CHICAGO
LINKEDIN
HEADSHOTS

Chicago LinkedIn headshots engineered for how the platform actually gets used — recruiters, clients, and former colleagues deciding in a glance whether you look like someone worth a conversation.

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Chicago LinkedIn headshots are profile photos built for the way LinkedIn is actually seen: small, round-cropped, and judged in a glance. By 2026, almost everyone who wanted a headshot has one, often free from a college, a convention, or a photographer still learning. About half of my clients are returning clients; the other half are referrals or people replacing a headshot that isn't working. I've photographed 10,000+ people over 17 years (since 2009) for clients including Mastercard, Hyatt, United Airlines, and Salesforce.

See pricing and book a session at LinkedIn headshot pricing and booking.

What makes a LinkedIn headshot work at thumbnail size

A LinkedIn photo lives as a small circle next to your name — in search results, comment threads, connection requests, and recruiter shortlists. Most headshots are composed like portraits and fall apart at that size: the face too small in frame, the expression unreadable, the background eating the subject. These sessions are framed for the crop from the first shutter click. Tighter composition, clean separation from the background, and an expression directed to read as confident and approachable at 48 pixels — because that's the size at which most people will ever see it. You'll also leave with wider crops for your website, bio pages, and press, so one session covers the full footprint. Recent professional headshots in Chicago include Thoma Bravo general counsel Steven Schwab, trade-show executive Adrienne Tiritilli, and software engineer and broker Sabrina Jurlina.

Who I photograph LinkedIn headshots for

A LinkedIn headshot has one job, but what it needs to say depends on who's looking. A recruiter scanning a shortlist, a patient choosing a physician, and a buyer choosing a broker are each checking for something different, so I direct every session around your audience instead of a generic professional look.

Job seekers and career changers

When you're job hunting, your photo reaches the recruiter's search results before your résumé does. The goal is a current, approachable frame that reads as ready for the role you want, not the one you're leaving. If you're changing fields, I steer wardrobe and expression toward the industry you're moving into, so the photo supports the pivot instead of contradicting it.

Executives and founders

Senior leaders get looked up by boards, investors, reporters, and new hires, usually on LinkedIn first. The expression here is more contained, and the direction is about authority without stiffness. My personal-branding clients include Eric Belcher, CEO of INWK, and Pat McCusker of HiBid.

Attorneys

I've photographed attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis, Sidley Austin, Mayer Brown, McDermott Will & Emery, Beermann LLP, and McEntee Law Group, among others. A lawyer's LinkedIn photo usually sits alongside the firm's bio page, so one session covers both: a tight square crop for the profile and a wider crop for the firm site. Litigators and deal lawyers need different reads, and I direct for the one your practice depends on. Courtroom attorneys are one of the few groups who still wear a tie in a headshot.

Physicians and medical practices

I photograph physicians from Northwestern Medicine Physician Network, University of Chicago Medicine, and Advocate Medical Group. Patients look doctors up on LinkedIn, hospital directories, and review sites, and the photo that works on all of them is warm first and clinical second. White coat or no white coat is a real decision, and I help you make it before the session based on where the photo will run.

Real estate brokers

I photograph agents from dozens of Chicago real estate brokerages. A broker's headshot runs on LinkedIn, listing sites, signs, and business cards, so it has to hold up at thumbnail size and in print. In this business the photo is often the first thing a client sees before agreeing to a meeting, and it has to look like the person who shows up.

Faculty and university professionals

Academic headshots get reused everywhere: LinkedIn, department pages, conference programs, and publication bylines. I'm part of the vendor loyalty programs at Northwestern University and UIC, and I've done exclusive work with UChicago Booth and Northwestern Kellogg, so I know what the standard institutional photo looks like and how to make yours look like a person instead.

