Note From Steve: This post is written by a guest blogger

The relatively new Cover Photo feature is one of the most exciting aspects of the new Timeline on Facebook.  Never before has Facbook taken such big steps towards incorporating personal branding within their social media platform.  These large photos allow for self-expression in a new way that was never afforded with the small profile photo:  the cover literally provides a landscape for illustrating your aesthetic preferences and personality.

Showcasing your Friends, Hobbies and Talents
While you develop your personal brand on the web, you want to associate yourself with the things that you love and care about most.  A great cover photo will show you and your hobbies or friends in a creative way.  Passionate about gaming?  You can photoshop yourself into a scene of a particular favorite game, even one from your past as shown here.       If you’re fairly old-school, you can include yourself in a fun computer solitaire scene, as shown here.   .  All it takes is a screenshot of the cards flying across the screen after winning solitaire, which is easily found using Google Images, and a great shot of you to post as your Profile Picture.

If you lack artistic talents, maybe the right approach for you is to use an application that utilizes your existing Facebook photos for creating a new collage.  Pic Scatter, for instance   is a Facbeook App that helps you select some of your best Facebook photos and organizes them into an aesthetically pleasing

The More Humorous Approach

Remember Where’s Waldo from your childhood?  It’s easy to make a really cool Facebook cover photo that features you, in your profile picture, in a “Waldo” costume with a background cover photo that comes straight from your favorite scene from the popular childhood series.

Look at some more at some of the cover photo ideas that are featured on Epic LOL  .  Through some easy cropping of a large photo, it’s possible to make a Cover Photo and Profile Picture that combine with one another into an original, one-of-a-kind image.  Here, Photoshop has been used to add funny captions and change memes to include the photo of the owner of this Facebook profile.  Think about some of the other ways you might manipulate a photo of yourself to isolate your face, showcased in the Profile Photo, from the rest of your body, as demonstrated in this image.

Other Sources of Cover Photo Inspiration
So far on Facebook, there is no understanding of copyright of artistic photos or other images that can be found on the internet.  Consider searching for images painted by your favorite artist or shots taken by your favorite photographer that you identify with.  A great way to find interesting and unique pics is to search by tags and hashtags on Tumblr and Instagram of your favorite artists, bands, and themes.

If you’re really desperate for an epic makeover on Facebook, but you want to ensure that the final result is completely polished and professional, don’t hesitate to enlist the help of an experienced designer who can help you customize a cover photo that is perfect for you or your business’ needs.