Having a great profile picture is one of the strongest tools you can use as a freelance professional. It immediately puts you in the front rows and ensures you grab the attention of your potential clients.
In freelancing a great first impression is everything. Your clients often have to choose among myriads of freelancer profiles. A profile picture that stands out increases dramatically your probability of getting the attention of the right clients that want to pay for the time and services of a professional-looking person like you.
So you want to really make sure your picture portrays yourself as a professional businessperson – someone who is reliable, trustworthy and inspires confidence.
Let’s examine together some practical details. We will focus on three main categories: (1) your face and facial expression, (2) your clothing and (3) the background of your profile picture.
When you apply these easy tweaks, your clients will immediately recognize you as somebody they want to do business with!
Facial expression and posture of a freelancer, that inspires trust, respect and friendliness
When a client is scrolling among the pages and pages of potential freelancers to hire, the first thing that pops up to them is your face. And the expression of it. So who is looking at them from your profile?
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1. Your face is the main focus
Your face should be the main focus of the picture. The image must contain your head and your upper torso. Some freelancers choose to show their hands as well, featuring a photo that is from the waist up, but we do not recommend that. Your face should be at the centre of the photo. If you showcase a full body picture of yourself, you risk losing the client’s attention in too many details.
Tip for those who have fear of being photographed:
Some people find it frightful to have their picture taken. The reasons may be many. So, it may seem tempting to them to use a fake photo taken from a stock-image website. Others choose to make a drawing or a caricature of themselves. However, this is not a good way to go. Many freelancing platforms have strict requirements on the profile image and you should make sure you comply 100% with them. Otherwise, you may be penalized or you may lose credibility on the platform. So you should really put in some effort to overcome your fears of being photographed and work on your own profile picture. This will help you in your freelancing career and in your life in general! So take courage and shoot that pic!
2. Show your face clearly, avoiding distractions
When you show your features clearly and openly, this conveys the ideas that you are not hiding anything and people can trust you. You should make sure you are facing the camera frontally and there are no shadows or shades on your face. If you are a lady, you should make sure your hairstyle does not cover your features and they are clearly visible. And, ladies, no heavy make up! For the gentlemen, being evenly shaven is a great way to convey trustworthiness and reliability. If you cannot shave for cultural or personal reasons, make sure your beard is styled and orderly.
Keep in mind the formula that simplicity and clarity is best if your purpose is to convey professionalism!
TIP: Experience shows that photos taken in the bright daylight work better than photographs taken with artificial lighting.
3. Welcome the clients with a smile
And now comes to your smile! You want to make sure you welcome the clients to your page and not scare them away! Make sure you wear a friendly, natural smiling expression.
If it is hard for you, you can work on it and take more pictures as a rehearsal. You may consider different variations – a mouth smile or a teeth smile, whichever works best for you. The most important is to look natural. A fake smile won’t do. It may look like a grin and may have the opposite effect.
A grumpy, sad expression is even worse, as it can scare potential clients from your page right away! If you look miserable no one will want to hire you!
So make sure you put your clients in a good mood by thinking positive thoughts and reflecting them into your natural, genuine smile in your profile picture!
4. Practice your royal posture!
Your posture also matters! You should not be hunched forward or leaning frightfully away from the camera! This will create a weird angle that will not look great in pictures.
So, sit upright, have your shoulders straight and slightly down and backwards. Lean towards the camera. Tilt your forehead slightly forward and put your chin slightly down.
Make sure your posture is dignified – it is a token of the respect you show to yourself and to your potential clients.
TIP: If you have a hard time keeping a good posture, make an effort and imagine you are balancing an object on your head, like a big crown for example!
Facial expression and posture tips – in a nutshell:
- Your face is the focus
- Face the camera frontally
- Take your photo in the bright daylight
- Put on a natural, friendly smile
- A dignified, upright posture of the shoulders
What to avoid:
- Taking the photo during the night with artificial light
- A fake picture or a drawing/caricature of yourself
- A full-sized body picture
- Hair on your face
- Wearing heavy makeup
- A beard
- Shadows and shades on your face
- A slouched posture
Your freelancer attire – professional, but not too formal
When choosing a photo for your profile, you should look professional. Imagine an office person doing your job – and how they show up in a working situation. How would you dress should you have to meet your clients live? You won’t go in your pyjamas or in a casual outfit.
