One of the most important pieces of building your online presence as a blogger is creating the perfect profile photo. Your profile photo will be used in your blog as well as all your social media accounts to ensure consistency and familiarity throughout your brand. That’s why it’s important that you put some time and thought into creating your perfect profile photo.
In this post, I’ll first talk about why and how to take a good profile photo, and then I’ll show you how to quickly and easily edit your photo so it looks absolutely perfect!
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Why Do You Need a Perfect Profile Photo?
When someone discovers a new blog, who do you think is going to make a better impression on them? Someone who appears shy, not confident, afraid to show themselves? Or someone who appears smart, likeable and trustworthy?
We’ve all seen those grainy or shadowy, obscure profile photos on people’s blogs and social media profiles. Maybe even on your blog or profiles. Well, like it or not, people will make quick judgements on you and your blog based on your profile photo. And since we usually only get one chance to make a first impression, you hopefully understand now why it’s so important to have the perfect profile photo.
What to Consider When Taking Your Profile Photo
So now that we understand why we need a good photo, let’s talk about how to take and make a good one. Here are 9 tips to consider when creating a perfect profile photo.
- Use Your Profile Photo Consistently
It’s important that people become familiar with you and your brand and the best way for them to do that is for them to instantly recognize you when they “see” you online. Think about those times you’ve searched someone’s name on Facebook or LinkedIn and then received a bunch of results with the same name. How easy would it be for them to instantly spot you because they recognize your photo?If you’ve been following me for even a little while, I’m sure you’ve seen mine:
So use the same profile photo in your blog, email newsletters, and all your social media profiles. You may also consider adding it to your email signature and business cards if you use them. - Use a Simple Background
To help you stand out and show your best you, use a simple and uncomplicated background if possible. - Use Your Brand Colors
It’s helpful to use your brand colors in your photos. You can either wear your brand colors or use them in your background. As you can see, I use both in mine. - Go Solo
Using group photos for your profile photo can confuse people. Which one is you? The best profile photos have just one person in them. - Don’t Use a Selfie
It’s best to have someone take your photos for you. If you can’t afford to hire a professional photographer, no worries! Recruit a friend who tends to take great photos to take yours for you. - Show Your Face
These are the photos that don’t make perfect profile photos: photos in the shadows, photos of you in the distance, photos of you looking away, photos of your dog, etc. You don’t have to look like a model to take a perfect profile photo, people trust advice from someone who isn’t afraid to show their face and someone who looks authentic, friendly and relatable (i.e. trustworthy). - Choose the Right Angle
When you have your photographer (whether pro or amateur) take photos of you, practice different angles to find your best one. Take photos of your left and right sides. Looking up, and looking down. Looking at the camera or off to the side. Which angle shows your nose, chin, and eyes the best? - Smile
To look likeable and trustworthy, smile! - Use Good Lighting
The best photos are taken outdoors, usually in the morning or late afternoon when the sun is not so harsh. Indoor photos work fine too of course, just make sure you have ample lighting.
Related: How to Create a Killer Blog Sidebar Profile Bio + Photo
Creating the Perfect Photo is Not Easy
Now even if you follow all of the rules above, you may still not end up with the perfect profile photo. Your lighting may be off, the colors in your photo are dull, or (gasp!) your skin flaws are glaringly obvious.
Let’s face it, most of us don’t have perfect skin. Of course that doesn’t stop advertisers from digitally touching up photographs of their models. But since Photoshop is expensive and has a steep learning curve anyway, you’re pretty much left to deal with whatever photos your camera takes, right?
Not anymore.🙂
New online image editing tools have really changed the game for us bloggers. They take the learning curve out and make it super easy for the average person to beautifully enhance their photos and graphics. But one online image editor, in particular, has really taken the cake.
Let me introduce you to the all-new BeFunky A.I. series. BeFunky, one of my fave online image editing apps, just released two new features: A.I. Portrait and Image Enhancement tools, Artificial Intelligence-powered photo editing built specifically for portraits and/or photographic images.
