How to Crop a Headshot for LinkedIn, Resume, and ID Photos

A bad headshot costs opportunities. Recruiters scroll past blurry profile pictures. ID photos get rejected because the framing is wrong. Resume photos look unprofessional when the crop is too tight or too loose.

This guide covers the exact dimensions, framing rules, and cropping technique for every common headshot use case — LinkedIn, resumes, passports, and team pages.

Headshot Dimensions by Platform

Platform	Recommended Size	Aspect Ratio	Notes
LinkedIn profile	400 × 400 px minimum	1:1	Square crop, face centered
LinkedIn banner	1584 × 396 px	4:1	Landscape, no face required
Resume photo	300 × 300 px or 2 × 2 inches	1:1	Professional attire, neutral background
US passport	2 × 2 inches (600 × 600 px at 300 DPI)	1:1	White background, no glasses
UK passport	35 × 45 mm (413 × 531 px)	7:9	Portrait, measured from chin to crown
EU ID photo	35 × 45 mm	7:9	Similar to UK passport
China ID photo	26 × 32 mm (312 × 384 px)	5:8	White or blue background
India passport	2 × 2 inches	1:1	White background
Zoom / Slack	400 × 400 px	1:1	Square, casual or professional
GitHub	264 × 264 px	1:1	Any style

Framing Rules That Matter

The Eye-Line Rule

For professional headshots, position the eyes in the upper third of the crop box. This creates a natural, balanced composition that works across all platforms.

Too high: Forehead gets cut off, looks cramped. Too low: Too much headroom, face looks small. Just right: Eyes at roughly 1/3 from the top, chin visible with some neck showing.

The Shoulder Rule

Include at least the top of the shoulders in the crop. A head-only crop (face filling the entire frame) looks like a mugshot. Shoulders provide context and make the photo feel natural.

The Background Rule

LinkedIn: Any clean background works. Solid colors or blurred environments are best.
Passport/ID: White or off-white background required. No shadows on the face.
Resume: Neutral background. Avoid busy or colorful backgrounds.
Team pages: Consistent background across all team members looks professional.

How to Crop a Headshot Step by Step

Step 1: Upload Your Photo

Go to the headshot cropper. Upload a photo where your face is clearly visible and well-lit. The tool works with JPG, PNG, WebP, BMP, and GIF.

Step 2: Choose a Preset

Select the platform you are cropping for:

LinkedIn — 400 × 400 square crop
Passport (US) — 2 × 2 inches at 300 DPI
Passport (UK/EU) — 35 × 45 mm portrait
Resume — 300 × 300 professional headshot
Custom — Enter your own dimensions

Step 3: Position the Crop

Drag the crop box to frame your face:

Center horizontally — face should be centered left to right
Eyes in upper third — position the crop so eyes are roughly 1/3 from the top
Include shoulders — leave room for the top of your shoulders
Check margins — leave a small margin around the head (not touching the edges)

Step 4: Download

Choose your export format:

JPG — Best for LinkedIn, resumes, and most platforms. Smaller file size.
PNG — Best for ID photos where sharp edges matter. Larger file but lossless.
WebP — Best for web use. Modern format with excellent compression.

Common Mistakes

Cropping too tight. Your face fills the entire frame with no room for shoulders. This looks like a passport photo gone wrong — not a professional headshot.

Wrong aspect ratio. Uploading a landscape photo and cropping to square without adjusting the position cuts off the top of your head or leaves too much space on the sides.

Low resolution source. A 200px photo cropped to 400px will look blurry. Start with a photo that is at least 800px on the longest side.

Busy background. A cluttered background distracts from your face. Use a solid color or blurred environment.

Inconsistent across platforms. Using different photos for LinkedIn, your resume, and your team page looks unprofessional. Crop the same source photo to each platform's dimensions.

Mobile Headshot Tips

If you are cropping a photo taken on your phone:

Open the headshot cropper in your mobile browser
Upload the photo directly from your camera roll
Use pinch-to-zoom on the preview to check framing details
The crop box works with touch — drag to position, pull handles to resize
Download directly to your phone

Phone cameras typically produce 12MP+ photos, which is more than enough resolution for any headshot crop.

Tools

Headshot Cropper — LinkedIn, passport, resume, and team page presets.
Circle Crop — Round profile pictures with transparent background.
Crop Image Online — General-purpose cropper with aspect ratio presets.
Passport Photo Cropper — Country-specific passport dimensions.

All processing happens in your browser. No uploads, no accounts, no watermarks.

FAQ

What size should a LinkedIn profile photo be? LinkedIn recommends at least 400 × 400 pixels. The platform displays it as a circle, so center your face in the square crop. Use the headshot cropper with the LinkedIn preset for exact dimensions.

Can I use a selfie as a professional headshot? Yes, if the photo is well-lit, in focus, and has a clean background. Crop it tightly around your face and shoulders. Avoid filters, heavy editing, or casual angles.

What background color is best for a headshot? For professional use, solid light gray, white, or a softly blurred environment works best. Avoid busy backgrounds, bright colors, or outdoor scenes with distracting elements.

Do I need to crop differently for passport photos vs LinkedIn? Yes. Passport photos have strict rules: white background, specific dimensions, no glasses (for US), face centered with specific margins. LinkedIn is more flexible — any clean background and square crop works.

How do I make the same headshot work for multiple platforms? Start with a high-resolution photo (at least 1200 × 1200). Crop to each platform's dimensions from the same source. The headshot cropper lets you export multiple versions quickly.

Last updated: June 2026