Nov 07, 2018 Good men do exist on dating apps! As much as it could be easy to end this on a negative beat, I will not do it. If I thought dating apps were full of creeps and losers and nothing more, I wouldn.

Online Dating App Photo Tips For Guys, Girls. Appropriate, Flattering & Recommended Photos For Your Profile. How To Take Good Dating Profile Photos + Worst Photos For Using Tinder

What Makes A Good Tinder Profile? Dating Profile Examples & Good Profile Pictures

When it comes to dating apps, especially volume-based swiping apps like Tinder, photos are everything. Some people treat Tinder jokingly and make lazy attempts at profiles only to end up wondering why they can’t get likes and matches and eventually shell out money for bells and whistles upgrades which are not really effective for most folks.

Jan 02, 2020 As a dating coach, I understand that it’s important to keep on top of dating trends and changes in the dating apps I used when I was still single. For that reason, I decided to do a little investigative research by creating a new Tinder account. Tinder Dating Site! These tips are good, but for the conversation starter I would say ask a question about the person's bio. This shows that you actually read what the other person wrote, and are interested in their hobbies/interests (like if a person says they're really into hiking, can ask how often they go hiking, or what's the best hiking spot they've been to).

Given that Tinder has one of the most lopsided gender ratios of any dating app on the market, good photos are crucial to have any sort of success on the platform.

Best Photos For Tinder: What Pictures To Put On Tinder Profile & How To Get More Right-Swipes On Tinder

In order to get right-swipe worth photos, you need to make sure the photos you do use are flattering, well lit, not only show your face and physique but also your style, smiles, hobbies, passions, guilty pleasures and occasional self-deprecating humor.

The below guidance provides more concrete and advanced tips for sorting through, prioritizing and selecting photos for your dating profile. These are general rules of thumb and with everything in life there are exceptions to the rules. If you visit forums like Reddit you will get a range of opinions but each of those opinions lacks context about users experience, looks, demographics etc.

Typically, women have more wiggle room when it comes to photos because of the gender ratios on most dating apps. Also, the more attractive people are the more they seemingly get away with on dating apps. With that said, improving the quality of the photos as outlined below will help to generate better quality likes and matches.

For additional photo tips, read this post on how to look more attractive in your photos.

How Many Photos Should You Use On Tinder Profile? Is One Picture Enough For Tinder?

Ideally, you need 4 to 6 unique photos for a dating profile. Most guys struggle to get this number of photos and even though there is room for 9 photos, keep in mind you are only as attractive as your worst photo. With that said, the 4 to 6 photos you do use should be unique in pose, outfit, environment and expression. You don’t want all super wide smiles nor all photos in the same dark outfits. Photos should have some variety in terms of backgrounds, poses, angles, crops and lighting. If you use 1-2 photos, expect people to left swipe on you regardless of looks

Tinder Photo Rules: What Should Your First Tinder Pic Be?

Assume people may not look past your first photo. Avoid sunglasses, shirtless photos, hats and group photos. Photos should be clear, be taken of you and be a flattering photo (ideally your best photo effortless and other photos should not be a complete drop off). Ideally a full body photo or close up photo i.e. 1/2 body or 1/4 body. People will judge you by your worst photo.

Best Tinder Pics: Using Travel Photos On Tinder Profile

This seems super obvious but these types of photos show the type of traveler you are (beach bum, explorer, Instagram post chaser) as well as places and things you find interesting and amazing. People tend to be more relaxed and more likely to be enjoying themselves on vacation.

As an added bonus travel photos make it easier to initiate an opening message when items in the background can easily spark conversation starters. Avoid cliché places like Iceland, Machu Picchu, Tulum for your travel photo.

Pro-tip: Ask tourists and strangers to take photos of you or ask if they would like help to take a photo. You will never see them again and chances are they can take a better photo of you than you can yourself. Avoid selfies though when possible.

Tinder Tips: Group Photo / Social Environment Photos On Dating Apps

Photos taken with friends or activities you enjoy doing often yield smiles. Added validation of having friends and enjoying fun, social activities is also a bonus. Typically, group shots are taken for special occasions, events etc. These details can add context and make it easier to initiate conversation.

Pro-tip: Make sure you don’t make a group photo for your main photo and don’t include super attractive people to take attention away from you. Ask a stranger or a cute girl or guy to take these group shots rather than taking a selfie.

Special Occasions, Formal Events – Business Suits In Dating Photos

A photo in a suit or dress at a wedding, black tie event or business event can provide an opportunity to get dressed up in the appropriate (and relevant) environment and give a glimpse of your style and how you clean up. Events like this are rare and people are likely to snap photos of each other so why not ask a stranger for help in taking a photo.

Pro-tip: See if there is a professional photographer at the event and get your photo taken.

Tinder Photos Tips: Halloween Costumes, Festive Holidays,

This holiday is a great time of the year to show your creativity and spirit which is hard to convey in text. With opportunities to take photos at office parties and contests as well as social parties, this day is the easiest day to capture photos as well as initiate conversation on and offline. Other days include Derby day, costume parties, all-white Diner en Blanc parties, and more.

