💡 5 Rules

① Window on a Cloudy Day

Best lighting. Direct sun creates harsh shadows. Overcast noon by a big window is ideal. Window at 45° angle.

② Background: Plain Wall

Gray, ivory, soft pastel. Avoid busy backgrounds like bookshelves. Stand 1.5m from the wall for natural blur.

③ Camera at Eye Level or Slightly Above

Shooting from below shows nostrils. Slightly above gives a clean jawline.

④ Expression: Half-Smile + Breath

Don't grin. "Just turned because someone called me" is the most natural look. Shutter at the end of an exhale.

⑤ Take 30 Shots

Never settle on one. Take 30 in the same setup, pick the best one.

📐 Platform Sizes

• LinkedIn: 400×400 (circular display)
• X (Twitter): 400×400
• Instagram: 320×320
• WhatsApp/Telegram: 640×640
• Blog: 200×200 to 400×400

All square, so one shoot covers everything. Crop to square.

🎨 3-Step Edit

1. Lift brightness: about +0.3
2. Smooth skin: Snapseed Selective on skin only
3. Add background blur: Background Blur for natural bokeh

🛠 Tools

• Crop: Image Crop
• Background blur: BG Blur
• Resize: Resize
• Background remove: BG Remove

💡 Refresh: reshoot every 1-2 years. A 5-year-old photo gets awkward when people meet you.