Tips from a Professional Photographer:

The best types of images for your web and bio page photo!

Choosing the perfect bio page photo or social media profile pic is a pretty important decision. It’s the first thing people see when they click on your page. And you know how powerful a first impression is! But how do you choose? As an experienced headshot and personal branding photographer for business professionals in Richmond, Virginia, here are some tips on how to choose the right photo for your web and bio pages, some examples, and my favorite types of photos. Plus, how and where to use them!

What is a bio page photo?

This is a fancy way of saying your “profile pic”. This is the image you use to fill in that little circle on your social media profiles. It is also the image(s) you use on your website About page, the photo you use in your email signature, your business cards, and anywhere there is a write up about you, or a feature, such as a speaking engagement. Below, I break down the different types of bio page photos you can use and where they work best.
Bonus: In this video, I put together some more inspo on tons of ways you can use your headshots!

My favorite types of photos to use for web and bio pages:

1. The “Friendly, Personable” portrait.

People want to work with someone they like, so show your friendly face! This should be a nice photo of your face, looking at the camera. You can smile big, smile small, whatever feels right to you. Just make sure it is clear, clean and represents the best version of yourself. And what you actually look like, which is another important thing to consider.

• Best used for your LinkedIn profile and anywhere you have one main featured photo.

2. The “At Work” aka “Basa$$ Business Owner” portrait.

This is you in your element, doing your thing and conveying a sense that you KNOW how to do your job, that you are passionate about it and that you do it well. And you dont have to be a business owner to use a photo like this. It can very well be an “on the job” photo showing you at work, whatever that may be. But like mentioned above, make sure you can clearly tell it is you.

• Great for your About page, contact page and social media content.

3. Bonus Fav: the “Lifestyle” portrait.

Along the same lines as “friendly” this gives your audience a sense of who you are outside of work, to potentially connect with them on a deeper level. With this type of photo, you can show yourself doing an activity that you love. And again, dont forget that this is a bio photo, so you want to be sure it clearly shows you.

• Perfect for story posts, blogs, headers, hero and email headers.

What not to do:

There are a few basic no-nos when it comes to choosing or creating your bio photo. Here are just a few of the main things to consider:

• Do not, I repeat, do NOT use a blurry, low resolution photo. This just screams amateur. And you definitely don’t want that. It also subconsciously gives the impression that you just don’t care.
• You know when you can obviously tell that someone took a group photo, then tried to crop around everyone else in it, but you can still see someone else’s cheek? Yeah, don’t do that. I don’t care how good you think you look in that photo, this is a big unprofessional nope.
• No distracting backgrounds. That doesn’t mean no background, because a background can be really cool if used correctly. Just don’t use something that is cluttered, messy or distracts from and makes it hard to decipher your face.
• And as I always say, try not to use a photo that is more than 2-3 years old. If you’re still using your favorite photo from 2014, please get that updated ASAP!

Where to start:

Ok, so you are now ready to choose the perfect bio page photo for your website and social media platforms. If you already have a library of professional images to choose from, this next step will be easy! Simply review what you have and choose what makes the most sense for your brand and your audience.

If you do NOT have professional photos to choose from, you need to do a bit more work. Here are your options:

• If you need a placeholder ASAP – You can attempt a DIY with a bit of strategy and maybe help from a friend.
• Use THIS LINK to download my FREE guide to DIY Brand Photos.
• THIS LINK has some tips on how to prep for headshots.
• If you have the time and want to leave it to a professional, I’d love to help you out with that! You can do a simple, quick headshot session of a full day branding session, depending on your needs.

Watch me talk about it, plus more examples in the IG Reel below!

For Corporate Headshot info CLICK HERE! | For Personal Branding info CLICK HERE!

Thank you for reading! You may also like:

5 SIGNS IT’S TIME FOR NEW HEADSHOTS!

HOW TO ENSURE A NON-BORING SESSION

PERSONAL BRAND REFRESH CHECKLIST

Have questions? Want to chat or say hi? Send me a message with the form below!