How to Make a Photo for a Job Application or CV at Home
Shoot from chest up, eye level, facing a window, with a calm smile. Crop to a square or 3:4 portrait with your face near the top third. A plain or softly blurred background is fine for CVs and most job portals, and you can replace a busy one. Save as JPG and keep the file small enough for the form.
What a good application photo looks like
A good CV or application photo is simple: your face clearly visible, a friendly expression, neat clothes and nothing distracting behind you. It is not a passport photo, so a natural smile is welcome and the rules are much looser.
If the form says what it wants, such as a size, a shape or a background colour, follow that first.
Shoot it with your phone
Face a window in daylight so your face is evenly lit. Ask someone to take the photo from about a metre away with the phone at eye level, or prop the phone up and use the timer.
Frame from the chest up, leave a little space above your head, and take several shots. Pick the one where your eyes look relaxed.
Fix a busy background
Unlike passport photos, CV and job portal photos are not checked for edits, so replacing a messy background is fine. Open Remove Background, drop the photo and choose White, a soft Colour or Blur.
A soft blur of your real background often looks the most natural. A plain light colour looks the most formal. Use the Refine tab with the Erase and Restore brushes if a strand of hair or a shoulder edge needs touching up.
Crop it right
Most profile slots are square or a 3:4 portrait. Open Crop Image, pick 1:1 or a portrait shape, and place your eyes about a third of the way down the frame.
If the photo will show as a circle, as it does on many portals, try Circle Crop to see how it looks before you upload.
File size and format
Application forms often limit uploads, for example to 1 MB or 200 KB. Save as JPG, then run it through Compress Image if it is too big. A photo of 600 to 1000 pixels on the long side is plenty for a CV and keeps the file small.
Check the result before you submit: open the downloaded file, look at it at full size and confirm the size in KB.
When a CV photo is not a good idea
In some countries and industries, employers prefer applications without photos, to reduce bias. If the job advert or your local norms say no photo, leave it out.