Tuesday, December 11, 2012

A guy's dating profile photo: DO POST!!

Great Photos Guys Should Consider Posting
 1) At least one picture that shows you socializing or interacting with people in a friendly, casual way. 
This serves as a great conversation starter, and it makes us think "Could he be a hot model?" less and "Would I hang out with him in real life?" more.  And usually the latter is what you want us thinking....I think. Even a picture with you with a dog shows that you are good at incorporating others into your life.


2) Include at least one, but no more than two "travel photos."
 Maybe you've never left the state.  Chance are, you have trees, seasons, water, sunsets, sunrises, downtown architecture, or something else of visual interest near you.  Consider this to be your travel photo.  It shows that you get out and about.  And not just at the bar or at a sporting event.  And those out-and-about pictures might be you with the ocean, mountains, Eiffel Tower, etc. behind you, making perfect sense why you needed to capture the moment and not way for a trusted photographer to walk by.  Make it interesting by drinking a cup coffee, striking a yoga pose, or inviting some goofy tourists to join you if you must add something.

3) Let us see your: eyes, teeth, hair.
I get it, people are self-conscious.  Just do it from a small distance (no more than 12 feet away, though) if that makes you more comfortable.  If a guy never shows his eyes, teeth, or hair, I'm going to assume he's missing all of his teeth and hair, and that his eyes scare little children.  I get wanting to get people to give you a shot before you reveal that you didn't get to have braces and that male-pattern baldness runs in the family, but really, that worst of all is when a guy doesn't present himself with self-accepting warmth and confidence.  It's like he doesn't feel good in his own skin.  You don't even have to show all three in a single picture.  And really, a guy who doesn't smile a full smile, well, he just seems sad/hurt/angry/cynical/upset/touch.  But granted, some guys might be going for that. 

4) A real smile.
Be sure to include a picture of you laughing at a friend's joke, smiling huge with your nephews, or grinning ear-to-ear with friends at a football game.  Whatever it took, include that picture that shows you not really posing as much as brimming with cheer.  You look hot that way.

Why else smile? Women smile almost 50% more frequently than men do.  And over 60% of men's photos are unsmiling. Stand out and look attractive by owning that smile.

5) Your style.
Are you the blurry-guitarist-on-stage type?  Are you the guy who likes to geek out with a dorky pose and a huge grin with your computer in the background?  Do you find your element teetering on rocks alongside a river or up a snowbank on a Colorado February morning?  Then do it!  Maybe it's with your motorcycle, with your hunting buddies, or with your chopsticks and rice.  Forget all of the rules just this once and include that picture that really just makes you think "this is the me that I've learned to love, own, and be."

Others that should go without saying:
Make sure you have least one sober picture.

Have five pictures with identical smiles? Switch it up by doing a "I have a secret" smile, doing a "I'm about to tell you a great joke" smile, or a "I just stopped laughing" smile.  I know those sound so contrived and cheesy, but it helps us go past the "school picture day, I look handsome this way" smile and really imagine wanting to sit down for drinks with you.

Keep your pictures current and realistic.



Interested on more regarding this?  I really liked OKCupid's study on the trends they've noticed: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/17/online-dating-profile-pic_n_465227.html
http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/the-4-big-myths-of-profile-pictures/

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