Showcase your travels
Using a photo from your travels can highlight your interests while also portraying you as worldly and cultured. Just ensure the photo looks professional rather than a casual vacation snapshot.
Leverage props sparingly
Occasionally props like books, eyeglasses, or coffee mugs may complement your photo. But use them sparingly and intentionally. You want the focus to remain on you. Too many props can look distracting.
Test it out
Once you’ve selected a potential background photo, test it out. Preview how it looks on your profile.
Zoom out and view your entire profile with the photo background. Make sure you look professional and put together.
Common Background Photo Mistakes to Avoid
Just as important as choosing the right background image is avoiding the many mistakes people make. Here are some key mistakes to steer clear from:
Avoid group shots
Never use a group photo for your background image. It will be unclear who you are and defeats the purpose of showcasing yourself. Your profile should put the focus entirely on you.
Don’t use casual photos
While you want to express your personality, avoid casual photos like selfies, vacation photos, party photos, etc. These can damage your professional brand if too casual.
Steer clear of inappropriate content
Your background photo should be family-friendly and avoid controversial content. Be cautious about any imagery that could be offensive or misconstrued. Play it safe.
Don’t add too many props or overlays
Having a few complementary props or text overlays can work but avoid going overboard. Too many visuals or text will make your profile look cluttered.
Avoid low quality photos
Don’t use fuzzy, grainy photos or anything with a low-resolution. Since the image is so prominent, poor quality will be very obvious.
Don’t crop yourself out
If your photo includes you, don’t crop yourself out. People want to associate the background with your face. Omitting your face defeats the purpose.
Background Photo Ideas
Need some inspiration for choosing your LinkedIn background photo? Here are some professional yet personality-showcasing ideas:
Portrait photo
A simple portrait photo, either headshot or waist up, is a common yet effective choice. Just ensure it’s high-quality and you look sharp.
Speaking at a conference
Help highlight your industry expertise by using a photo of you speaking at a conference or event.
Volunteering
An image of you volunteering shows you care about giving back. For example, taking part in a charity run or serving food at a shelter.
Traveling
As mentioned, traveling photos portray you as cultured and worldly. Just avoid casual vacation pics.
Graduation
Recent graduates could showcase their hard work by using a graduation photo.
Your office
Use imagery from your office to highlight your work environment.
Industry imagery
Show your passion for your field by using high-quality industry imagery in your background photo.
Reading
Reading a book shows intellectual curiosity.
Playing sports
Sports photos highlight your interests outside of the office.
Artistic hobbies
Images related to hobbies like painting, music, graphic design, etc. showcase your creative side.
Sizing Your LinkedIn Background Photo
To ensure your photo looks polished, take the proper sizing into account:
Recommended dimensions
The recommended dimensions for your LinkedIn background photo are 1584×396 pixels. This will ensure the image spans the full width of your profile nicely in the background.
Landscape vs portrait orientation
You can use either landscape or portrait orientation for your background photo. Landscape spans the full width while portrait centers itself in the middle.
File size
Your LinkedIn background photo must be 8MB or smaller in file size. Large high-quality image files can often be reduced substantially with compression.
Image ratios
Some common aspect ratios that work well, in addition to 1584×396, are:
– 4:3 – Good for portrait orientation
– 16:9 – Good for landscape orientation
– 2:3 – Versatile for both portrait and landscape
Use high resolution
For sharp image quality on large screens, your photo should be at least 72 DPI if saving at 1584×396 dimensions. Higher is preferred when possible.
| Orientation | Dimensions | DPI |
|---|---|---|
| Landscape | 1584×396 | 72 |
| Portrait | 1080×1920 | 72 |
Tools for Editing Your LinkedIn Background Photo
Most photo editing apps and software allow you to crop, adjust, and export images suitable for LinkedIn background photos. Here are some specific tools:
Adobe Photoshop
The industry standard for advanced image editing. Offers full control over cropping, sizing, formatting, and optimizing photos.
GIMP
Free open-source image editing software similar to Photoshop. Allows quality editing and formatting of background photos.
PicMonkey
User-friendly online photo editor with templates and design options for LinkedIn images.
Canva
Intuitive graphic design platform with photo editing features ideal for resizing and formatting profile photos.
Snapseed
Full-featured mobile photo editing app with tools for cropping, applying filters, adjusting color/contrast, etc.
Befunky
Online photo editor with user-friendly templates and quick editing tools to create quality profile photos.
PhotoPea
Free browser-based image editor with a UI similar to Photoshop. Provides advanced formatting abilities.
Pixlr
Browser photo editor with features for cropping, resizing, and tuning images to prepare ideal profile photos.
Creating a Cohesive Brand Image
Your background photo should match the rest of your LinkedIn profile and enhance your personal brand cohesiveness. Here are some tips:
Match your headshot
Your profile photo and background image should align visually. Use photos taken in the same setting for consistency.
Compliment your industry
If you use industry-specific background imagery, ensure it compliments the brand image you want to cultivate.
Reinforce your bio details
Have your background further emphasize details shared in your profile, especially those showcasing your interests and personality.
Use consistent color schemes
Choose a background photo with colors that align with your profile photo and other branding materials. Consistency is key.
Highlight important accomplishments
Your background is a great place to highlight major accomplishments featured in your bio like degrees, certifications, awards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does your background photo need to include you?
No, your background photo does not necessarily need to include you. Imagery representing your industry, interests, etc. can also be effective. But photos featuring you tend to make the strongest impression.
What’s more important, profile or background photo?
Your profile picture is arguably more important since it’s your main image. But a polished, professional background photo is still essential for a cohesive personal brand.
Can I use the same photo for both profile and background?
Using identical photos for both your profile and background pictures is not recommended, as this appears redundant. The images should complement each other while showing different sides of you.
What if I change roles or companies?
If you change jobs or companies, you don’t necessarily have to change your background photo. But you may opt to use a new image aligned with your new role or employer brand.
Should I ask permission to use certain images?
If your background includes imagery that you didn’t create, ensure you have permission to use it. Avoid using proprietary imagery without consent to prevent legal issues.
Conclusion
Your LinkedIn background photo provides a major opportunity to strengthen your personal brand and make a great first impression. Invest time into selecting a high-quality, professional image that complements your profile. Avoid common mistakes like casual photos or inappropriate imagery. Showcase your interests and accomplishments while portraying your desired brand image. With an optimized background photo, you can create a cohesive, memorable LinkedIn profile.
