Personal branding: Making your avatar/profile photo standout from the rest. It's the photographer

Posted on September 22, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

In a day in time where you’re likely to see Twitter avatars ranging from chin-poses, charity support banners and bikinis, having an avatar that matches throughout your social networks is not a personal branding law but its recommended. But does that mean you need to hire a professional photographer just for a headshot for you to post on your Twitter or Facebook profile? No, but find a few friends from your local flickr photo meetup group or the friend who’s always traveling with their digital camera and ask them to take a quick photo of you. For instance a few of my Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) and my online friends on the West Coast are really great photographers who have helped brand profile avatars or profiles for some of the web who’s who and my personal friends. Here are a few awesome profile photos below.

Bio head-shots for Twitter avatars

Photo taken by Don Hazelwood

Photo taken by Brian Solis

Facebook Profiles

Facebook photos taken by Jeff Cohen

Special Case: Self Portrait with photoshop skills
Photo taken by Chris Owens

As for the “personal branding” tip; having an awesome, rememberable photo across social networks are easy to identify and can assist in separating you from the rest of the average avatars or profile photos on the web. Therefore making you memorable ref. to 1918′s blog post “Being memorable“.

When was the last time you updated your avatar or profile photo on Facebook or Twitter? Who took your last profile photo?

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About the Author

Written by Wayne Sutton

Wayne is the business development/marketing strategist for TriOut and partner at OurHashtag. For more, follow SocialWayne.com on Twitter, Buzz, and Facebook. Also check out the SocialWayne Podcast in iTunes. See all posts by Wayne Sutton.

Tags: avatars personal branding photos pictrues

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 8:15 am and is filed under Featured, Social Media, social networks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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September 22, 2009

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Adam Covati said:

great examples, I agree they can help to brand you and make you *pop*.

Big props to @ocell (Chris Owens) his new photo is amazing and so much better than the old ocell icon, which, though recognizable didn’t really create a connection in my opinion.
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September 22, 2009

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Wayne Sutton said:

Thanks for the comment Adam. So true about Ocell, the funny thing is he took his own picture.
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September 22, 2009

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beebo said:

Does personal branding require a photograph? Could it not be a graphic as well?
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September 22, 2009

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Dan London said:

Mine was taken by John Morris (www.goodnightraleigh.com) back when I was with Lulu. Just turned out to be a great picture, so I used it for everything.
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September 22, 2009

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Jeff said:

Thanks for including my photos in the post. These were photos that I took for me, and Brian and Alhad liked them so much, they have chosen to use them as profile pictures. That’s a great compliment to a photographer. They both used these photos after I took them, and eventually switched to other photos. As time has gone on, both have gone back to my photos.
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September 22, 2009

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Dan Schawbel said:

Way too many people use pictures of cartoon characters, clowns, animals, etc. Just use a picture like the one above and you’re in good shape, but you have to use the same one everywhere.
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September 22, 2009

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Camden Watts said:

Wayne, thanks for the support of photographers! Don Hazelwood’s so talented. I love Chris Owens’s self portrait, too.
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September 22, 2009

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Wayne Sutton said:

Thanks for the comments. Dan I agree and being that I have used a character in the past, I think it had its place but now having an awesome photo on social networks are the smart thing to do.

Camden, no problem and thanks.
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September 29, 2009

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Chris Owens said:

I’m honored to be included in this post! Thanks for the inclusion and the discussion everyone.

Wayne, Photoshop skills? Are you implying that beautiful face doesn’t happen naturally?
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September 29, 2009

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Chris Owens said:

Hah, also pretty ironic that my Gravatar is still my logo. But I have my reasons for that for the time being.
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October 25, 2009

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Phil Buckley said:

As much as I would like to have a really great head shot as my avatar, I think having an everyday photo of me makes it easier for people to recognize me.

The same concern goes for using an avatar or a company icon.

The best of both worlds is when you get a great natural looking shot where you also look great.

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Rosemarie Pena - 22. Sep, 2009
RT@waynesutton: Personal branding: Making your avatar/profile photo standout from the rest. It’s the photographer http://socialwayne.com/pzk
Jack of All Trades - 22. Sep, 2009
RT @socialwayne Personal branding: Making your avatar/profile photo standout from the rest. It’s the photographer http://tinyurl.com/ldy3ts
Terrance Gaines - 22. Sep, 2009
RT @socialwayne Personal branding: Making your avatar/profile photo standout from the rest. It’s the photographer http://tinyurl.com/ldy3ts
Curt Moss - 22. Sep, 2009
Making your avatar/profile photo standout from the rest. It’s the photographer http://bit.ly/4FQJMQ @jesshibb, will you take my picture?
Corvida - 22. Sep, 2009
RT @waynsutton – Personal Branding: Making Your Avatar Standout – http://ow.ly/qvc9
Ryan Gamble - 22. Sep, 2009
RT @waynsutton – Personal Branding: Making Your Avatar Standout – http://ow.ly/qvc9 (via @corvida)
Roger Harris - 22. Sep, 2009
RT @waynesutton: Personal branding: Making your avatar/profile photo stand out. It’s the photographer http://ow.ly/qtzH
Wise Man Say - 22. Sep, 2009
PERSONAL BRANDING: Make your avatar photo standout: http://bit.ly/3HF9V1
You Brand - 22. Sep, 2009
RT @Wise_Man_SayPERSONAL BRANDING: Make your avatar photo standout: http://bit.ly/3HF9V1: PERSONAL BRANDING: Mak.. http://bit.ly/4w5hNI
Ryan Rancatore - 23. Sep, 2009
RT @waynesutton Personal branding: Making your avatar/profile photo standout from the rest. It’s the photographer http://bit.ly/Oz0C8
Dave Nervi - 09. Dec, 2009
RT @waynesutton Personal branding: Making your avatar/profile photo standout from the rest. It’s the photographer http://bit.ly/Oz0C8

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Wayne Sutton helps individuals, startups and businesses succeed in understanding how to communicate on the social web via brand strategy, social networks and location-based services. Wayne is the business development/marketing strategist for TriOut and partner at OurHashtag.