Glam up Your Profile Picture for Free

Credit: Flickr/ginnerobot

A better profile pic could get you a job, or a date

Your profile pic deserves an upgrade, so take advantage of free makeup and a digital snapshot

Your online professional or personal photo is usually a candid snap or stiff headshot. Nothing wrong with that, but what if you could get a free makeover and, as a bonus, upload the results to your personal page?

Try a Pro if Possible

Professional photographers are always worth the money. My headshot at right, for example, was taken by James Loewen, a pro I highly recommend.

But let’s face it: many of us on tight budgets are not ready or willing to go out and spend anything on non-essentials like professional headshots. (Restaurant meals are essentials, right?)

Free Makeovers – and Pictures – for Busy Gals

Makeup companies have cottoned on to our busy lives and, in addition to the gratis makeup applications they’ve always offered at department- or cosmetic-store counters, now sometimes host free special events where a pro will snap your “after” look, then upload it to a site where you can access it yourself.

Look for Promotions

Some cosmetics companies that have recently offered this promotion are Estée Lauder and BeneFit. To find future such promotions, add your name to your favourite company or store’s e-list for upcoming special events. You could even suggest such a promotion yourself.

Better Profile Pic, Better Life?

Don’t you wish every company would think this way? Sure, a pretty picture won’t fix your life, but it sure will give you a lift. And hey, if it gets you a new job, a new friend or a hot date — a recent study on online dating showed that all a woman needs to do to be rated attractive online is post a cute pic — it could be priceless.