7 Smiles for Your LinkedIn Headshot - A Guide

What is the best smile for your headshot? It depends on your audience and the message you want to convey. There are lots of different types of smiles I have identified in my years as a headshot photographer. I thought it would be fun to review a few of them here and show some examples. 

 Facebook Smile

Everyone has their go-to smile. The one you give automatically every time someone asks you to smile for a picture. I call this the Facebook smile. Often people raise their chin and smile a little too big. This smile narrows your eyes and increases the wrinkles and creases, but at the same time it can look very engaging. And then some people, like Shannon above, look fabulous with their Facebook smile just as it is! 

Business Smile

The business smile is a little smaller and less forced than the Facebook Smile. Drop your chin a little. This conveys that you are listening and approachable. Begin with your mouth closed. Work your way up from no smile to a medium smile until you show teeth. Smile bigger until your eyes are just starting to squint a tiny bit. This smile looks confident, friendly and engaged. 

Closed Mouth Smile

Some people really don’t want to show their teeth when they smile, so I will coach them to a closed mouth smile. The key here is to get your eyes engaged and to look relaxed and friendly. I find that if you make a little laughing sound with your mouth closed and then continue to look at the camera as you let your expression settle, it can look warm and friendly. 

The Smize

Smize means smile with your eyes. Not the same as the closed mouth smile, this one looks very confident. You start by having your face very relaxed with no expression. Squint your eyes just a little. Focus on tightening the lower lid, more than the top. What you are going for is the same squint you get when you smile, but without your mouth smiling too. Make sure you don’t squint your lips. That looks awkward. 

Editorial Smile

A mentor once told me that in editorial photography a subject should not smile when they are looking directly at the camera. Conversely, if you want a smile photo, have the person looking away from the camera. I find the best smiles of this type are achieved by having the subject look at someone off-camera and let out a laugh while looking at them. You can even have the person off-camera read bad puns you found on the internet to get some good laughs. 

Model Smile

This is the toughest one. Your mouth is open and your teeth are showing, but your face is totally relaxed. No creases or wrinkles. Bonus points for turning to the side to show off your jaw line like an actor headshot, as Fely did above. 

The Oprah

Oprah Winfrey almost always has a big open-mouthed smile on the covers of her magazine. It is beautiful and engaging. The enthusiasm communicates creativity and fun. Who wouldn’t want to work with someone that has that smile? To get the Oprah, I have people start by throwing their hands out to the side a letting out a “Ha Ha”. Make sure you get the bottom teeth in the photo. This can take a little practice. 

There you go. Try all seven. See what you like best. Have your photographer use a tethered computer so you can see the results during your headshot session and dial it in. And if you need a coach and photographer, let me know. I would love to work with you. Get more information on headshots at SRK Headshot Day.