Headshot guide
Headshot sizes and crops for every place you use one
The optimal headshot size depends on where the photo goes: a square for LinkedIn and chat apps, a taller crop for bios and print. Keep one large original and export each crop from it. The platform figures here come from each platform's own help pages, checked in October 2026, and where a platform publishes none we say so.
UpdatedThe short answer: one large original, three crops
Almost every place a headshot goes takes one of three shapes. Make a large original, at least 2,000 pixels on its short side if you can, and crop these from it:- Square (1:1) for LinkedIn, Slack, Teams, Zoom, Google, X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. Most of them show it as a circle.
- Portrait 4:5 for website bios, speaker pages and an 8x10 print, which is also 4:5.
- Portrait 3:4 for CVs in countries that expect a photo, and for some print layouts.
Headshot size table, as of October 2026
| Where | Shape | Platform's own figures | What to upload |
|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn profile photo | Square, shown as a circle | 400x400 to 7680x4320 px; PNG or JPG, no GIF; up to 8 MB | 1000x1000 px or larger |
| LinkedIn cover image | 4:1 | 1584x396 px recommended; JPG or PNG; under 8 MB | 1584x396 px |
| Slack | Square | 512x512 px minimum, 1024x1024 px maximum | 1024x1024 px |
| Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 | Square | Served at sizes up to 648x648 px; files up to 4 MB | 648x648 px or larger |
| Zoom | Square | JPG, GIF or PNG under 2 MB; no pixel size published | 1024x1024 px |
| Google Workspace | Any; scaled automatically | JPEG or PNG; up to 5 MB and 20 megapixels | 1024x1024 px square |
| X | Square, shown as a circle | 400x400 px recommended; JPEG, GIF or PNG, no animated GIF; up to 2 MB | 400x400 px or larger, under 2 MB |
| Square, shown as a circle | No profile photo size published | 1080x1080 px | |
| TikTok | Square, shown as a circle | At least 20x20 px | 1080x1080 px |
| Square, shown as a circle | Pages: 320x320 px for best quality. No sizes published for personal profiles | 1000x1000 px or larger | |
| CV in Germany | Portrait, about 2:3 to 3:4 | Bundesagentur für Arbeit: color, at least 4x6 cm, at most 6.5x8.5 cm | At least 600x800 px |
| Company website bio | Usually 4:5 or square | Set by each site | Match the other bios; 1200x1500 px if unsure |
| Speaker page | Usually square | Varies: ASP recommends 500x500 px, Sessionboard 300x300 px | Square 1000x1000 px plus a 4:5 version |
| Email signature | Square or circle | No standard | Twice the shown size, such as 200x200 px |
| 8x10 print | 4:5 | 300 DPI | 2400x3000 px |
LinkedIn profile photo size
LinkedIn's help center says a profile photo must be between 400 x 400 and 7680 x 4320 pixels and at most 8 MB, as a PNG or JPG. It doesn't take GIFs. So 400 x 400 is the floor, not a target: upload a square of 1000 x 1000 or more and it stays sharp when someone opens your profile on a large screen. LinkedIn suggests a photo "that won't require much cropping", so crop it square yourself, with your head centered and some space above your hair, before you upload.The wide image behind your photo, which LinkedIn now calls the cover image and used to call the background photo, should be 1584 x 396 pixels, JPG or PNG, under 8 MB.CV and résumé photo size
In the US and the UK a résumé usually has no photo. In Germany and some other European countries a photo is still common, though not required. The Bundesagentur für Arbeit's application tips ask for a color photo of at least 4 x 6 cm and at most 6.5 x 8.5 cm; another of its offices suggests about 4.5 x 6.5 cm, a little bigger than a passport photo.At 300 DPI, 4.5 x 6 cm is about 530 x 710 pixels, so export at least 600 x 800 for a PDF CV and place it at that printed size. Use a plain background and face the camera.Headshot size for a company website or speaker bio
There's no standard. Each website sets its own crop, so look at the bios already on the page and match their shape and how much of the shoulders they show. If you're asked for a file without a size, send a 4:5 portrait of at least 1200 x 1500 pixels and a square of 1000 x 1000; together they cover almost every layout.Event platforms vary. ASP's event platform asks for square images and recommends 500 x 500 pixels; Sessionboard asks for a square headshot at 300 x 300. Some platforms that pass photos on to ticketing systems cap the file at 1 or 2 MB, so a large JPEG may need exporting at a lower quality.Slack, Teams, Zoom and Google profile picture sizes
Slack wants a square between 512 x 512 and 1024 x 1024 pixels. Microsoft 365, where Teams takes your photo from, serves profile photos at sizes up to 648 x 648 pixels and accepts files up to 4 MB, so a 648 x 648 square or larger is enough. Zoom accepts JPG, GIF or PNG files under 2 MB and gives no pixel size. Google Workspace takes JPEG or PNG up to 5 MB and 20 megapixels and scales photos that aren't square; Google's help for personal accounts gives no size.A 1024 x 1024 square JPEG works in all four. These apps show you as a small circle beside messages and in meeting grids, so a tight crop with your face large reads best.Headshot size for an email signature
Email programs publish no size for signature photos. Decide how big it should look, then export a square at twice that, for example 200 x 200 pixels for a photo shown 100 pixels wide, so it stays sharp on high-density screens. Keep the file small, because it travels with every message. Some email programs hide images until the reader allows them, so keep your name and title in text beside the photo.X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook profile picture sizes
X recommends 400 x 400 pixels for a profile photo, in JPEG, GIF or PNG up to 2 MB, with no animated GIFs; its header image is 1500 x 500. TikTok's only published rule is a minimum of 20 x 20 pixels. Instagram's help pages give no profile photo size; the 110 x 110 and 320 x 320 figures in many guides don't come from Instagram. Facebook publishes sizes for Pages, not personal profiles: a Page's profile picture displays at 176 x 176 pixels on computers and 196 x 196 on phones, and should be 320 x 320 for best quality.For all four, a square of about 1000 x 1000 pixels under 2 MB covers every case. All of them crop to a circle, so keep your head centered with space around it.Print headshot sizes at 300 DPI
Photo labs print at 300 dots per inch for full quality, so multiply each side in inches by 300 to get the pixels you need. In the US the standard printed headshot for actors is 8x10 inches, a 4:5 shape.| Print size | Shape | Pixels at 300 DPI |
|---|---|---|
| 8x10 in | 4:5 | 2400 x 3000 |
| 5x7 in | 5:7 | 1500 x 2100 |
| 4x6 in | 2:3 | 1200 x 1800 |
| 3.5x5 in | 7:10 | 1050 x 1500 |
| Wallet, 2.5x3.5 in | 5:7 | 750 x 1050 |
How to crop a headshot for each shape
- Square avatars: center your head and let it fill a little over half the frame's height, from hair to chin, with space above the hair. Circles cut the corners, so keep your chin and the top of your shoulders well inside.
- 4:5 bios and speaker pages: head and shoulders down to mid-chest, eyes about a third of the way from the top. Match the crop of the other people on the page if there are any.
- 3:4 CV photos: head and the top of the shoulders, facing the camera, with a plain background.
- Print: leave a little extra around the edges, because frames and print trimming eat a few millimeters.