Submitting Your Own Web Profile Photo
If you choose to submit your own photo to the Profile System, the photo will undergo a review process before being displayed on YSM websites. The requirements for web profile photos are as follows:
- The minimum accepted file dimensions are 960 x 1200 pixels, at 300 dpi.
- Images must be between 1 MB and 10 MB in file size.
- Accepted file types are .png, .jpg, .jpeg.
- The image includes the person’s face, head, and shoulders and is not cropped too closely to the head.
- The person looks neat and composed and is looking at the camera.
- The picture should be in color, in focus, and exhibit good lighting, composition, and color correction.
Examples of Poor Headshots
Please keep in mind that the following will not be approved for use as a web profile photo:
- Selfies, candid photos, and cell phone photos cannot be used as profile pictures.
- Files that are blurry, pixelated, or otherwise distorted will not be accepted.
- Photos with excessive retouching or filters applied will not be accepted.
- AI-generated or obviously manipulated images will not be accepted for headshots.
Below are examples of the types of photos that cannot be accepted as web profile photos.
Examples of Poor Headshots
Against a Wall
This picture is out of focus or blurry, which makes it unacceptable as a profile photo.
At Work
A picture of the subject doing anything–even if she is looking at the camera–is not a headshot, including talking on the phone, eating, presenting, walking, participating in a meeting, etc.
Presenting
Any subject in the midst of doing something else can't fully participate in their headshot, so using images of people presenting, eating, or talking will not qualify as a headshot. This person is also backlit by the screen, which also renders this image not usable as a headshot.
Selfie 1
Though this image has soft sunlight, includes head and shoulders, and the subject looks pleasant enough, it's not a headshot. Also, it's a selfie.
Selfie 2
This is a selfie with bad light in a concrete hallway. This is not a headshot.
SuperCrop
This image, though a business-style professional headshot, has been cropped to within an inch of its life, rendering it useless as a profile picture. Allow space around the head and into the chest so that the image can be used in tools online that may crop differently than expected.
Time for a new YSM Photograph!