SHOULD YOU SMILE OR NOT ON YOUR LINKEDIN PHOTO ?
- Alice Prenat
- Sep 1, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
The quick answer is: Smiling or not smiling on your Linkedin photo depends !
(Sorry for that, not clear cut answer but read below to see what category you are part of and it will give you a more direct answer to your very valid question !)
INTERACTIVE TABLE OF CONTENT
1 - KEY LEARNINGS
The brain's attention is automatically drawn at images before text: Your profile headshot is crucial
Your expression on your profile photo is what make you YOU. It's what make you interesting. It's what makes your photo stand out.
Smile or not smile: It depends on who you are naturally.
If you are a naturally smily person: Don't hold from smiling. Ever. It's part of your personal brand.
If you are not a big smile person in general: Don't force a smile. What matters above all on your Linkedin photo is to look comfortable & confident
2 - DOES IT ACTUALLY MATTER IF YOU SMILE OR NOT ON YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE PHOTO ?
Yes it does if your smile or not on your Linkedin photo: Your expression is the main component of your portrait. It matters because a professional executive headshot should reflect your expertise, your ambition, but most importantly your personality, energy, and your executive presence.
We should be able to feel who you are as a person, a leader, a manager, a coworker, etc.
That's what makes you unique and irreplaceable (not like knowledge or degrees) and that the intangible part of personal branding
3 - WHY AI HEADSHOTS FAIL AT CREATING COMPELLING HEADSHOTS
AI Headshots overall fail at creating expressions that hold a convincing & genuine emotion. The brain of the viewer perceives it very rapidly unconsciously and it does trigger a sense of mistrust more than anything else. Which is not what you want.
AI is an efficient tool for a quick fix and very standardised tasks but it completely fails at creating and conveying real emotions. Making the viewer feel something.
And emotions are what trigger actions:Â Inviting you for an interview. Deciding to invest in your company. Hiring your services. Subscribing to your Substack, etc.
The most genuine & authentic expression on your photos, the more INTERESTING you look. It's what make you look unique. It doesn't have to be perfect, it has to be "You"
You are not the standard so don't let a AI headshot steal that from you.
4 - WHY A GENUINE & AUTHENTIC EXPRESSION IS THE SECRET SAUCE TO A STRONG PHOTO AND HOW YOUR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER SHOULD GET YOU THERE
A genuine expression on a professional portraits is what will make people remember it and feel drawn to act, by either connect, listen, hire, read what you have to say, etc.
The purpose of an executive portrait at the top of your Linkedin profile is yes, to have your profile more visited than without a professional photo: a profile including a photo receive 21x more profile views and up to 36x more messages.Â
But it is also to share a consistent message with the written content of your profile as well as start to convey your energy before you even meet and speak during a meeting !
It should create a positive 'emotional' reaction with the person that views the executive portrait and make that person wants to connect and collaborate with you.
For that, your expression should then be genuine and comfortable. That's what people 'intentionally' mean when they describe someone as 'photogenic' on photos / looking confident on photos: the level of comfort on a picture.
During a professional portrait shoot, I very often tell my clients: "Let's notoverthink too much about what you should or should not do." And I guide them all the way.
5 - SO ! SHOULD YOU SMILE OR NOT ON YOUR LINKEDIN EXECUTIVE HEADSHOT ?
YES, YOU SHOULD SMILE ON YOUR LINKEDIN PHOTO IF YOU ARE A SMILEY PERSON NATURALLY: YES ! LET THAT BIG SMILE OUT !
If you don't let that smile out, you will most probably not like your photos trying to hold a closed smile or you might even not recognise yourself on them. A smile will never take away your sense of professionalism & your expertise. A smile show personality & presence.
Look at those examples and feel all the comfortable energy from it:
(all the professional portraits above are sourced from the work of the New York based top portrait photographer Alice Prenat)Â
NO, YOU SHOULD SMILE ON YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE PHOTOÂ IF YOU ARE NOT A SMILEY PERSON NATURALLY.
DO NOT FORCE IT
Forcing a smile will convey a sense of discomfort and you don't want that.
What is the most compelling element on an executive headshot is how COM-FOR-TABLE you are (.. aka the magic 'photogenic' ingredient). Through many other tricks your portrait photographer should be able to make someone at ease to enjoy the experience and end up with a broad spectrum of smiles that all convey a beautiful warm positive comfortable approachable energy. Not smiling "openly"can convey a sense of leadership, strength and warmth.
So again, remember: do not force a smile if that's not your vibe.
Here are some fantastic & very compelling visual exemples:
(all the professional executive headshots above are sourced from the work done by the portrait photographer Alice Prenat for the NYC premier portrait studio www.portrait-executive.com )Â
6 - TO CONCLUDE
There are absolutely NO RULES for a smile or not smile on your professional photos.
The only rule is to feel and look comfortable (a big part of your professional photographer's job 😉) to leave viewers a CONVINCING first impression through your professional headshot.
FAQ
Does it really matter to smile or not on your Linkedin Profile Photo ?
Yes it does matter: Your expression on your Linkedin photo is at the center of it. But what matters most is that it's genuine, authentic, natural and comfortable. That's the secret sauce to make it compelling and action-triggering for the viewer. Smiling or not should depend only on how you are naturally.
Should you smile on your Linkedin Profile Photo ?
Yes, you should smile on your executive headshot if you are naturally a smily person. Refraining from smiling will make you look un-natural and uncomfortable. Smiling is what makes you YOU. You can be smiling and yet convey a strong sense of leadership and strength through your body language: Your portrait photographer will guide you for that.
Should you NOT smile on your Linkedin Profile photo ?
You should NOT smile on your corporate headshot ONLY if you are naturally not an "open smile" person. Forcing a smile will make you look uncomfortable and unauthentic. It won't convey the sense of peace your want to convey. Not smiling doesn't mean you have to look cold: That's where a top portrait photographer plays a huge role in creating the expression conveying strength AND warmth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR : ALICE PRENAT, TOP NYC PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER
Alice Prenat is the sought-after NYC photographer you want to get photographed by: the excellence of her craft mixed with her big warm personality & french accent gets her to create the type of portraits of yourself or executive headshots that you most probably haven't seen before.
You won't walk out of her studio feeling the same way than you came in:
she curates a safe & very empowering portrait experience
that will truly impact the way you feel about yourself.Â
Alice takes a limited number of clients per month, you can inquire here.
All executive headshots & CEO portraits of this article were created by Alice Prenat either at her portrait studio in NYC, in Paris or on locations.