Canva is a great design tool that makes it fun and easy to create a standout unique headshot for Instagram or other social media. Just choose a great photo of yourself, select some colors you like, and set your photo in a frame. These steps are easy to follow, and you’ll have a great new Instagram profile picture with a unique headshot to make others take notice of you.
Why Is an Instagram Headshot Important?
Whether you use Instagram to pass some time or as a business or influencer, putting your face on your profile engages followers. The first thing new followers see is your Instagram profile photo. Having a headshot as your Instagram profile picture connects your audience with you as a person or brand. What represents you better than yourself? Nothing.
You can also use a headshot on other social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok all include profile pictures. Creating a fun but professional headshot can give your profile some character and personality. It’s easy to make a standout profile headshot.
Step 1: Take a Photo of Yourself
Screenshot by Ruby Helyer, author. No attribution required.
You need a specific type of photo for a headshot. There aredifferences between portraits and headshots, but so long as you have a clear photo of your head and shoulders looking toward the camera, it will work fine.
If you need totake a self-portrait, we have some tips, and we have somegreat tips for the best headshots—including lighting and settings. Overall, remember that this photo will be used for Instagram or other social media, and you know your audience better than anyone else.
Step 2: Resize Your Image
Since the photo is for a small Instagram image, you won’t need the thousands of pixels in size that most smartphones or DSLRs capture. Use Canva or afree online tool to resize your image.
Instagram’s profile image size is recommended at 320x320px—which is tiny compared to its square post size of 1080x1080px—so resize your photo to be 320px on its smallest size. If you’ll use your headshot for multiple social sites, you can use 1080px, and it should appear appropriately everywhere.
Step 3: Remove the Background
If you’re using Canva Pro, follow ourCanva guide to removing image backgrounds. Without Canva Pro, there are plenty of software andapps you can remove photo backgrounds easily. A fantastic free background removal tool isRemove.BG.
With the background removed, save the photo at the same size as a PNG to retain the transparent background.
Step 4: Add Your Brand Color
It’s time to create your unique Instagram headshot. OpenCanvaand selectCreate a design.
Type “Instagram” into the search bar and selectInstagram Profile Picturefrom the list. When you hover over this option, you’ll see the size is 320x320px—Instagram’s profile picture size.
Add your brand color to the background. If you use Instagram for a small business or creative project, you should refer toyour brand style guidefor your brand colors. For Canva Pro users, you canset brand colors in Canva’s Brand Kitfor future use.
To set a background color, select the background, then select thesquare color swatchin the horizontal toolbar. Choose a color or type in a color name or hex code into the search bar.
With your background color set, it’s time to upload your transparent background photo to Canva.
Select theUploadstab, then selectUpload files. Select your transparent PNG photo and selectUpload. Your photo is available in your Canva upload gallery.
Step 6: Resize Image and Save Your Artboard
Select the photo to add it to your artboard. Then, resize it to fit your artboard—the correct size for the Instagram profile picture.
To resize an image in Canva, select the image. Then, click and drag the circle anchor points. Canva retains image scales when resizing, so you won’t warp or skew the image. Pull each corner into the artboard’s corners.
Then save the artboard. Go toShare>Download>PNG>Download. Don’t change any sizes or other settings.
After saving your headshot on a colored background, upload that image back to Canva. You’ll have one photo with a transparent background and one with a plain-colored background.
Step 7: Find a Photo Frame
Delete the headshot from the artboard and change the background color to a complementary color. If you don’t want too many different colors, you may leave it the same.
Canva frames allow you to insert a photo into a premade shape. To find a suitable photo frame, go to theElementstab and type or selectFrame. There are different shapes and frame types. Some are shaped into letters, have borders, or look like product mockups. Any will work well for this headshot, but we recommend a circular frame since Instagram’s profile picture is circular.
SelectSee all, and scroll among the frames. There is a circle frame with a colored border. Scroll down to find it andfavorite this Canva element for future use. Add your frame to the artboard by selecting it.
Change the color of the border to another complementary color. Do this by selecting the frame on the artboard and choosing a new color on the color swatch.
Step 8: Insert Your Colored Photo to the Frame
Resize the frame so it sits centrally in the artboard, but not too close to the top edge. You can also move it later.
From theUploadstab, click and drag your photo with a colored background into the placeholder of the frame. If you only select the photo, it will not add to the frame placeholder, so you need to drag it to the frame until it fills.
To resize the photo that’s within the frame,double-clickthe photo until its hidden borders appear. The outer borders are translucent to show the hidden area once you set the photo frame.
Resize the photo to fit the entire square of the artboard—pulling the corner circle anchors to each artboard corner once again. Try to size your photo so the top of the circular frame cuts through your head. SelectDone.
Step 9: Add Your Transparent Photo and Resize
Add your transparent headshot to your artboard. Select it from the Uploads tab and then resize it directly on the artboard, avoiding letting it snap into the frame.
Resize it to the same dimensions as your inner-frame photo—all corners to the artboard’s corners. When sized correctly, your transparent headshot seamlessly covers the other headshot and frame.
Your head will pop out over the top of the frame, giving a fun standout feature to your headshot. But your shoulders currently cover the frame, which doesn’t look cool.
Select your transparent photo. Then click and drag therounded rectangle anchorat the bottom of the image up to obscure the bottom half of your transparent image. Drag it until nothing covers the bottom part of the frame—only the top part of the head sticks out of the frame.
To resize or move your entire image, click and drag your cursor over everything to select all elements together. You can move and resize without pulling things out of alignment. Ensure there is enough space above your head so that when the image is cropped to a circle on Instagram, it doesn’t crop the top of your head.
You’ve created your unique, fun headshot in Canva. Save it as a PNG by selectingShare>Download>PNG>Download. It’s ready to upload to Instagram as your profile picture. You could also use it for other social media profiles or anywhere you need a headshot. Send your new headshot to the device you access Instagram from.
To change your profile picture on Instagram, go to your profile and tap and hold your current profile picture. SelectChoose from libraryand select your headshot. Once selected, it fits perfectly into Instagram’s circular crop. SelectDone, and your Instagram is now bedazzled with a unique, standout profile headshot.
Stand Out On Instagram With a Cool New Profile Picture
Your face is the most important part of a personal brand, and Instagram is the best place to display your personalized headshot. Using Canva, a free software, you can create a unique branded profile picture for Instagram or other social media accounts. The results look complex, but the process is fun and easy. You can easily stand out using this Canva headshot tutorial.
Q: Why Are My Canva Designs Blurry on Instagram?
Social media sites like Instagram will compress photos that you upload, resulting in blurry images. One way to get around this is to ensure that you download your Canva headshot as a PNG file.Knowing the difference between image filetypeswill stop you from ever posting a bad photo again.
Q: Does Canva Improve Image Quality?
Canva doesn’t magically improve the quality of the images you upload, but it does give you some good photo editing tools to improve your headshot by adjusting things like saturation and brightness. You also have the option ofusing Canva’s Magic Edit toolto add or replace elements in a photo with a text prompt.
Q: How Do I Make My Canva Designs Look Better?
you’re able to make your headshot look better in Canva by understanding a few key design elements. Canva has many resources to help beginners learn skills in graphic design, andgetting started with Canva’s free design schoolis one of the best places to begin.
