How to Improve a Professional Profile Photo
Colour, crop and background choices for a photo that looks like you on a good day — not like someone else.
Use a recent, front-facing photo with even light on your face. Editing cannot fix a photo taken in harsh shadow or from far away.
Crop to head and shoulders with a little space above the head, and keep your eyes near the upper third of the frame. The cropper preview lets you test this before downloading.
Correct colour gently: fix white balance first, then small exposure and contrast changes. The goal is a natural look — skin should not look orange, grey or over-smoothed.
A plain, uncluttered background keeps attention on you. If you remove a busy background, check the edges around your hair carefully at full size.
Do not over-edit. Heavy smoothing, reshaped features or a background that implies a place you were not in will undermine trust, which is the opposite of what a profile photo is for.