LinkedIn Cropped Out Half My Face
Updated my LinkedIn profile picture last month. Professional headshot, good lighting, clean background. Looked perfect on my computer.
Uploaded it to LinkedIn.
The preview showed half my face. The crop cut off from my eyebrows up. Made me look like I was hiding my forehead. Tried adjusting the crop box—couldn't get it right. The circular frame kept cutting important parts.
Gave up and used the weird crop. Posted it. Looked terrible. Colleagues asked if I was okay. "Your profile pic looks... off."
Turns out LinkedIn wants 400x400 pixels minimum with your face centered. My photo was 1600x1200—wrong aspect ratio. LinkedIn cropped it to fit a circle, and the composition broke.
Spent the next week fixing profile pictures across 8 different platforms. Each one had different requirements. Each one cropped differently.
Why Every Platform Crops Differently
Here's what I learned about platform profile pictures.
Different display contexts:
Your profile picture appears in multiple places. Feed posts, comments, chat lists, full profiles. Each context uses different sizes. Platforms generate multiple versions of your upload.
Different aspect ratios:
Most platforms use circular crops. But the circle size and position varies. Some leave more space around your face. Others crop tight.
Different file size limits:
WhatsApp: 256KB max. LinkedIn: 8MB max. Discord: 8MB max. Upload too large and compression destroys quality.
Different compression algorithms:
Each platform compresses uploads differently. Some preserve quality well. Others (looking at you, WhatsApp) destroy detail.
Result? Your carefully composed profile picture looks different on every platform. Sometimes drastically different.
The Exact Sizes That Work (Platform by Platform)
After fixing profile pics on 8 platforms, here's what actually works.
WhatsApp: 500x500 pixels
Displays at 200x200 but compression is brutal. Upload at 500x500 minimum to maintain quality after compression.
WhatsApp shows circular crop. Center your face. Leave space around edges—the circle cuts off corners.
Discord: 1024x1024 pixels
Displays at 128x128 in most contexts. Supports up to 1024x1024.
Discord uses circular crop with tight framing. Your face should fill most of the frame. Works for avatars, not full-body shots.
LinkedIn: 400x400 pixels minimum
Technically supports up to 7680x4320 (8K), but 400x400 is the sweet spot. Displays at various sizes depending on context.
LinkedIn uses circular crop. Professional headshot composition works best—shoulders up, centered face, clean background.
Twitter/X: 400x400 pixels
Displays at 200x200 in most places. Circular crop.
Twitter's circular crop is aggressive. Keep important elements centered. Text in profile pics often becomes unreadable after crop.
Instagram: 320x320 pixels
Displays at 150x150 in feed, 180x180 in profile. Circular crop.
Instagram's compression is moderate. 320x320 maintains quality. Face-centered composition works best.
Facebook: 180x180 pixels minimum
Technically supports larger, but displays small in most contexts. Circular crop in some places, square in others.
Facebook shows profile pictures at different sizes depending on where you're viewing. Design for circular—square will look fine too.
Slack: 500x500 pixels
Displays at 72x72 in most contexts. Circular crop.
Small display size means simple compositions work best. Detailed photos lose clarity. Consider using logo or initial instead of photo.
GitHub: 460x460 pixels
Displays at 230x230 in profile. Circular crop in some contexts, square in others.
GitHub audience expects either professional photos or creative avatars. Both work. Consistency with your brand matters more than photo quality.
The Universal Profile Picture Format
Want one photo that works everywhere? Here's the formula.
Size: 1000x1000 pixels
Large enough for high-res displays. Small enough to not hit file size limits. Works across all platforms.
Format: PNG or JPG
PNG for graphics/logos with transparency. JPG for photos. Export at 90% quality.
Composition: Centered, circular-safe
Face/subject centered. Important elements within inner 80% of frame. Outer 20% is buffer zone for circular crops.
Background: Simple, high contrast
Solid color or subtle gradient. Avoid busy backgrounds—they compete with your face at small sizes.
File size: Under 500KB
Keeps uploads fast. Avoids hitting platform limits. Most platforms compress anyway, so starting smaller helps.
I use WoowTools Profile Picture Maker to create the base version at 1000x1000. Then save platform-specific versions if needed.
Common Mistakes That Ruin Profile Pictures
Mistake 1: Uploading full-body photos
Used a full-body photo for LinkedIn. At profile picture size, my face was tiny. Unrecognizable in feed posts.
Profile pictures display small. Your face should fill most of the frame. Shoulders-up composition works best.
Mistake 2: Off-center composition
Artistic shot with my face on the left side. Looked cool in the original. Circular crop cut off my face. Looked weird.