Pro-tip: Make sure to capture photos of yourself and group shots early in the day/night as costumes fall apart, people get sloppy and makeup starts to get ruined.

Outdoor / Physical Activity, Full Body Photos

A carefully (tastefully) taken photo at the beach, athletic attire out hiking can provide an excuse to show a little extra skin, muscle definition, lean body and energy level in a natural environment with others. Photos taken in the water or pool are a natural way to take photos in a bathing suit without seeming too narcissistic or douchey. Photos with form fitting shirts and tank tops are often better than unnecessarily topless photos. Don’t pose for activity shots, they should be candid and imperfect (slightly dark, grainy, etc.)

Pro-tip: Avoid selfies, neck-down photos, photos of your stomach, flexing. Take off your sunglasses.

Close-Up Photos, Dating Headshots, Dating Profile Portraits

People want to see how you look like up close. Avoid photoshopped, embellished and skin softened LinkedIn photos and go with a close-up 1/2, 1/4 or chest up shot of you smiling or laughing.

If your headshot looks significantly different from your other photos, people will assume you don’t appear as you are and will assume your photos are fake and swipe left.

Avoid using portrait mode or excessive background blur and these come off as staged, forced rather than spontaneous and candid.

Pro-tip: Assume people will look you up on LinkedIn at some point before meeting you. Don’t have a bad headshot in your LinkedIn profile.

Restaurants, Bars & Cafés (Environmental Photos)

Your favorite food dish or beverage should put a smile on your face. A photo like this can show your favorite spots around town and possibly spark a conversation about a place the other person loves or has been wanting to explore.

Pro-tip: Recognizable locations are great but avoid cliché places.

What Pictures To Put On Tinder Female: Best Tinder Photos For Girls

The ability to share an embarrassing moment is the ultimate sign of confidence and comfort in your own skin. An epic snowboarding fail, failing into a wet cement pit or spilling something on your shirt in the proper frame and context can show you are not insecure, can laugh at yourself and are confident enough to use such a photo. Guys love these photos vs cliche, boring, generic posed photos.

Smile, Smile, Smile! Should I Smile In My Tinder Picture?

The #1 pet peeve I hear from women about dating photos from men is lack of smiles. Most men look constipated, tired, angry, lazy or EMO. Some women view dark, intense or creepy looks and smiles as automatic left swipes. Don’t let this happen to you. Looking approachable, confident and fun to be around should be your aim in photos. At the same time, the photos should be contained smiles, not so wide open that one can see the back of your mouth.

Worst Photos To Use On Tinder: Are Selfies Bad For Tinder? Should I Post A Shirtless Pic On Tinder

Using too many cliché photos as outlined here in my dating photo bingo card can hurt your chances at success as it can signal boredom, lack of creativity, or insecurity. Photos that only show the top of your body, have photos in dark lighting, photos taken from a distance, photos that don’t appear as you are today or photos with the same background, outfits, poses or head turns will definitely be noticed and swiped left on.

Should You Activate Tinder Smart Photos? Is Smart Photos On Tinder Good?

Many people struggle trying to figure out which are the best photos to use in a Tinder profile. Great Tinder photos are rather selective. They are based on lighting, pose, outfits, environment, order and lastly based on other photos other people have used that you are competing with.

Tinder Smart Photosfigures out what order to place your photos through extensive testing. It’s not something I recommend and it’s something I actually think can hurt your chances. Proceed with caution, understand its limits and seek out trusted advice instead if you have the chance.

Tinder Smart Photos / Courtesy of https://blog.gotinder.com/

Reddit Dating Subreddits

There are plenty of subreddits that talk about specific apps and online dating. Take them with a grain of salt as most people don’t have much success and resemble the blind leading the blind.

r/rateme

Tinder Dating Site

r/dating

r/onlinedating

r/tinder

r/bumble

r/hingeapp

Tinder Photo Tips: How To Take Tinder Pictures By Yourself

Read this post on how to take your own photos. Do not litter your profile with floating head Tinder selfies (no neck, shoulders, upper chest etc.). People want to see what you look like and not just your face. Your body should be shown from normal angles, don’t be fatfishing on Tinder (i.e. taking photos from unnaturally high angles to make you look slimmer).

Should I Put A Shirtless Picture On Tinder?

Typically no, but depends on who you want to attract and if you have no shame.

How To Add More Than 9 Photos On Tinder

Tinder Hookup Or Dating

Open up a photo editing tool and combine multiple photos into one i.e. 2 into 1 or 4 into 1 and upload that combined photo. With that said, you don’t need more than 4-6 photos on a dating profile as you will likely sabotage your profile with a bad photo. See rules below.

Tinder Dating Apps For Men 2019

Should You Look Away In Tinder Photos?

Contrary to what you have heard, there is strong evidence to be careful about where to look.

Golden Rule of Online Dating Photos

1) You are only as attractive as your worst photo.

2) Assume most people on dating apps will judge you on your first photo, main photo.

For additional Tinder related advice, tips regarding swipe strategy, photos, profile bios and more, check out my other posts.

