What should I wear for a LinkedIn headshot?

Wear what your target industry wears on a good day. Corporate, finance and consulting: a charcoal or navy blazer with a white shirt. Tech, product and design: a navy crewneck, black turtleneck or open-collar oxford. Solid colours in mid tones photograph best; avoid busy patterns, logos and pure white or black outfits that blow out against the background.

Do LinkedIn headshots need a plain background?

Plain or softly blurred is best, because LinkedIn shows your photo as a small circle in search and messages. Studio grey, a warm white or a muted wall keeps your face as the only subject. A blurred office or city window also works as long as the scene has no sharp detail behind you.

What size should a LinkedIn profile photo be?

LinkedIn recommends 400 by 400 pixels minimum and accepts up to 7680 by 4320 pixels, at under 8 MB. Every headshot from Smart Headshots AI is a 4:5 portrait PNG with your face centred, so it crops cleanly into the circle. Upload the full file and use LinkedIn's crop tool to centre your face.

Is it okay to use AI for headshots?

Yes. AI headshots offer a convenient way to create a polished portrait from your own photos. Your private session model uses your uploads as the foundation for your likeness, with outfits, backgrounds and lighting chosen for your profile. You receive commercial usage rights, and delivered PNGs carry embedded metadata declaring their AI origin. Choose a current, recognizable portrait and follow the image requirements of the platform or publisher where you use it.

How to make the best AI headshot?

1. Upload 8 to 15 recent photos that clearly show your face. 2. Have them taken from a step back rather than at arm's length, because a phone held close widens your features. 3. Vary angle, expression and lighting across the set. 4. Pick outfits and backdrops that match the industry you are targeting, not just the one you are in. 5. Review the whole gallery before you choose, then use the same image on your profile, your applications and your other accounts.

How many photos do I need to upload for a LinkedIn headshot?

At least 8, and 8 to 15 is the sweet spot. They should be recent, clearly show your face, and vary in angle and lighting. Have a few taken from a step back rather than at arm's length, because selfie lenses widen the face and the model would learn that distortion.

How long do LinkedIn headshots take to generate?

Expected delivery is about 2 hours on Starter, 1 hour on Professional, and 30-45 minutes on Executive. These are approximate times; you receive an email when your gallery is ready.

Should I smile in my LinkedIn headshot?

A slight, natural smile with direct eye contact reads as confident and approachable, which is the impression recruiters respond to. A full grin can look casual and a blank expression can look cold. You get dozens of expressions in every session, so pick the one that feels like you on a good day.

What if my LinkedIn headshots do not look like me?

Your own photos are the starting point for your likeness. A private model trained only on your session photos creates portraits with the styling you choose. Clear, recent photos taken from a step back give it a strong view of your features and natural expressions; choose the gallery favorites that feel most like you. For individual sessions, Professional and Executive include one free re-run within 7 days of delivery. Every individual plan offers a full refund within that window. Keep your source photos during the window; deleting them early closes the re-run and refund window.

LinkedIn Headshots

AI LinkedIn headshots for a recognizable professional profile

Create AI LinkedIn headshots that put a clear, recognizable face to your experience. Upload 8 to 15 recent photos: a private model trained only on your session photos creates polished options for your profile, applications and introductions. Choose the outfit and background that fit your next role.

from · No subscription · One-time payment
7-day refund window after delivery

Matching source photo: the same person in a navy sweatshirt in a library. — A clear, recognizable headshot for your LinkedIn profile, from the profile header to the small circle beside your posts.

A LinkedIn headshot is a head and shoulders portrait, framed for the circle crop LinkedIn applies, that represents you on your profile, in recruiter search results and beside every message and comment you post.

Before and after

From phone photo to LinkedIn profile photo

Explore how clothing, light and background shape a profile that stays clear in the feed. Your own session starts with your photos: a private model uses them as the foundation for your likeness while you choose the styling.

After
Before
LinkedIn Headshots 01
Light blue shirt in a glass office with even daylight. The clean corporate setting suits a LinkedIn profile.
After
Before
LinkedIn Headshots 02
Blue blazer and white top on a bright veranda, with a direct smile. It presents a polished but approachable professional image.
After
Before
LinkedIn Headshots 03
Charcoal blazer and white shirt in a bright office, with a gentle smile. The framing works for an experienced professional profile.
After
Before
LinkedIn Headshots 04
Gray suit against dark wood panels, with a composed expression. It gives a formal executive profile with strong contrast.

Where it shows up

One LinkedIn headshot, every surface a recruiter checks

LinkedIn crops your photo into a circle and shows it at thumbnail size almost everywhere. A headshot built for that crop works across the whole hiring funnel.

