Tips on Photos for Online Dating Services
The best way to come up with a photo of yourself for an online dating site is to get a digital camera (there are even disposable ones now, it doesn’t have to be super high quality), then stand in front of a mirror and take a bunch of pictures of yourself. Dress nice, of course. Snap the picture when you think you’re looking your best. Take as many pictures as you need. Then go through them and pick the one or two you like the most.
This shows you as fresh and honest about your appearance. You have nothing to hide. You’re telling the world, “Hello! Here I am!”
Keep them to a resolution of around 640 x 480 pixels, or what they call standard VGA. If it’s a close-up head shot, you can even take it down to about 320 x 240 pixels. Bigger sizes make files that are slow to download over a modem (not everyone has broadband). Make sure there’s plenty of light and you’re close enough so they can see the color of your eyes.
While you can use other photos, it’s best to avoid specific types…
Professional glamour photos: They usually doesn’t show the real you, which may be disconcerting or even misleading when you finally meet your dates face-to-face. Remember that you want to attract someone to YOU as you are, not to some photography studio’s fantasy version of you.
Photos of you with another person, even if that person is cut out or scribbled over: These photos raise doubts, as in, who is that other person? Why are they scribbled out? Will I be scribbled out next?
Old photos of you from when you were much younger, thinner, had more hair, whatever: Face it, that’s just not honest. Unless you look exactly the same, or better, you’re not projecting who you are NOW. Stick to the photo in the mirror technique, you’ll be much better off.
No photo at all? Talk about a blind date! Look, no matter how little you think of your own looks, someone out there will think you’re pretty darn cute. As my girlfriend (who I met via Yahoo Personals) says, “there’s a lid for every pot!” Me, personally, I think my head looks like a lumpy potato with fuzz, but my girlfriend thinks I’m adorable.
Go figure.
