We all know the saying…Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
However, people still make decisions about people based on what they see. Research shows that people make very wrong assumption about image. For example, people assume that:
If you look young… you are inexperienced!
If you look more mature… you will be boring!
If you are petite… you must be timid and shy!
Unfortunately, the majority of clients we work with are just like every other human being on the planet. They make a lot of decisions based on what they see so it is essential that you represent yourself in the best way possible.
In this blog entry, we will talk about how to take an excellent image for your profile picture.
1. Do not use a selfie!
Over the past few years, with the rise of smartphones, we have had a sharp increase in the number of selfies being used for the online profiles.
It’s not that we have anything against selfies – it’s just that selfies lack the professionalism that is needed in a tutoring profile.
We have definitely seen some of the worst selfies out there and we will generally not use your image if you provide a really bad one!
2. Wear smart clothes.
The other issue with profile images is getting the theme right – you want to appear professional. Think ‘new passport photo’ rather than ‘my latest holiday pic’
We have seen some images of people in sun hats and sun glasses, pictures of a group of friends, pictures of mums carrying their babies and pictures from a night out!
3. Make sure we can see your face!
It is best to take the picture with light facing you rather than behind you.
When there is light behind you, you can end up creating a shadow effect where your face is not seen clearly.
4. Stand against a plain white or cream wall.
We have seen images taken in front of the seaside at the beach, images taken at a party and worst of all images with a background showing a very messy bedroom (we really don’t want to see these things and neither do clients!
5. If you don’t have one – take a new one!
It only takes a few seconds to take a photo yet people will spend weeks digging around for an old photo to use as their profile image.
You may be better off asking a friend to help you take a new picture!
In addition to this, if you select an old photo or take pictures of an old photo at home, you may find that the quality is extremely poor. You may also find that it is difficult to edit the picture.
We have had a large number of edited pictures where the person has been forced to cut off their arm in the image!
6. Don’t forget to smile!
Our final tip is to remember to smile! Parents are looking for professional tutors that are friendly and will work well with their child. We tend to re-colour the images into black and white
Finally, we cannot guarantee that your profile will be featured as an example on the website as we use a random selection process to choose which profiles should appear at the front of the website.
We hope this helps! Feel free to view our featured profiles for ideas of what we are looking for. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us by emailing contactus@wisetutors.co.uk