What does “PFP” mean?
PFP is an acronym for profile picture. It does have other meanings, however, profile pic has became more common in recent years. The acronym has been rapidly adopted across all social networks and messengers across all user groups. Thus today it is mostly associated with one’s avatar or, in other words, profile picture.
Profile pictures started with photos
Profile pictures existed a long time before the Internet. Only they were physical photographs in people’s passports. Since our communication has become digitized, a need to represent yourself online occured. This is how today’s profile pictures were born. It’s hard to imagine the modern world without emails, dozens of chats, social media and other digital communication ways. So a profile picture is an essential thing for everyone present online. While there are quite strict rules for a photo in your passport, there’s more freedom when it comes to a profile pic for different platforms.
Types of profile pictures
There is no strict categorization of profile picture types. But we can conditionally divide them into the following groups:
- Profile pictures for social media
- Profile pictures for messengers
- Business profile pictures
- Profile pictures for gaming accounts
- Profile pictures for children
Your profile picture can be the same for social media and messenger if they are connected. Like on Facebook. Since Facebook messenger is connected to Facebook, you can’t have two different profile pics on them. But you can have different profile pics in Discord, Skype, Telegram and other messengers that are separate from other platforms.
Profile picture for business is somewhat similar to a photo in a passport. There are some recommendations for business profile pics since it is a first point of contact with employers. We’ll discuss this a bit later.
It’s good to think what profile pic to choose for your child if you create an account for them, say, on YouTube. While you are free to use your kid’s photo, it might be a good idea to choose something neutral that will protect the child's privacy. For instance, it can be an Emoji or a funny picture of a pet.
Good profile picture matters
Yes, you are free to use any photo as your profile picture, but in some cases it’s better to choose something traditional. Profile picture is the first thing people see when looking at your account. Studies show that based on profile pictures people choose whom to add as a friend, whom to date and whom to employ. If you want to make a good first impression, you’ll probably won’t put anything compromising like a photo of you drunk at a party as your profile pic (unless this is an impression you want to achieve).
It’s especially important to have a professional profile picture if you are searching for a job. Of course, it is crucial to have a business profile pic on your LinkedIn account. But your potential employer might look for your account on Facebook to know a little bit more about you before even contacting you. And you don’t want to lose a chance to get employed because your Facebook profile pic made a bad impression, do you? So we’re going to give some tips on how to take a good profile picture.
How to take a good profile picture
If you want to make a good first impression, here are some tips that will help you to take a great profile pic.
1. Show your face
Remember: people want to see you more than your silhouette in the downing sun. Leave beautiful you-in-the-nature photos for an album. Use a portrait photo for a profile pic.
2. Smile! Or don’t
Are you an open person or a closed one? If you want to look friendly, be sure to smile when taking a photo. The wider the smile, the more open person you seem.
3. Nail the frame
Framing is an essential thing when it comes to photography. You don’t want your face to look like it’s under the microscope or far away in outer space. Make sure your face is just the right size in the frame.
4. Choose the right background
You don’t want to blend in the background. Use contrasting colors. If you wear a red jacket, make sure the background is another matching but contrasting color, e.g. white, yellow or black. Also, think of the background color that is used on social media. Facebook is blue, so it might be wise not to use it as a main color for your photo.
These tips work especially well for business profiles.
If you don’t have time for a photoshoot
If you want a great profile pic, but don’t have time (or money) for a photoshoot, we’ve got you covered. PFPMaker is a unique tool that creates profile pictures for any purpose — personal and business accounts, messengers, gaming accounts, etc. It allows you to create a professional-looking profile pic from any photo in less than a minute.
PFPMaker uses artificial intelligence that removes and replaces the unwanted background. The tool then creates dozens of profile pics to choose from and offers the possibility to customize your new profile picture to make it just perfect. Also, PFPMaker is free, so everyone can use it.
Now you know what PFP is and why it is important to have one!