LinkedIn Headshot Tips for Doctors: What Actually Works

Your LinkedIn headshot is doing more work than you probably realize. It's the first thing a patient sees when they Google your name. It's what a recruiter glances at before reading your credentials. It's the thumbnail next to your referral in a colleague's inbox.

And if it's a blurry crop from a conference photo or a selfie with sunglasses on — well, it's making an impression. Just not the one you want.

Here's what actually matters for a doctor's LinkedIn headshot, no fluff.

1. Your Face Should Take Up Most of the Frame

LinkedIn headshots are displayed at roughly 400×400 pixels in most contexts, and much smaller in search results and comments. If you're a tiny figure in a full-body shot, nobody can see your face. Crop from roughly mid-chest up. Your face should occupy about 60% of the frame.

This sounds obvious, but look at any hospital's LinkedIn page. Half the doctors have headshots taken from 15 feet away.

2. Wear What Signals Your Role

For most physicians, this means one of three options:

• White coat — The universal "I'm a doctor" signal. Great for patient-facing profiles and directories.
• Scrubs — Works well for surgeons, ER physicians, and anyone whose daily reality is scrubs. Feels authentic.
• Business professional — Suit or blazer. Appropriate for physicians in administrative, research, or consulting roles.

There's no universally "correct" choice. The right attire is whatever matches how your audience expects to see you. A pediatrician in scrubs looks approachable. A department chair in a suit looks authoritative. Both are fine.

3. Get the Background Right

The best backgrounds are the ones you don't notice. They should complement, not compete with, your face.

• Neutral gradients — Light gray, soft blue, or white. Clean and professional. This is the safe choice that works everywhere.
• Subtle medical settings — A blurred clinic hallway or exam room. Adds context without distraction.
• Avoid — Outdoor nature shots, visible clutter, other people in the frame, or anything that draws attention away from you.

4. Lighting Makes or Breaks the Shot

Good lighting is the single biggest difference between a headshot that looks professional and one that looks like a webcam screenshot. Natural light from a window works great. Studio lighting is even better.

Avoid harsh overhead fluorescents (basically every hospital hallway), direct sunlight that creates hard shadows, and backlit situations where your face is dark but the background is bright.

If you're using an AI headshot generator, this is handled for you — the AI applies professional lighting automatically.

5. Look Approachable, Not Stiff

The most common mistake in medical headshots: looking like you're posing for a passport photo. Patients want to see someone they'd feel comfortable talking to. Recruiters want to see someone who looks engaged and confident.

• A slight, natural smile — not a forced grin
• Eyes looking directly at the camera
• Relaxed shoulders (not stiff and squared)
• A slight head tilt can look more natural than dead-center

6. Skip the Filters and Heavy Editing

Your headshot should look like you. Not a smoothed, brightened, color-graded version of you. Patients will meet you in person, and if your headshot looks like a different person, that erodes trust before you've even said hello.

Basic retouching is fine — removing a temporary blemish, adjusting brightness. Reshaping your jawline or smoothing out every line on your face? Skip it.

7. Update It Regularly

A good rule of thumb: if your headshot is more than 2 years old, or if you look noticeably different now (new glasses, different hairstyle, lost/gained weight), it's time for an update. Your photo should represent what you look like walking into the room today.

This used to be annoying — rebooking a photographer every couple of years. With AI headshot generators, it takes 5 minutes and costs a fraction of what a studio session runs.

The Fastest Way to Get a Good LinkedIn Headshot

If you've been putting off your headshot because booking a photographer feels like one more thing on an already packed schedule — you're not alone. That's exactly why tools like MedshotsAI exist.

Upload a selfie, pick lab coat or scrubs, choose a clean background, and you'll have a polished LinkedIn headshot in just a few minutes. No studio visit, no scheduling headaches, no awkward posing in front of a stranger with a camera.