What this means to you is that YOU can now digitally enhance your own photos with one click of a button!
Now this is a very exciting announcement in the DIY digital design space, so let’s explore this new tool together.
Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by BeFunky, however I only recommend products I use and love myself. Click here to read my full disclaimer.
The BeFunky A.I. Portrait Enhancer
The A.I. Portrait Enhancer was built specifically to enhance portrait photography and it literally takes just one click vs a formerly complicated editing process to significantly transform a blah photo into a high-quality portrait you’ll be proud to display on your profiles. Here is what the A.I. Portrait Enhancer can do:
Enhance Underexposed Profile Photos
If you don’t have the proper lighting when you take your photo, more than likely you’ll end up with a photo that has too many shadows. Everything else about it can be perfect, but those shadows will ruin the whole thing. And speaking from experience, trying to fix these issues is time consuming and usually hit or miss.
The A.I. Portrait Enhancer intelligently adjusts the highlights, shadows, brightness and contrast so your photos look their best and brightest!
Give You Naturally Glowing Skin
Another problem with traditional image editing, if you don’t have expert skills, is over-editing. Over-editing is when photos are so “Photoshopped,” you can actually tell they have been “Photoshopped!” Well that’s no good either because it takes the authenticity away from your profile photo, and the whole point of the perfect profile photo is to show your well, authenticity.
Thankfully the A.I. Portrait Enhancer minimizes the appearances of blemishes and imperfections on your skin, without making you look fake. A few simple corrections bring out your natural beauty without any work on your part!
Brighten Your Smile
Afraid to follow rule #8 (hint: Smile) because your teeth look yellow? The A.I. Portrait Enhancer will also whiten and brighten your teeth with a soft, natural (read: not fake) look.
Brighten Your Eyes
As if the A.I. Portrait Enhancer didn’t do enough, it also brightens and sharpens your eyes by enhancing the whites and making your eye color pop. It even reduces red eye! Again, all with a natural look.
The BeFunky A.I. Portrait Enhancer in Action
Watch this quick video to see how I automatically enhance one of my profile photos and see the dramatic difference it makes, all with one click!
The BeFunky A.I. Image Enhancer
While we’re talking blog photos, do you also take your own flat lay, product photos, travel photos, etc. for your blog or social media posts? Great, because just like the Portrait Enhancer improves portraits, the A.I. Image Enhancer significantly improves all your other photography, both indoor and outdoor! Unfortunately, I see too many blogs using photos marred with too many shadows, bad contrast or off-colors.
But never fear, the A.I. Image Enhancer comes to the rescue. Just open your photo up in BeFunky, click the Image Enhancer button and your photo is instantly leveled up! The A.I. technology automatically adds the right amount of light and contrast, then makes the colors more vibrant and intense to really boost the quality of your images.
No More Excuses Now. Go Create Your Perfect Profile Photo!
Ready to start making beautiful photos for your blog and profiles? All you need to access the A.I. series tools is a BeFunky Plus account, which also happens to include a ton of other powerful exclusives! Just click this link to get started.
Want feedback on your current or new profile photo? Come post it in the Blog Beautiful Facebook community, or leave a comment below with a link to it.
Wow nice article for me
Hey Marianne,
Thanks for letting us know the importance of a perfect profile photo, a profile picture can really make an impact.
I will be changing my profile picture after reading this article.
Hi Marianne,
I really liked your article! I agree that profile photos play an important part in your blogging journey. Amid perfecting everything else, I have somehow ignored the profile photo. But your article not only reminded me of its importance but also guided me to perfect it. So, thanks a lot for taking the time and putting together this article. I will be following your advice while taking a profile photo. I will also be sharing this article within my network to help fellow bloggers.
i really liked this blog post, I will be heeding your guidance while taking a profile photograph. I will likewise be sharing this article inside my organization to help individual bloggers.
I really liked your article! It is very interesting blog and your pics are beautiful.
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When I take a picture for my profile, I will make sure to follow the advice you gave me.