Your clothing must be relevant to your profession. On the other hand, as a freelancer, you are working online from home most of the time. So do not opt for a too formal and rigid outfit, that may seem unnatural and fake. Go for a decent, professional look, but don’t overdo it.
Choose a simple, professional clothing
Here again, simplicity works best. Your attire should show the respect you owe to yourself and to people working with you. If you are a lady, you should avoid anything that is too revealing or distracting. You can choose a nice, professional-looking shirt or blouse. Avoid excessive jewellery or any big accessories. You are selling your professional skills, and not getting the attention to your body.
If you are a guy, a good shirt will work well, you can skip the tie because it will give the picture a too formal impression. When choosing your clothes for the profile picture, solid colours have proven to be better than patterns.
Tips on your clothing:
- Simple
- Decent looking
- Clothing with solid colours works better
- An attire relevant to your profession
What to avoid:
- Sunglasses or distracting accessories
- Clothes with patterns or shiny details
- Too formal gown, suit
- Party or sportswear
Your background – not too distracting, nor too bland
You should avoid a completely white background as it may resemble a passport photo, which is too bland. You want a personal touch. On the other hand, you should avoid a background filled with too many distracting details.
Choose a simple background where you naturally stand out. It can be an office or a photo studio. Experience shows that indoor photos work better than outdoor images. If you go for an outdoor photo, make sure you blur the background, or just make sure it is not too chaotic.
You can choose your surroundings with a contrasting colour from your outfit and hair so that you can stand out in the picture. Otherwise you get lost in the background.
Tips on the best background:
- Simple interior details – office or studio
- Indoor works better
- Contrasting colours from clothes and hair
What to avoid:
- White or mono-coloured background
- Other people in the background
- Messy room
- Outdoor scenery, unless blurred
- Colors that are too similar to your outfit and hair
Get a second opinion
If you are not sure if a photo will work well, you can ask! Ask an honest, unbiased person to tell you if a photo is good for your freelancer profile. You can ask other freelancers like you or a professional business photographer. You can find them in online communities or hubs.
There is another effective way to check if your profile image reflects well the trustworthiness and competency of your profession. It is an online tool called Photofeeler. On their website, you can upload an image and get an opinion expressed in percents on how others feel about your picture. It has three criteria for business pictures: influential, likeable and competent. And based on the average number of votes, you can assess if a picture could work or not for your purpose.
A final touch…
The resolution
Last but not the least, you should never underestimate the resolution of your photo! Never use a low-quality photo. Make sure the photo has a good resolution and it is not pixelized. If you are about to take a new photo, make sure you select the highest resolution for a great, crisp and clear image.
Do you already have a good picture, but you have it in bad resolution? Make sure you increase the resolution before uploading it to your freelancer profile. Every freelancer website has requirements on the profile picture size. You can ask a friend that is well-versed in Photoshop to help you, or you can use an online guide to do it yourself.
Arrange your photo session!
If you do not already have a picture of yourself with all the good characteristics above, do not hesitate to arrange a photo session for your profile image! Have someone take a picture of you or set up a tripod and learn the basics on how to take a good photography self-portrait. Take many photos in different locations so you will have a vast array of photos to choose from, and make sure you select the best one!
Now you are equipped with all the knowledge and tools that will help you create a profile picture that conveys an aura of credibility and authority. Having such a high-quality and dignified profile image is an asset that adds up to your presence on the freelancing platform. Your clients will actually be eager to pay higher fees because you give them the impression of someone who can do a good job because you already did a good job with your profile picture. It inspires their professionalism. So, don’t wait any further! Go and put this knowledge into practice and create this great image of yourself that will ensure the best first impression with your clients and many new job opportunities to come!
The next step for your freelancing success
Besides having a good profile image, one of the most relevant things to a client when hiring a freelancer is their offer or cover letter. Here you can learn the best practices and principles in creating an offer that sounds irresistible to a client!
