Professional Photos
What are professional pictures?
Just like when you go to a job interview, the first impression you give a professional connection or a recruiter on LinkedIn matters the most. Your photo is an integral part of your profile and, along with your employment history and other credentials, markets you as a strong prospective employee or a solid networking connection.
Why does having a professional photo on LinkedIn matter so much? Your photo is an important part of your LinkedIn profile for a number of reasons. When you meet a LinkedIn contact in person for the first time, they will be able to recognize you because of your photo.
How to Pick a Perfect Professional Photo
Here are tips on how to take Professional Photos and how to sell your pictures online select the best one. These guidelines also work well for other sites where you need to project a professional image with a business photo.
Pick the Right Photographer. If you can afford it, a professional photographer can make it easier to get that perfect headshot. However, you don’t necessarily need to go to the expense of hiring a professional.
Professional Photos Take a Selfie. If no one is available to take your photo, you can always take a web shot of yourself using your computer’s camera (if you have one). If you’ve got a phone with a high-quality camera, you can take a selfie.
Use a Headshot. Because profile photos appear as small thumbnails on LinkedIn, your photo should only be of your head, neck, and possibly the top of your shoulders.
Dress Professionally. Because LinkedIn is a professional career and business platform, make sure that your Professional Photos show you in a manner appropriate for your field.
Keep it Simple. Your photo should be of you, and only you. Do not include objects, pets, or children.
Select a Current Photo. Do not include a dated photo no matter how young and attractive you look. Use a current picture so people aren’t surprised when they meet you in person.
Be Consistent with Professional Photos. When developing your professional online brand, consistency is key. Therefore, it is a good idea to use the same photo for all your professional and social networking profile pictures. thebalancecareers.com
Professional Photos Headshot
A headshot or headshot is a modern (usually digital) portrait in which the focus is on the person. The term is applied usually for professional profile images on social media, images used on online dating profiles, the ‘about us page’ of a corporate website, and promotional pictures of actors, models, and authors.
Actors’ headshots, Professional Photos when they are printed and not simply uploaded online to an industry database, are done in an 8"×10" format. Other promotional images, for example, press shots and lobby prints, may be in many different aspect ratios. Acting headshots are often not photographic prints, instead, they are typically printed via a lithographic or laser process.
Modeling headshots are usually used for:
- Comp cards or tear sheets
- Modeling portfolios
- TV advertisements for skin products
- Magazine advertisements for creams and other skin or hair products
- Online industry profiles
Models’ headshots are also often professionally retouched to ensure their close-up beauty photograph appears perfect without blemishes or spots. wikipedia.org
13 Ways to Make Your Photos Look Professional
There is no silver bullet to making a professional picture. It often takes years of practice; however, as a newer photographer, you’ll find that there are some things that will dramatically improve your photography without much effort.
No Aberrations
An aberration in photography is something that is left in the picture that doesn’t belong in the picture. It makes the photo feel cluttered with distractions that keep the viewer from enjoying the subject.
Digital Styling
Digital styling is applied in Photoshop and Lightroom and allows the photographer to creatively change the colors, contrast, and exposure.
While I personally am not much of a fan of the filters on Instagram, we have all seen a photo that looks much more trendy and creative when a filter is applied to it.
Unique Perspective
Sometimes I find an interesting subject, but just not an interesting place to photograph it from. If you look at professional photos, they are very often taken from non-obvious spots. For example, a photo of a CEO will be photographed from down low, looking up at the person to make him or her look more powerful.
Or, in the case of photographing a city, we often want to get to a very high perspective to shoot down and see the whole city.
Proper Exposure
Exposure means the brightness or darkness of a photo. It’s probably the thing that beginning photographers put the most work into learning.
There are three ways to control the exposure of a photo: aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. improvephotography.com
How To Take Professional Photos: A Beginner’s Guide
Do you want to learn how to take professional photos? Here are some professional photography tips that will show you how to make your pictures look more polished.
To inexperienced photographers, taking a great photo can seem simple: just point and shoot. But anyone who’s tried to learn how to take professional photos knows that there’s a lot more to it than that.
From choosing the right subject and setting up a cool composition to finding the best light, it takes a lot of consideration to capture a great photo.
The focal point of a photo is the main point of interest. It could be anything from a tree, to a building, to a person (or their eyes). Finding a strong focal point is one of the fundamental steps of how to take professional photos. So when you’re planning out or setting up a shot, you should stop and ask yourself, “What do I want viewers to focus on?”
Put Some Thought Into Perspective
Perspective has a massive impact on the composition of any photo. By simply changing the angle or distance you shoot from, you can totally change the mood and meaning of your images.
Professional Photos Frame Your Shot
Framing is another technique that can help you take professional photos. It involves finding something that can act as a natural frame for your composition, and then shooting so your subject is inside it. Some examples include a doorway, an archway, some foliage, or a hole in a wall. This type of framing can help direct the viewer’s attention to your focal point.
Look for Patterns and Symmetry — Then Disrupt Them
Including patterns or symmetrical elements in your photos can make them more eye-catching. Humans have a tendency to spot patterns, and it’s one reason that including them in your shots can help you learn how to take professional photos.
If you happen to be shooting with your camera on automatic settings (which is not how to take professional photos, but more on that later!), it will use a high ISO setting or extra-long exposure, and you’ll probably end up with grainy or blurry results. And, if you try to brighten things up in Photoshop, you may find you have to make massive adjustments, which also results in a low-quality image
Learn Your Camera’s Settings
For instance, if you are trying to take a silhouette, your camera may try to capture the wrong details and you’ll end up dimly lit subject against a blown-out background. If you’re trying to shoot at night, it may give you extra-long exposure when you don’t want it, and you’ll end up with a blurry mess.
So spend some time familiarizing yourself with your camera’s settings, because it’s a critical step in learning how to make pictures look professional. format.com
Upload your Profesional Photos on the Droll Pics app and sell them online. Get paid for your selfies pics.