Center your face. Platforms don't know where you are in the photo—they just crop to center.
Mistake 3: Text in the image
Added my job title in small text at bottom. At profile picture size? Unreadable blur.
Text needs to be huge to read at profile picture sizes. Unless it's your brand logo, skip text.
Mistake 4: Dark or low-contrast photos
Used a moody photo with dramatic lighting. Looked great full-size. At 200x200? Just dark blob.
High contrast works better at small sizes. Your face should be clearly visible even when thumbnail-sized.
Mistake 5: Wrong aspect ratio
Used a 16:9 landscape photo. Every platform cropped it to square. Lost the sides of my face.
Always start with square aspect ratio (1:1). 1000x1000, 800x800, doesn't matter—just square.
How to Test Your Profile Picture
Don't just upload and hope it works. Test first.
Step 1: View at actual size
Resize your photo to 200x200 pixels (common display size). Can you still recognize yourself? Details still visible?
Step 2: Apply circular crop
Most platforms use circles. Preview what a circular crop looks like. Important elements still in frame?
Step 3: Check on mobile
Profile pictures display smaller on mobile. Open your photo on phone at thumbnail size. Still recognizable?
Step 4: Light and dark backgrounds
Some platforms use light themes, others dark. Does your photo work on both?
Step 5: Compression test
Export at low quality (60-70%). If it still looks acceptable, your composition works at low quality.
Platform-Specific Tips
LinkedIn:
Professional headshot rules apply. Dress professionally. Clean background. Smile (research shows smiling profile pics get more engagement). Face centered. Good lighting.
Discord/Gaming:
Avatars and creative images work here. Anime characters, game screenshots, memes—all acceptable. Don't need professional photo.
WhatsApp:
Personal platform. Friends and family see it. Casual photos work. Just make sure your face is recognizable—that's how people identify your messages.
Twitter/X:
Brand consistency matters more than photo quality. If you're building personal brand, use same photo everywhere. Recognition beats perfection.
Instagram:
Aesthetic matters here. Good lighting, good composition, fits your feed vibe. People judge your profile pic more on Instagram than other platforms.
The Tools That Actually Help
Creating profile pictures for multiple platforms is tedious. Here's what makes it easier.
For creating the base image:
Any photo editor works. I use Photoshop for professional headshots, Figma for logo-based avatars.
For sizing and cropping:
WoowTools Profile Picture Maker. Upload your photo, select platform preset, download optimized version.
Has presets for all major platforms. Handles sizing, compression, circular crop preview. Saves time vs. manually resizing for each platform.
For testing:
Upload to one platform first (like Twitter). Check how it looks. If good, use same file for other platforms. If not, adjust and re-export.
My Current Workflow
Here's exactly what I do now for profile pictures.
Step 1: Get good source photo
Professional headshot or high-quality selfie. Good lighting. Clean background. Face centered. 2000x2000 pixels or larger.
Step 2: Edit if needed
Adjust brightness, contrast, color. Remove blemishes if desired. Keep edits natural—over-editing looks fake at small sizes.
Step 3: Create universal version
Crop to square (1:1 ratio). Resize to 1000x1000. Face centered, leaving space around edges for circular crops.
Export as JPG at 90% quality. Check file size—should be under 500KB.
Step 4: Create platform-specific versions
Use profile picture tool to create optimized versions for each platform. Saves them at exact recommended sizes.
Step 5: Upload and verify
Upload to each platform. Check how it displays. If something looks off, adjust crop or size and re-upload.
Whole process takes 15-20 minutes for 8 platforms. Worth it to not have weird crops everywhere.
When to Update Your Profile Picture
How often should you change profile pictures?
LinkedIn: Yearly or when appearance changes
Professional context. People should recognize you in person from your photo. Update if you grow beard, change hair significantly, or photo is more than 2 years old.
Twitter/Social: Whenever you want
Personal branding or casual use. Some people never change it (brand consistency), others change monthly (variety).
WhatsApp: Rarely
Friends and family already know you. Only update if current photo is ancient or you want change.
Discord/Gaming: Frequently okay
Gaming culture accepts frequent avatar changes. Switch it up based on mood, current game, season—whatever.
The Reality Check
Profile pictures seem like minor details. They're not.
People judge you by your profile picture. Especially on professional platforms like LinkedIn. Weird crop? You look unprofessional. Low quality? You look careless.
Taking 20 minutes to properly size and optimize profile pictures across platforms is worth it.
That LinkedIn crop that cut off my face? Fixed it in 5 minutes once I knew the right size. Now it looks professional everywhere.
Don't let platform crop algorithms ruin your photos. Size them correctly from the start.