A great LinkedIn headshot is one of the highest-leverage improvements you can make to your professional presence. Recruiters, prospects, and hiring managers all scan headshots in a fraction of a second, and a crisp, professional photo buys you a lot of trust before anyone reads a word. The good news is that with a smartphone, some window light, and a quick background swap, you can make a headshot that looks like it came out of a studio.
The elements of a good headshot
Before we talk about process, let us talk about what makes a headshot actually work on LinkedIn:
- Face clearly visible. Your head should take up most of the frame with a little space above your head.
- Eye contact with the camera. Eyes should be level with or slightly above the camera lens.
- Soft, even light on the face. Avoid harsh shadows on one side.
- Neutral expression or a friendly, closed-mouth smile. Open-mouth smiles can look dated.
- A clean background. You want nothing competing for attention with your face.
The home studio setup
You do not need anything fancy:
- A smartphone with a decent camera (anything from the last five years)
- A window with soft, natural light, ideally north-facing
- A plain wall or any background you plan to remove
- A friend, a tripod, or a stack of books to hold your phone
Set up facing the window. Stand or sit about a foot and a half from the wall behind you. Put the phone at eye level, about four feet away. Use the rear camera, not the selfie camera, because rear cameras have better optics and higher resolution.
Dialing in the shot
A few things to check before you press the shutter:
- Frame. Crop from mid-chest up. Leave a little space above the head.
- Angle. Keep the camera level with your eyes, not below your chin.
- Wardrobe. Wear something in a color that contrasts with your background. For most skin tones, jewel tones like navy, emerald, or burgundy photograph beautifully.
- Grooming. Take a mirror check for stray hair, crumbs, or collar issues.
- Expression. Take 20 photos in quick succession. You will delete 18, keep 2.
Then take two or three slight variations in angle so you have options.
The background swap
Here is where the modern workflow shines. Instead of trying to find a perfect studio backdrop at home, shoot against any plain wall, then replace the background:
- Pick your favorite shot and upload it to rmv.bg
- Download the transparent PNG
- Open it in Canva, Figma, or Photoshop
- Add a soft gray, beige, or brand-color background behind it
- Optionally add a subtle radial gradient so the background is lighter behind your head
The final composite will look like it was shot in a real studio, because the only thing missing from a real studio was a plain background, and now you have one.
Quick retouching
Do not over-edit. A little retouching goes a long way:
- Soften the skin slightly, but keep texture
- Brighten the eyes very lightly
- Whiten teeth slightly if needed
- Boost contrast by 5 to 10 percent
- Warm the white balance just a touch
Avoid filters that flatten skin into plastic or shift skin tones to an unnatural orange.
Exporting for LinkedIn
LinkedIn recommends a 400 by 400 pixel profile photo. For best quality, export at 800 by 800 and let LinkedIn do the resizing. Use a JPG at 85 to 90 percent quality or a PNG if you have a transparent version for other uses.
Upload the result and watch your connection requests and InMail responses start to climb. If you want a quick way to shoot with a messy wall and still end up with a clean background, try rmv.bg on your best shot and see how it transforms the image.