Spice Up Your Headshot in Just 5 Steps

Headshots can be an excellent tool for establishing poise and professionalism in the workplace and beyond. But what about personality? Take a casual scroll through LinkedIn, and I'm sure you'll see hundreds of smiling faces on perfectly pristine white backgrounds. How exciting, right? Wrong.

If you work in an industry that values creativity, self-expression, and individual contribution over perfectly polished profiles, it may be time to upgrade that headshot.

You could spend hundreds of dollars and countless hours sourcing the perfect outfit, background and photographer. Or you could spice up your headshot in five easy steps using one free tool.

Step 1: Pick your photo

The image you choose should be well-lit with good contrast between the subject and the background. You don't necessarily have to start with a smiling face on a white background, but make sure the image is high-quality, and you love how you look!

Step 2: Clean it up (if necessary)

This step is optional if you already like how you look in your chosen photo. I love my photo, but the makeup I wore was more bronze than I'm used to, so it came out slightly orange. This is your chance to try a bit of low-stakes photo editing (if you don't already edit your selfies like the rest of the world).

I went through every step of this tutorial using only Adobe's free online photo and design tool, Adobe Express. You don't need a subscription to use this platform, just make an account, and you can start creating immediately.

Create a new project from a photo, and upload the image you want to edit. My picture only needed a few adjustments.

I brought down the warmth and saturation and increased the brightness to lessen some of those orange tones, then I downloaded the image as a PNG.

Pro-Tip: Download your image after editing to avoid issues with later steps..

Step 3: Remove the Background

Adobe Express has a decent content-aware background removal tool that is perfect for small projects like this. These photos likely won't be viewed much larger than a phone screen.

Start a new project in Express, and select the "Remove Background" option this time. Upload the photo you edited or your headshot if you skipped step two. .

You should see a white and grey checkerboard pattern where the background used to be on your image. Click "Customize" to begin adding your own background.

Place the image where you want it in the frame and scale it to your desired size. I put mine approximately back where it started.

Step 4: Choose a New Background

In the left-hand panel, click the button labeled "Backgrounds." This will allow you to search through a selection of free and paid background options that you can use to spice up your headshot.

You can also choose to replace the background with a solid color, but that is a little more difficult and a lot less fun.

Don't worry if you don't love everything about the design immediately. Just look for something that fits your brand and remember, you can always change your mind later.

Pro tip: Try to choose a background pattern or gradient that mimics the lighting source from your original headshot. This will make the background replacement look less noticeable.

Step 5: Edit the Background

Once you've selected your new headshot background, use the enhancements panel on the right to fine-tune it.

I loved the colors in this background but wanted something more muted since I was wearing a patterned sweater in the photo.

If I had been wearing a simple black blazer, I likely would have gone with a bolder background.

Play around with the enhancement options until your image is adjusted the way you like it. Once you're happy with your design, download your new headshot as either a JPG or a PNG, and share your spicy self with the world!

Oh, and did I mention the best part? Whenever you're ready for a refresh, just change the background again to create a totally new headshot!

If you found this tutorial for spicing up your headshot to be helpful, please share it with friends, family, and coworkers who might enjoy a professional refresh. Also, feel free to comment below with any questions.