How LinkedIn headshot sessions work

1
Positioning check
A short conversation about your industry, the roles or clients you want to attract, and what your current photo is silently saying. Wardrobe guidance follows — what reads as credible in finance differs from tech, law, or the creative fields.
2
The session
Studio lighting, several looks, and direction the entire time, with no time limit: the session runs as long as it takes. Backgrounds aren't picked from a color menu. I set up natural vignettes around the open-floorplan loft for a less staged look, alongside hand-painted backdrops and studio paper, and your wardrobe decides which one fits. Images are reviewed on-screen during the session, so you leave already knowing your new profile photo is in the set.
3
Profile-ready delivery
Before the session ends, we sit down and review the images together. You mark your favorites, and if anything's missing, we keep shooting. Your private online gallery is where you choose the images you want. Retouched finals arrive 7 days after you make your selections, or within 24 hours with rush delivery. Every image you purchase comes fully retouched, in a square crop tested at LinkedIn's display sizes plus wider crops for your site and bio pages, all as web-optimized files that upload clean instead of compressed to mush.

What Chicago professionals say

I'd been putting off updating my headshots for an embarrassing amount of time — my LinkedIn photo was years old and completely out of sync with where I was as a leader. I'm not someone who enjoys being photographed, and I was genuinely surprised by how natural the session felt. The images are the first professional photos I've ever had that actually look like me at my best.

Thomas B.

Founder & CEO

My faculty photo was everything you'd expect from a faculty photo — stiff, institutional, and completely forgettable. I needed something that would work across my professional website, media appearances, and publication bylines. The results are credible and dynamic, and several journalists have mentioned the images specifically.

DMT

Dr. Michelle T.

Associate Professor of Economics

In my industry, your photograph is often the first thing a prospective client encounters before agreeing to a meeting, so I've always taken headshots seriously — but I'd never had images that actually captured how I present in person. The images are more natural and confident than anything I've had before.

Kevin T.

Commercial Real Estate Broker

Read more in my full collection of client reviews.

What's included in a LinkedIn headshot session

Profile-ready square crops verified at LinkedIn's actual display sizes
Wider crops for company bio pages, personal sites, and press
Multiple looks and backgrounds in one session
Honest retouching — current, credible, recognizably you
On-screen review during the session and a private gallery of usually 300–600 frames
Any framing you need on request, from tight profile crops to 3/4 shots — every session is bespoke and priced à la carte

How to choose a LinkedIn photographer in Chicago

Choose a LinkedIn photographer who shows you the images during the session, composes for LinkedIn's small circular crop, prices the session and the images clearly and separately, and licenses the files for use everywhere, not just one profile. Those four things decide whether you leave with a photo you actually use. Review during the session. Seeing the frames on-screen while you're still in the studio means you leave knowing your profile photo is in the set, instead of hoping it is when the gallery arrives. I review images with every client throughout the session. Composition built for the crop. Ask to see a photographer's LinkedIn headshots at the size they'll actually appear. A portrait that looks great on a monitor can lose the face entirely inside a small circle next to your name. Clear pricing and licensing. You should know what the session costs and what each image costs before you book, and you should be able to use the files on your company site, in press, and in a conference program without asking permission. My pricing is laid out in full a little further down this page. Direction, not just a camera. Most people don't know what to do with their face in front of a lens, and they shouldn't have to. The photographer's job is to direct expression, posture, and angle until the frame reads the way you need it to.

Where to take a headshot for LinkedIn?

A professional studio session remains the highest-percentage answer. The alternatives each have a failure mode: phone selfies read instantly as informal even with portrait mode; conference photo booths produce the same flat frame everyone else at the event has; AI generators produce a face that's almost — but visibly not — yours. A studio session with a photographer who shoots profiles deliberately solves the things that actually matter: lighting that flatters at small sizes, an expression that reads as competent and warm, and a background that separates rather than swallows. I photograph LinkedIn headshots in Chicago, IL in my West Loop studio at 212 N. Sangamon Street, Studio 4B.

Where can I get affordable headshots in Chicago?

If budget is the deciding factor, Chicago has real options below a full studio session. University career centers and professional conferences often run free headshot events, self-service booths charge a flat fee for a few minutes and high-volume mini-sessions cost well under a full studio session. Each is a reasonable trade for someone who needs a photo on the profile this week. What those options usually leave out is direction and time. A booth can't tell you your chin has dropped, and a five-minute slot at a career fair doesn't leave room to try a second expression or a second jacket. My sessions cost more because they include both, and you pay only for the images you choose. If spending less matters more than direction, a free event is still a better starting point than a phone selfie.

How much should a LinkedIn headshot cost?

