To have or not have a Profile Picture - The Secret

Here is a hint to those who do not have a LinkedIn Profile picture - if you EVER want to be re-employed sometime into the future - by either another employer or by clients - not having a picture on your profile  says to me that you do not like yourself enough, you're lazy or you do not see the value in linkedIn - all three are turnoffs.

So come on put a professional picture up, oh and I do mean a professional one - it's not facebook, and yes this is a hobby horse of mine.

Now here is the secret.

Is your left side your BEST side?

People have a natural tendency to pose showing the left half of their face.

This has been seen in around 60% of paintings since the 14th century.
Recent studies also found 90% of pictures depicting Jesus show his left-hand side.

The left half of a person's face is more expressive. It's controlled by the right side of the brain, responsible for emotions. It is better to show our emotional side of the face as that is how people are judging us - by their feeling towards us. Split Second judgment too.

This makes the left side seem more attractive to others.

The left side of the brain controls language, for example, while the right side controls spatial awareness and identifying faces.

The right side of the brain also controls the left side of the body, making the left side more expressive.

There is a thing called ‘the left-light bias’, where participants said paintings with lighting on the left were ‘more aesthetically pleasing’ than when it was lighter on the right side

Yet this doesn’t rule out the left-hand bias. Self-portraits are usually painted through the use of a mirror.

This switches the view. For example, if an artist shows their left side to a mirror, and draws what they can see, the final image would show the head facing to the right.

On smartphone cameras, the front-facing camera is a mirror that reflects what it is being pointed at. When the picture is saved, it is flipped to appear as if it was taken by another person.

The trend to take selfies from the right side results in photos ending up showing the left, hence confirming the theory.

So come on let's get the cameras out and get our better side out there! I am.