01
Profile photo
The circle crop at the top of your profile, shown at 400 by 400 pixels on desktop and much smaller in search. Face centered, shoulders in frame, nothing cut off by the circle.
02
Recruiter search results
Recruiters scan lists of dozens of candidates at once. A well-lit face on a plain background is what separates a profile that gets opened from one that gets skipped.
03
Applications and Easy Apply
Your photo travels with every application you send. Hiring managers see it next to your name before they read a single line of your resume.
04
InMail and connection requests
Cold outreach lives or dies on the 40-pixel avatar next to your message. A clear, friendly headshot raises the odds that a stranger accepts.
05
Posts and comments
Every post you write carries your avatar. If you are building a presence in your field, a consistent headshot makes you recognisable across the feed.
06
Company page and team slides
Employers reuse LinkedIn photos on About pages, org charts and onboarding decks. A matching set means you never scramble for a photo on day one.

Outfits and backdrops

Dress for the role you are applying to, not the one you have

Every session includes all 6 outfits and 6 backdrops in the pack. Pick the ones that match your industry, or let us mix the full set and choose from the results.

6+ outfits and 6+ backdrops

Outfits

Backdrops

Charcoal blazer, white shirt

The safest LinkedIn outfit there is. Reads as senior in finance, law-adjacent roles and corporate management.

Navy crewneck knit

Smart without a jacket. Fits product, marketing and people operations, and it photographs cleanly at thumbnail size.

Light grey suit, no tie

Tailored but modern. Consulting, sales leadership and client-facing roles where a tie now looks dated.

Black turtleneck

Minimal and design-literate. Engineers, designers and technical founders who want a neutral, contemporary profile.

Open-collar oxford

The everyday professional look for startups, tech sales and account management. Relaxed collar, still put together.

Merino cardigan over tee

Warm and approachable. Educators, healthcare administrators and community-facing roles where friendly beats formal.

Soft studio grey

Plain, even and low contrast, so your face is the only thing in the circle crop. The classic LinkedIn background.

Blurred office atrium

A hint of workplace without a distracting scene. Signals corporate context while staying soft behind you.

Warm white cyclorama

Bright and clean. Works well against LinkedIn's white interface and keeps the photo feeling current.

Glass meeting room

Modern office depth for management and consulting profiles. Blurred enough to survive the thumbnail.

Muted sage wall

A quiet colour that separates you from the sea of grey avatars in search results without shouting.

City window light

Natural light and a soft skyline. Suits founders, sales and anyone whose profile is also a pitch.

What recruiters actually look for

How to choose a LinkedIn headshot that gets your profile opened

Recruiters make a snap judgment in under a second, usually from a thumbnail. These are the choices that survive that judgment.

Fill the circle with your face
LinkedIn shows your photo as a small circle in search, messages and comments. Head and shoulders, face taking up most of the frame, so you are still recognisable at 48 pixels.
Match the outfit to your target industry
A charcoal blazer signals finance and corporate. A crewneck or open collar signals tech and product. Choose the look for the job you want next, not your current dress code.
Keep the background plain or softly blurred
Busy scenes turn into noise at thumbnail size. Studio grey, a soft office blur or a muted wall keeps attention on your face, which is what a recruiter is scanning for.
Use even, soft light
Harsh shadows and heavy contrast look unprofessional and hide half your face in a circle crop. Soft key light with a gentle fill is what studio LinkedIn portraits use for a reason.
Smile with your eyes and look at the lens
Direct eye contact reads as confident and open, which is exactly the impression you want before an interview. A slight, natural smile beats a full grin or a blank stare.
Match your banner and your headline
Your photo, banner and headline are read together. A neutral headshot on a clean banner with a specific headline is the combination that gets clicked.

What to avoid

Cropping yourself out of a group photo
A stranger's shoulder at the edge of the frame is the most common LinkedIn photo mistake. It tells recruiters you did not think this was worth ten minutes.
Using a photo older than a few years
Interviewers notice when the person on the call does not match the profile. Upload recent photos so the headshot looks like you today.
Sunglasses, hats and heavy filters
Anything that hides your eyes or reshapes your face lowers trust. Recruiters want to see the person they will be putting in front of a hiring manager.
Full-body or wide shots
A full-length photo shrinks your face to a few pixels in the circle crop. Head and shoulders is the only framing that works on LinkedIn.

How it works

From camera roll to boardroom-ready in four steps

Choose a pack, upload 8 to 15 photos and let your private model create studio-style headshots with your recognizable features. Every pack is available at every tier, with 40, 60 or 100 headshots from , paid once.

Four steps, nothing to schedule. Delivery takes about 2 hours with Starter, 1 hour with Professional or 30 to 45 minutes with Executive. Your uploaded photos are deleted 7 days after delivery, or sooner on request.