In Chicago, professional LinkedIn headshots run from roughly $150 for high-volume mini-sessions to $800+ for full sessions with multiple looks. My model is simple and à la carte: a $500 session fee covers the directed shoot and a private online gallery, and images are $250 each, fully retouched and licensed, with crops for destinations beyond LinkedIn (site, bio pages, press). You pay for the session once and buy only the images you actually want, so a photo you use for the next year and a half can cost less than a cheap one you never use. The full breakdown, including rush delivery, is on my pricing page.

Does your LinkedIn photo actually matter?

90% of my clients post to social media more after updating to a headshot they like. The power of a great LinkedIn photo is less the credibility it adds than the confidence it gives you: love your profile photo and you'll use your profile, and how you use it is what drives traffic back to it. The photo doesn't get you hired; it decides whether the rest of the profile gets read at all. The practical test: does your current photo still look like you, and does it match the seniority you're presenting? If either answer is no, the photo is working against the profile.

Common LinkedIn headshot mistakes

The most common LinkedIn headshot mistakes are a photo that's out of date, framing that leaves the face too small for the circle, a busy background, and retouching that erases the person. Each one makes the viewer work harder to see you, and most viewers won't. An outdated photo. If someone meets you and has to reconcile your face with your profile, the photo has cost you credibility. A face too small in the frame. LinkedIn shows your photo as a small circle. A waist-up shot that looks fine full-size turns into a face the size of a pencil eraser. A busy or dark background. Bookshelves, windows, and office clutter compete with your face at thumbnail size. A background chosen to separate you from it does the opposite. Over-retouching. Smoothing that removes skin texture and a few years reads as a filter, and it creates the same mismatch as an old photo. I retouch so you look current and rested, not different. A low-resolution upload. A small file gets compressed by LinkedIn into something soft and blotchy. Upload at least 400×400 pixels; the square crop I deliver is sized for it.

What does the photo you're replacing say about you?

I learn a lot from the photo someone comes in to replace. The most common one is a picture cropped out of a group, with a friend or a partner trimmed off the edge. That photo is almost always nostalgia. It's how the person looked a few years and a few pounds ago, and they aren't ready to put the current version of themselves online yet. The other common case is someone who has never had a profile photo at all. They tend to be older and less at home with technology. When they're mid-career instead, it's usually someone who has kept off social media on principle and is testing the water, or someone weighing a career change who suspects LinkedIn now matters.

What if you don't look like your old photo anymore?

I don't run the session on a clock, but I know most people run out of steam after about 90 minutes, so I don't tiptoe. I ask permission to be blunt, and then I ask why they like the old photo. The first answer is usually "I just like the way I look." If I'm lucky it's "I look so young" or "it reminds me of a different time." Then I ask what year it was taken. They do the math, and they're the ones who name the elephant in the room, not me. Once it's said out loud, it stops being a problem and starts being material. Twenty years of experience reads on a face, and that's worth photographing on purpose. I build the frame around what's gotten better, and honest retouching handles the rest.

How to prepare for a LinkedIn headshot session

To prepare for a LinkedIn headshot, bring two or three outfits in solid mid-tones, keep hair and makeup to what you'd wear to an important meeting, and know who the photo is for. Posing, angle, and expression are my job during the session, not something you need to practice. Wardrobe. Bring more options than you think you need. The studio's full bathroom is a private changing room, there's a steamer for anything that wrinkled on the way over, and the second or third look is often the one people end up choosing. Backgrounds. There's no color menu to choose from. Your wardrobe decides the background: a natural vignette somewhere in the open-floorplan loft for a less staged look, one of my hand-painted backdrops, or studio paper. If you have a specific background in mind, tell me ahead of time. Glasses. If you wear glasses every day, you should absolutely have a headshot with them on; people should recognize you when they meet you. Glare is my problem, not yours. Anti-reflective lenses help, and advanced retouching usually fixes whatever remains. Hair and makeup. Keep it to your normal best, not a new look for the camera. If you'd like help, a hair and makeup artist can be booked for $300, which covers a full face of makeup and hair touch-ups. Your audience. Tell me who the photo is for — recruiters, clients, patients, a board — during the positioning check. That answer shapes the expression, the wardrobe, and the background more than anything else. Time. There's no time limit; the session lasts as long as it takes to get you what you need. Most people run out of steam around 90 minutes, experienced clients sometimes go as long as 150, and no session has gone past two and a half hours. Leave the rest of the morning or afternoon open.

