If you haven’t given much thought to the pictures that you have posted on your online dating apps, you could be missing out on valuable traffic! You do not want to post just any old photo or photos. You want to post images of yourself that are going to generate interest and motivate people to want to meet you!
We are going to go over some of the best practices for online dating photos. Just as it is essential to post good profile information about your interests, beliefs, lifestyle, and family, it is equally important to post some good photos of yourself that are going to attract the singles you are looking for!
Tip #1: Post Between 5 and 10 Photos
If you post one or two photos to your online dating profile, this is going to come off as incredibly lazy to those who view it. You want to show that you are serious about being on the dating app. Our official recommendation is to post 5 to 10 really good photos of yourself so that other singles can get a good idea of who you are. It will show that you are serious about finding love or getting dates!
Only having one or two photos can also make it look like you are a fake account. You want other singles to be interested in your profile. If it appears like your profile could be one that is fraudulent, they are going to skip over it in a heartbeat. Mark our words. Eliminate any sort of doubt, and be sure to post at least five good photos of yourself!
Tip #2: Post Realistic Photos
If there is one major thing that you can be doing right when it comes to posting realistic photos of yourself, it is to post pictures that are actually of you! If you are using someone else’s photo for your profile, you are basically catfishing, a practice that is really looked down upon. In fact, a whole show was created on MTV around this premise and how it has ruined some people’s lives.
You should be posting photos of yourself that represent the most accurate version of who you are. That means wearing the kind of clothes you would usually wear, doing the things you would really be doing in your day-to-day, and not concealing things about your appearance.
Maybe you’re overweight and tend to take only pictures of your face. Or you might be older and, in order to appear young, you post pictures where you are looking off into the distance with only a bit of your face in profile. You need to cut it out with this kind of stuff. Sooner or later, people are going to find out what you really look like. They are going to find out that you don’t really wear those kinds of clothes or drive that kind of car. It’s best to be honest now and either go into a relationship or experience rejection knowing you were honest.
Tip #3: Post Photos That Are High Quality
It’s one thing to make sure that you look good in your photos, but you will also want to be sure that the pictures themselves look good. For instance, you do not want to post photos that are blurry, poorly cropped, or poorly edited. People that see this in your profile will be asking themselves, “what were they thinking with this photo?” It could possibly reflect a lack of self-awareness or a lack of judgment on your part.
The more appealing the photos that you post, the more it looks like you care. When people see that you care about something, they are more inclined to take you seriously and find your actions sincere.
Tip #4: Post Some Variety for Your Dating Profile
One of the best practices for online dating photos is to post a good variety of different shots. You do not want to post 5 to 10 selfies in the bathroom mirror that are taken at slightly different angles. Something else that you would want to avoid is posting too many pictures of you doing one specific thing, like working out in the gym or scaling cliff walls with your buddies out west.
Take some time to develop a good variety of photos for your profile to show that you are a well-rounded individual. Post that selfie or the gym photo but also be sure to throw in some others:
- One with your family at a get-together
- One with you and a beloved pet
- Or one with you and your best friend
These are just some suggestions, but you get the point. The more variety that you can include, the more interesting you might come across to other singles.
Tip #5: Avoid Posting Group Photos
Singles who visit your profile do not want to play the game where they have the guess which person in the photo is you. This is the problem that you will run into if you post a lot of group photos with your friends or family.
Posting a lot of photos of yourself in the midst of a large group can come off like you are not outright revealing how you appear. If someone who is viewing your photos is having a hard time pinpointing exactly what you look like, they can become suspicious. Don’t give them any sort of doubt. Feel free to post a couple of these group photos but make sure the bulk of them are of you!
Tip #6: Avoid Posting Photos That Are Not of You
For this best practice, we are not referring to posting photos of other people and claiming that it is you. We are talking about posting stock photos of things like landscapes, beautiful scenery, pets, or your car.
If you are posting too many photos that are not of you, those who view your profile might become suspicious that you are hiding something about what you look like or that you feel ashamed of your appearance. It could come across as you having low self-esteem or lacking in confidence. Don’t do yourself a disservice. Skip posting that stock photo of your favorite football team’s logo and simply post a picture of you in your jersey on gameday!
Tip #7: Take It Easy on the Filters
It can be becoming really cringey going through someone’s photos, and it is apparent that they never met a filter that they didn’t like. Filters can show that you do care about your appearance and how you come across to others! But in another way, it can come across like you have the emotional maturity of a teenager.
We are not going to sit here and say that you should never ever use a filter, but we are simply saying that you shouldn’t be using them on every single photo that you post to the dating app. A lot of singles out there really appreciate authenticity and simply want to see the real you!
Tip #8: Post Photos That Make You Look as Appealing as Possible
There are definitely some surefire ways out there to appeal to singles of the opposite sex and get some increased interest in your profile. These are things that are scientifically proven to drive attraction!
And the methods are going differ if you are dealing with men or with women:
For Women
We have found that men are most drawn to women who wear something red in their profile pictures, more so than any other color out there. Men also seemed to like it when women smiled in their pictures as opposed to showing other emotions like sadness, confidence, or self-assuredness.
Another interesting thing we found was that guys liked it when women struck a balance between being overly sexy and overly modest. There were a lot of cases where men were really turned off by each extreme. It seems like the ladies should take the middle road on this one for the best results!
For Men
Women really liked it when guys wore darker colors. In particular, they really enjoyed dark grey, navy blue, or black. They also highly preferred men who wore solid shirts and were less drawn to those who wore shirts with weird, intricate patterns.
As far as their facial expression went, women liked it when men looked confident, self-assured, or had a prideful expression. When it came to body shots, we found a lot of women were not receptive to the guy who has a ton of shirtless pictures. It rubbed them the wrong way!
Wrap Up
When you are putting together your online dating profile, it is important to consider what kind of photos you post! If you follow these best practices for online dating photos, you can generate some extra interest in your profile that might not have previously been there!
These are some easy adjustments to make and do not take long to put into place. Try out some of these best practices and see if there is a difference in the volume or the quality of singles who reach out to you.
If you do see an increase or some positive changes down the road, you’re welcome!