Choose a Psychology Today profile photo

Choose an image that represents your current appearance and that you are comfortable publishing professionally. Look for clear focus, visible eyes and an expression you want to use across your professional pages. Review a few candidates at a small size as well as on a larger screen.

Check your permission to use the photograph before uploading it. If you are arranging new photography, identify the directory and website uses in the brief so the permitted uses and final exports can be agreed with the photographer.

A photograph can look balanced in its original frame and feel too tight after uploading. Leave some room above and beside your head when planning the portrait. That gives you options if the destination asks you to move or resize the image within its crop.

Check that the uploaded version retains the parts you want visible: hair, face, neckline and an appropriate amount of shoulders. Use the current uploader instructions for accepted files and dimensions. A crop reference from a different directory does not establish Psychology Today’s requirements.

• Compare the original photograph with the uploader preview
• Keep your face clear at the size shown in search results
• Check the published version on a phone and a larger screen

A plain backdrop, quiet office corner or softly rendered setting can keep the portrait easy to read. Examine what appears directly beside your face. A bright object, shelf edge or strong line may become more noticeable when the image is reduced.

An office portrait can include some of your setting while keeping you clearly visible. Plan the background before photography and review it alongside your clothing. You can also choose a closer portrait for the profile and a wider environmental image for a website biography.

Psychology Today’s US membership page lists a photo gallery as a profile feature. Start with a clear portrait for your main image and check its thumbnail in the current uploader. Any additional photograph should have a purpose, and you can confirm the available options there.

For a website team grid, use the existing portraits and your designer’s card layout as references for the background, framing and head size. A biography page may have room for a wider portrait that includes your setting.

Share the pages before the session so we can plan their different crops. Include the orientation and any room needed around you. We agree the final photographs and files around those uses.

If you also use Headway, its official photo guidance recommends a current image without filters, clear resolution, a simple background and an eye-level portrait. It describes shoulders-up framing that avoids cutting off the upper body or zooming too close.

Those recommendations are useful photographic references. Headway’s instructions describe Headway, so confirm the crop and file requirements separately for Psychology Today and each other destination. Share the pages you use when discussing the final exports with your photographer.

Open the published profile after saving your image. Check the search image, full profile and any additional photographs you added. Review whether the file looks sharp and whether the crop matches the preview you approved.

Keep the delivered original and the exports identified for each destination. If you change the website layout or a directory changes its uploader, start from the original selected file when requesting a revised export.

• Confirm the profile belongs to the person in the photograph
• Review sharpness, crop and visible background after saving
• Check the photograph on the public page, including mobile
• Keep the selected original and the destination-specific exports

• Psychology Today: US membership and profile features
• Headway: optimizing your profile photograph
• Headway: adding a photograph in the provider portal