LinkedIn headshots for Chicago companies and teams

When a company wants every employee's LinkedIn photo to match, I bring the studio to the office and photograph the team with the same lighting and background for everyone, so individual profiles and the company page look like they belong to one firm. There's no minimum room size: an office with floor-to-ceiling windows may need a single light or none at all, while a basement changes the setup quickly. Each person chooses their own image. Team sessions start at $1,200. I also photograph workplace lifestyle images of teams at work. Teams of 4 to 1,000+ are covered on my team headshots page, and my corporate clients include Bain and Thoma Bravo.

The profile photo, by the numbers

17 years: photographing Chicago professionals at every career stage
10,000+ people: photographed — including teams at Mastercard, Hyatt, United Airlines, and Salesforce
300–600 frames: in a typical gallery to choose from
7 days: from your image selection to retouched, upload-ready files

Frequently asked questions about LinkedIn headshots

How fast can I get my LinkedIn headshots back?

Retouched finals arrive 7 days after you choose your images from the gallery. If you need them sooner, rush delivery gets them to you within 24 hours for $100 per image.

Is a professional headshot worth it for LinkedIn?

If your profile has a professional purpose — job search, client development, speaking, fundraising — yes. A current photo you actually like makes you more likely to use the profile, and it pays for itself the first time someone decides you're worth a conversation.

Where to get a professional headshot in Chicago?

My studio is in the West Loop at 212 N. Sangamon Street, Studio 4B, at Lake and Sangamon, steps from the Morgan station on the Green and Pink Lines, with valet parking across the street at the Equinox, 201 N. Sangamon. I also photograph on location anywhere within Chicago city limits for a $500 on-location fee.

Can ChatGPT create a LinkedIn headshot?

AI tools can generate a professional-looking image, but the likeness is approximate — colleagues and recruiters who then meet you register the gap immediately, which is exactly the wrong first impression for a professional network. Several platforms also flag obviously synthetic profile photos. For the one image attached to your professional name, photographed remains the standard.

What should I wear for a LinkedIn headshot?

Dress one notch above your industry's daily standard: structured solids in mid-tones, simple necklines, minimal jewelry. Avoid busy patterns, large logos, and anything you wouldn't wear to a first client meeting. A wardrobe guide goes out before every session.

Should you smile in a LinkedIn headshot?

A genuine, relaxed smile outperforms both the stern executive frown and the over-wide grin — it reads as confident and approachable at thumbnail size. During the session you'll get directed variations from warm-neutral to full smile, so you can choose what fits your industry.

How often should I update my LinkedIn photo?

Whenever you've changed: a new haircut, a real change in weight, a new role, new glasses, or a new look. The rise of GLP-1 medications has brought a lot of people in for fresh headshots. If nothing has changed, 18 months is a reasonable fallback clock. The standard is simple: someone meeting you off the profile shouldn't experience a mismatch.

What size should a LinkedIn profile photo be?

LinkedIn recommends 400×400 pixels minimum (up to 7680×4320); it displays as a circle, so centered, tighter compositions survive the crop. Delivery includes a square crop pre-tested at display size, so what you upload is what people see.

Can you photograph our whole team's LinkedIn headshots?

Yes. I photograph teams on location with matched lighting and backgrounds across everyone, and pricing is laid out in the companies-and-teams section above. Teams of 4 to 1,000+ are covered on the team headshots page.

What does a LinkedIn photographer do differently from a regular headshot photographer?

A LinkedIn photographer composes for the small circle the photo will live in: a tighter frame, clean separation from the background, and an expression directed to read at thumbnail size, delivered as a square crop tested at LinkedIn's display sizes.

How do I make my photo professional for LinkedIn?

Use a recent photo of just you, framed from roughly the chest up so your face fills most of the circle, against a plain background, in clothes you'd wear to a first client meeting, with a relaxed, genuine expression. A directed studio session handles all of that for you; if you're taking it yourself, face a window for soft light and upload a full-resolution file.

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