I thought this topic deserved an article of its own as it recently created a very interesting debate among some of my dating industry colleagues.
Using the wrong photos on your profile can greatly impact how successful you are in both receiving and getting replies to messages.
Can you really afford not to take some time to think about how your images are perceived by other daters?
Some of these images are actual dating profile images.
Read on…..
Let’s start with the DO NOTs
Do Not – wear sunglasses in your photos, however much you like the photo and how cool you look, no one can see your face wearing those bins.
The above image actually falls into two photo fails. Do Not – use a group photo as your main photo on your profile. No one will know which one you are, and even more embarrassingly, it’s possible the person responding may actually fancy your mate, not you.
Do Not – wear hats that obscure your face, similar to sunglasses the whole point of profile images are so that people can see what you look like.
Do Not – use images that are blurry and dark. The above is a great example, why of why would you want to post an image like this?
Do Not – Pose with a Tiger, seriously ladies and gents I see so many of these. It may have been a very cool memory from your holiday, but do you realise those tigers have most likely been drugged so that they don’t actually tear your head off?
Do Not – use photos of you out on the piss with drink all down your front. It’s great to have one sitting in a nice cafe or bar with a cup of coffee, but don’t do this guys.
The EPIC male FAIL, DO NOT – post images of you topless. Ladies don’t find it sexy, and yes these are actual profile images I stumbled across. Not to mention the questionable spliff hanging from his mouth.
If you fancy this one ladies, let me know and I’ll point you in his direction.
Do Not – post pictures of you in face paint. It can be a cool memory but keep them to yourself and your friends on Facebook. “I want to date this girl” does not spring into mind seeing pictures like this.
So what photos should you post?
CLEAR, BRIGHT, SMILEY and preferably NOT SCARY photos. Here is a good example.
A great first image, showing off a slight smile and amazing eyes.
Should you use professionally taken images on your profile?
Now this is what sparked the main debate among my colleagues.
I’ve used professionally taken images before and it sparked some negative reactions from profile visitors. Mainly “Is that you?” or “Those look professional, do you have some normal pictures?” People are naturally suspicious of pictures that look too good to be true. Some people use makeover images on their profiles that have been highly touched up. I avoid these like the plague as you know the person will never look that great when you meet them.
Can you use professional images when taken in a certain way?
Yes absolutely and here is how.
An image taking part in your favourite sport, not only depicting what you look like but also that you love tennis. This could have been taken while just messing about at the club.
These have clearly been taken by someone who knows how to take a photograph, but are they professional? Possibly not, but they are great photos and could have just been taken to capture a holiday memory.
The main point about the above photos are that they don’t look posed, by posing I mean in an unnatural environment that is definitely not just a spare of the moment fun photo or something to capture a memory.
Here are some photos that I’d class as posed in a fashion type style.
Ok so whats wrong with these photos? Nothing, they are well taken and quite cool photos, apart from the dodgy suit. So why would I not use them on a dating profile…? They are clearly staged photos, you don’t walk down a street with a friend and say, “you know what, take a photo of me against this wall or shutter”.
So the true art of a great profile photo is for the person viewing them to not actually question if they are professional or not, just that you look great in the photo and they want to meet you.
Avoiding the above photo FAILS will greatly increase the success of your profile and if you do choose to use professional photos, make sure they look natural and tell a story about you.
Have you seen some crazy profile pictures? Tell me about them and leave a comment below.
No comments yet.