LinkedIn Headshots
Up to 100 shots
Outfit
Navy blazer
Backdrop
Seamless grey
Lighting
Soft key
01Choose your pack
Ten packs: LinkedIn, corporate, medical, legal, founder, real estate, academic, author, therapist and dating. Each one sets the outfits, backdrops and lighting.
Your name
Alex Moreau
Where we send them
alex@company.com
Age range
18-2526-3536-45
No password · nothing charged
02Tell us who is in the photos
Your name, the email we deliver to, and two quick answers that set wardrobe fit. No password, nothing charged yet.
IMG_2041.jpg
coffee_run.jpg
IMG_5512.jpg
+9
12 of 15 photos added
03Add 8 to 15 selfies
Camera-roll photos are fine. No tripod, no makeup artist. Each photo is checked as it lands, so blurry and duplicate shots are turned away before they cost you a slot.
Private model. Never shared. Selfies deleted after 7 days.
04Pay once, and the run starts
Choose your tier and pay once. Your private model learns from your photos and creates 40, 60 or 100 professional headshots with the outfits and backdrops in your pack. Choose your favorites from your completed gallery.
Reading face
Training
Photos read
12 / 15
Angles mapped
9
Model
Private
+81
Download allYour headshot gallery4:5 portrait

7-day
full refund if the set is not right: 30m to 2h
delivery, depending on your tier

Create your headshots

Upload guidance

The photos that produce the best LinkedIn headshots

The model learns your face from what you upload. Variety and clarity matter more than polish: a handful of decent phone photos beats one perfect one.

Distance

Turned down: Arm's-length selfie — Turned down

Framing

Works: Face and shoulders fill the frame — Works

Turned down: Lost in the room — Turned down

Light

Turned down: Backlit or in sunglasses — Turned down

Do

Upload at least 8 photos, ideally 8 to 15.
Have them taken from a step back, not at arm's length, so your face keeps its true proportions.
Keep your whole face clearly visible and in focus in every shot.
Mix angles, expressions and lighting: indoors, outdoors, straight on, slight turn.
Use recent photos so the headshots match the person who turns up to the interview.

Don't

No selfies held at arm's length; a phone that close spreads your features, and the model reproduces the spread in every headshot.
No sunglasses, hats or anything covering the majority of your face.
No group photos, even cropped; the model cannot tell whose face to learn.
No heavy filters, beauty modes or edited skin.

Pricing

LinkedIn headshots for less than a coffee-shop photographer's deposit

You pay once per session and never a subscription. Starter covers 40 headshots from , while Professional and Executive step up to higher resolution, faster delivery and one free re-run. Every plan is refundable within 7 days.

Starter

~2 hours

A polished profile photo, fast.

$29/ 40 headshots

40 AI headshots
Your choice of any photo pack
Every outfit and backdrop in your pack
Delivered in ~2 hours
Standard resolution downloads
No re-try included

Get 40 headshots

Professional

~1 hour

The full wardrobe, for people whose face is part of the job.

$39/ 60 headshots

60 AI headshots
Your choice of any photo pack
Every outfit and backdrop in your pack
Delivered in ~1 hour
High-resolution downloads
1 free re-run of your batch

Get 60 headshots

Executive

~30-45 minutes

Every look you'll need this year, delivered in under an hour.

$59/ 100 headshots

100 AI headshots
Your choice of any photo pack
Every outfit and backdrop in your pack
Priority delivery in ~30-45 minutes
4K high-resolution downloads
1 free re-run of your batch
Print-ready formats

Get 100 headshots

Every plan, next to a photographer session

The photographer column is a typical US range for one headshot session, not a quote from any studio.

Smart Headshots AI plans compared with a typical photographer session
Compare	Starter	Professional	Executive	Typical photographer
Price	$29, paid once	$39, paid once	$59, paid once	Typically $150 to $450 per session
Headshots delivered	40 headshots	60 headshots	100 headshots	Typically 3 to 10 retouched photos
Time to delivery	About 2 hours	About 1 hour	About 30-45 minutes	Typically 1 to 2 weeks after the shoot
Resolution	Standard resolution	High resolution	4K resolution	High resolution, often priced per photo
Outfits and backdrops	6+ outfits and 6+ backdrops in your pack	6+ outfits and 6+ backdrops in your pack	6+ outfits and 6+ backdrops in your pack	Typically 1 or 2 outfits you bring yourself
Re-run	No re-run included	1 free re-run	1 free re-run	Typically a second paid session
Refund	Full refund within 7 days	Full refund within 7 days	Full refund within 7 days	Varies by photographer

7-day full refund . One-time payment . Selfies deleted after 7 days, gallery after 30.

FAQ

Questions, answered honestly

Everything about photos, privacy and quality before you spend a dollar. Something missing? Talk to a human.

Your next opportunity will see your photo first

Show up with a professional photo you're proud to share. Upload your everyday photos and choose the look for your next profile, company page or press kit.

Create your headshotsFrom $29, delivery in about 30 minutes to 2 hours, full refund within 7 days

Photo packs