How to Make Your Facebook Profile Photo Fabulously Attractive

Your Facebook "profile photo" is the first thing many people will see when they search for you online-it is important to get this virtual first impression right, if at all possible. Consider the following tips for a clear, attractive, and professional Facebook profile picture:

Provide good visibility of your face

Don't cover half your face with your hands or a sheet of construction paper and do not choose a photo that has you barely visible in the background. Instead, go for a clear "head shot" or "medium shot" style (medium shot means that your head and the top part of your torso are visible). Obviously, Facebook is increasingly used by employers for screening purposes, so do not have a bottle of booze or any illegal drug paraphernalia in your hands.

Boost the contrast level using Adobe Photoshop

Your photo will look extra "rich" and vibrant if you boost the contrast scale about 25 to 30 percent. Open your image in Photoshop, select Brightness/Contrast, and move the contrast bar to the right until you get the desired effect. Don't overdo it or your photo will look childish, but a nice contrast boost always improves a photo-especially one that is going to be predominantly displayed online.

Consider desaturating the photo (making it black & white)

In Photoshop, hit "Desaturate" and then provide an additional contrast boost-you may be impressed with the results! The result will be a classy and sexy actor "headshot" style used by performing artists and business executives (on corporate bio pages of the company web site).

Make sure you crop effectively

The biggest mistake people make is not cropping out irrelevant details. You want the focus to be on your face so crop accordingly. If someone has an arm around you in the photo, however, you may want to consider leaving them in the frame-it can look "awkward" to have an unclaimed hand or arm reaching into the photo and resting on your shoulder.

Change profile pictures regularly

I like to change my profile picture every month or two; for one thing, it provides a nice variety for my friends and co-workers, but profile photo changes also get a lot of "air time" on Facebook's news feed. When you change your profile picture, everyone will know about it-a great way to remind ex-girlfriends, old colleagues from previous jobs, and people from your fraternity or sorority that you still exist!

Also try to post recent photographs of yourself-don't use a Facebook profile pic of you as a baby (it's been done too many times already) and don't post a photo that is five or ten years out of date; that's just lame.