Having an eye-catching and professional profile picture on LinkedIn is crucial for making a good first impression and standing out from the crowd. With over 800 million members on the platform, competition for connections and opportunities is fierce. This makes investing time into crafting the perfect LinkedIn headshot an important task for anyone looking to boost their personal brand and presence on the site.
Fortunately, there are now a variety of apps and tools available to help create, edit and optimize profile pictures specifically for LinkedIn and other social media sites. These apps provide users with templates, editing features and AI technology to quickly produce professional profile photos.
Top Apps for LinkedIn Profile Pictures
Here are some of the most popular and highly-rated apps for sprucing up your LinkedIn profile photo:
Fotor
Fotor is a free, user-friendly photo editing app with a range of features to help perfect profile pictures. Users can easily crop photos to meet LinkedIn’s recommended 400×400 pixel dimensions for profile images. The app also provides filters, lighting effects, blemish removal, collage templates and text/sticker overlays to help customize your look. Fotor makes it easy to achieve a polished, professional headshot for LinkedIn and other social networks.
Visme
Visme is an online graphic design platform with a dedicated LinkedIn profile picture maker. Users can choose from dozens of pre-made LinkedIn photo templates featuring backgrounds, overlays, color schemes and text design optimized for the platform. The tool allows you to upload your own photo, insert it into a template, and customize the design with just a few clicks. Visme then exports your completed profile photo with the ideal dimensions and resolution for LinkedIn.
Canva
Canva is a popular graphic design platform that offers templates for social media profile pictures, including specific dimensions for LinkedIn. After selecting your preferred layout, you can drag and drop your own headshot photo and customize the look with shapes, frames, filters and text overlays tailored to LinkedIn’s aesthetics. Canva makes it simple to create a polished, professional profile photo from scratch.
Photofeeler
Photofeeler provides AI-powered feedback on profile photos to help users pick the best headshot. After uploading your potential LinkedIn profile pictures, Photofeeler’s algorithm will rate them on three key criteria – competence, likeability and influence. This data-backed insight helps you determine which photo projects the most positive first impression for the LinkedIn audience.
Retouch Me
Retouch Me lets users instantly retouch profile photos with AI-powered editing tools. Simply upload your chosen headshot and the app will automatically improve lighting, remove blemishes, smooth skin and optimize color balance. This helps photos meet the polish and perfection expected of LinkedIn profile pictures. You can make further adjustments manually as needed.
PicMonkey
PicMonkey is an advanced online photo editor with touch up tools and design features ideal for sprucing up your LinkedIn profile picture. The app provides blemish removal, teeth whitening, color correction, backgrounds, overlays and more for giving your headshot a professional look. You can also precisely crop images to LinkedIn’s recommended 400×400 size.
Biteable
In addition to profile photos, Biteable lets you create short animated videos to use instead of static headshots on some social platforms, including LinkedIn. The app has a range of professional video templates and allows you to customize them with your own content, colors, text, logos and imagery. This can help your profile stand out.
Key LinkedIn Profile Photo Best Practices
When designing your LinkedIn profile picture using any photo editing app, keep these best practices in mind:
– Use a high-quality, well-lit, close-up headshot photo. Make sure your face and eyes are clearly visible.
– Dress professionally and neatly. Avoid casual wear like t-shirts, shorts or ripped jeans.
– Display friendly eye contact and a warm, natural smile. Avoid staring blankly at the camera.
– Crop the image tightly around your head and shoulders. LinkedIn recommends a square 400×400 pixel size.
– Use a solid, conservative background color like white, gray or blue. Avoid busy patterns.
– Optimize lighting to avoid shadows or glare on your face. Diffused natural light often works best.
– Make sure your face is centered in the frame. Leave more space above your head than below your chin.
– Maintain a professional appearance with tidy hair, minimal jewelry and natural makeup.
– Consider brightness, contrast and color balance. Avoid overly filtered or saturated looks.
– Be consistent with other profile pictures on social media to maintain a cohesive personal brand.
LinkedIn Profile Picture Size and Dimensions
Following LinkedIn’s recommended specifications for profile photos is key:
– 400 x 400 pixels is the ideal and required size
– JPEGs and PNGs are the recommended image formats
– A minimum size of 200 x 200 pixels is acceptable but may appear pixelated
– 2MB maximum file size
– Square crop is preferred over rectangular
Using photo editing apps that provide templates and guides tailored to these exact LinkedIn dimensions ensures your finished profile picture will fit perfectly on the platform.
How to Change Your LinkedIn Profile Photo
Updating your profile picture on LinkedIn to use your optimized headshot from a photo editing app only takes a few simple steps:
1. Open your LinkedIn profile on desktop or mobile and click on your current profile picture.
2. In the pop-up window, click the camera icon to upload your new photo. Select your pre-made image file from your computer or mobile device.
3. Preview how the photo looks on your profile. Use the cropping tool to adjust the framing if desired.
4. Click “Save” or “Apply” to set your new profile picture live on your LinkedIn profile.
Conclusion
Using a specialized app to craft the perfect LinkedIn-optimized profile photo can make a huge difference in how your personal brand is perceived. Apps that provide AI-powered editing tools, templates and expert photo feedback help create headshots that check all the boxes for an appealing yet professional image on LinkedIn. Investing a small amount of time into properly editing your profile picture improves your chances of making positive first impressions and landing new opportunities through the platform.