Your profile picture is probably one of the most important images on your blog but it’s the one that so many of us just pick from whatever selfie we like best at the moment. A good profile picture is important because that’s the first thing many people are making a judgement on – rightly or wrongly! – if they like the look of you, then they’ll look at the other stuff you’re doing.
Find the best lighting
Lighting is so important in profile pictures. You’ll probably want a soft light where there aren’t any harsh shadows on your face – the best place for that is a sunny window, but try to avoid direct sunlight as that can be quite hard. If you’re more artistic with how light works, then using hard light to create a specific look can look really awesome too!
Lift yourself
You probably remember the classic MySpace profile pic pose where you would lift your camera as high above you as possible and shoot downwards. There’s no need to go to those extremes, but pointing your camera down slightly can be quite flattering, which brings us to the next point…
Strike a pose
Or strike many poses. The best thing about digital cameras is that you’re not restricted to the 24 shots on a film (and the cost!) – keep taking lots of pictures and changing up your poses to see what you like best. Research has shown that eye contact and a smile are really important, so get your favourite song on your iPod and dance about with the poses!
Choose your colours
By this, we mean not just considering what you’re wearing but what’s going on around you – what’s in the background. Try to clear away anything that could be in shot so viewers aren’t distracted wondering if that’s a pair of pants in the background!
Of course, you could just ignore everything mentioned and choose your favourite picture – the most important thing in a profile picture is that you love it and don’t overthink things!
