October 3, 2026

How to Get a Great Professional LinkedIn Photo (From People Who Light Faces for a Living!)

Your LinkedIn photo is the first thing a recruiter, client, or potential business partner sees, before your headline and before your experience. Here's how to make sure it's saying the right thing.

What your photo says about your day

A lot of people come to us with images that could use a refresh, whether that's a photo over a decade old, a poorly edited (and poorly shot) photo, or even a cell phone shot as their current LinkedIn picture. The lighting is a little wild, the background is whatever happened to be behind them (why are we at that UGA game you went to in 2017??), and the crop is doing its best.

Here's what that photo tells someone deciding whether to work with you: you took this yourself, on a hectic day. And honestly, that's probably true. Most of our clients' days are hectic.

A polished, well-lit photo tells a different story. When I look at one as a potential business partner, it reads as someone whose work life is polished and organized as well, someone who has the ability to give the details their time and attention. Even a simple shot on a solid white backdrop does this. It erases any question of why or how the photo was taken and makes you the focus of your brand, your business, and who you are.

It's not on you to make a good photo happen

Most of our clients walk in nervous. They're worried about how they're supposed to look, what to do with their face, and whether they'll freeze up. I like to joke that we and the dentist are the two appointments people dread most.

Here's the good news! Getting a good photo is our job, not yours. We hold ourselves to professional standards and follow a process built to get there every time. We also have plenty of ways to put you at ease.

•Direct coaching. Sometimes it's as simple as "bring your chin down" or "tilt your head a little."

•Getting you out of your head. We'll give you something to imagine that brings out a real feeling, so your expression comes from somewhere instead of being posed.

•Doing it with you. We don't ask you to laugh. We laugh with you. We don't tell you to smile. We smile with you.

We come from film and acting, so directing people in front of a camera, as well as being directed (by good and bad directors), is what we've done for years. You'd be surprised how many people leave saying, "That was a lot easier than I thought it would be," or "That wasn't nearly as painful as I expected." Unlike the dentist.

If you're doing it yourself

If a session isn't in the cards yet, you can still get a solid photo with your phone. DIY photos usually fail because of setup, not gear.

1.Light: Face a large window with indirect daylight. Avoid overhead lights, direct sun, flash, and windows behind you.

2.Background: Keep it plain and quiet, like a light gray or white wall. Nothing should compete with your face.

3.Wardrobe: Go one step above your everyday work clothes. Solid mid-tones like navy, charcoal, or gray work best. Skip busy patterns and big logos.

4.Camera: Use the rear camera, propped at eye level, with the timer on. Take a lot of frames.

5.Framing: Shoot from the shoulders up, leave a little room above your head for LinkedIn's circle crop, and angle your shoulders slightly.

6.Editing: Fix exposure and color. Skip heavy filters and skin smoothing.

The goal is you on a good day, not a stock photo.

A word on AI headshots

AI headshot apps are fast and cheap, and for some people that's enough. The risks are likeness, security, and usage.

Likeness. Many apps over-smooth skin, subtly reshape features, or put you in a suit you'd never wear. When a recruiter meets you on Zoom or in person and you don't quite match your photo, that small gap costs trust.

Security. To build your headshot, these apps need a dozen or more photos of your face. Before you upload, read the privacy policy: how long they keep your photos, whether they use them to train their models, and whether you can delete them. Your face is biometric data, and once it's uploaded you don't fully control where it goes.

Usage. Check the terms for who owns the results. Some services keep broad rights to the images they generate. Also confirm you're allowed to use the photos beyond your profile, for things like press, a company bio, or a speaker page. Some employers and publications may also prefer photos that aren't AI-generated.

Authenticity. A lot of our clients tried an AI headshot app first and eventually came to us anyway. AI is behind more and more of what we see every day, and that's exactly why authenticity matters. Over the next 10 or 20 years, the people who succeed will be the ones others trust, and trust starts with being real. AI can give your photo an artificial polish, but people can read it. A real photo of you on a good day earns trust that a generated one can't.

If you go this route, read the fine print, upload sharp, well-lit photos, and only use results that look unmistakably like you. With a photographer, you know exactly who has your photos and what you're allowed to do with them.

What a session with us looks like

Individual sessions start at $325. You can book by the look, or choose a timed session and do as many looks as you want within the time. Prior to any photo being taken, we'll comb through the wardrobe options that you've brought in and make a blueprint for how the shoot will go. Next, we'll test lighting, build that lighting for your face, and direct you the whole way through.

Retouching cleans up temporary things like stray hairs, shine, and wrinkles without changing your face. The test is simple: someone who knows you should recognize you instantly and just think you look well rested, well hydrated, and well funded ; ). Finished images are delivered in 3–5 business days, with expedited options if you need them sooner.

See headshot sessions and packages

When to update it

Update your photo every two to three years at minimum, and sooner if your look, role, or industry has changed. For client-facing or executive roles, every year or two is better. A photo that no longer looks like you creates friction before you've said a word. If you're not the person in the photo, is the product the same product from the advertisement?

Ready to stop guessing? Book a session at our studio in Downtown Atlanta, and we'll handle the whole thing: the light, the direction, and the retouching. The only thing you're responsible for is showing up.