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Additional Reading:

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About Eddie Hernandez

Eddie Hernandez is an online dating consultant and professional photographer specializing in natural, candid online dating photos. Featured in the SFGate, ABC7News, East Bay Express, Salon; contributor to Good Men Project, Plenty Of Fish and Meddle. In addition to photos, he provides guidance around app choice, bio optimization, messaging techniques, wardrobe advice and date ideas. https://eddie-hernandez.com/contact/

Dating Profile Critique

For those of you who are remote or virtual dating help and are looking for anonline dating profile critiqueyou can read more about my services here.

For other helpful online dating tipscheck out my blog for more helpful advice: https://eddie-hernandez.com/blog/

Online Dating Frequently Asked Questions(Photos, App Choice, Wardrobe, Messaging, Bios and More): https://eddie-hernandez.com/online-dating-frequently-asked-questions/

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When we say “dating app,” what do you think of? The first app that likely comes to mind is Tinder. Tinder first launched in 2012 and since then, it has truly changed the way that we date. Tinder normalized “online” dating. It brought “The Swipe” to our lives. And it made dating fun again. Tinder is a dating app, of course, but it is also fun. The app comes out at bars in big groups of friends who can’t wait to help each other select who might be the next person you end up dating.

Tinder

But Tinder is clearly not the only dating app out there, and it is certainly not for everyone. If you’re just not that into Tinder, or if you like to keep your options open, here are some other dating apps you should look into.

Coffee Meets Bagel
Coffee Meets Bagel is an app that relies heavily on the woman’s choice. If you’re a woman using the app to meet men, you will only see suggestions from men who have already expressed an interest in you. One of the app’s slogans is, “Ladies, choose from guys who already liked you!” Basically, guys receive up to 21 matches a day, who they either like or pass on. Then women receive a select number of curated matched from the collection of the men who expressed interest in them that day. So if you’re a straight woman who doesn’t like to wonder whether or not a guy is interested, Coffee Meets Bagel may be up your alley.

MissTravel
Are you passionate about travel? The aptly titled dating app “MissTravel” is perfect for you. When you match with someone, you can immediately start making travel plans, rather than planning to meet at a bar or a restaurant. MissTravel doesn’t use GPS like most other apps, so you can reach out to anybody, anywhere. This app is super specific and may be best for someone who is out and about in a new location.

Bumble
Bumble is one of the more well-known dating apps for a few reasons. First off, men aren’t allowed to reach out to women first, which puts the ball in the woman’s court and helps alleviate unwanted contact from strangers on the app. If you’re a woman and you’d like to chat with a man, you have to take the first step. (In same-sex matches, either person is encouraged to make the first move.) And if you’re interested in connecting with people for more than just dating, Bumble has branched out into other areas as well. Bumble also has a feature for making friends (called Bumble BFF) if you’d just like to meet people in your neighborhood rather than date them and a feature for making business connections (called Bumble Bizz) for person-to-person networking.

Free Dating Sites Like Tinder

OkCupid
OkCupid, or as people familiar with the app call it, “OKC” was actually launched before Tinder. But to keep up with the times, OkCupid launched an app (rather than just a desktop version) and is now one of the most popular ways to online date. OkCupid works on the premise that you can refine your search based on interests and passions and offers a lot more options for people in terms of gender identity (including bigender, hijra, interxes, non-binary, two spirit, and more) and connections you’re open to (including hookups, new friends, long-term dating, and even non-monogamy). If you’ are more into searching for people based on interests and passions, or need more gender and relationship choices you can’t filter by on Tinder interests, passions, hobbies, and the like, OkCupid is a great alternative. You aren’t swiping based solely on looks with OKC. Warning: many of their features are available only to people who pay for the service.

Hinge
Hinge is another app that’s been steadily making a name for itself. It started as an app that connected you to friends of friends using your Facebook profile and then they revamped their look, and their style, to be the anti-Tinder relationship app. That means, no more swiping. Instead, Hinge has a steam of profiles that you scroll down through before saying no. The profiles have a different style too—they use photos and short questions you can like and comment on.

Zoe and Grindr
Grindr is one of the most well-known non-Tinder dating apps, but it is exclusively for LGBTQIA men or people who identify as men. Zoe is the same idea, but for women, and people who identify as women. If you don’t consider yourself straight, check out these apps for a much more fine-tuned selection of people and features.

Skout
This app is all about friendship—well, mostly. The app is similar to Tinder in that you can say “yay” or “nay” on certain profiles, but Skout is all about relationships and not just attraction. Skout claims that they are “all about preserving the magic of unexpected meetings.” They promote the idea of friendships and romance. Check it out if you’re bored by Tinder.

Happn
Originally started in France, Happn is a dating app founded on the idea of missed connections. (Yes, just like Craigslist.) It tracks your location and sends you matches based on where you’ve been but doesn’t disclose the exact place you’ve passed by. It’s a great way to get to know people in your area and has some fun extra features that let you send songs of voice messages to each other.

Dating is hard, but it can also be a blast. With the rise of dating apps in the past few years, it has certainly made dating seem easier, or at least more accessible. If you’re interested in trying out some non-Tinder dating apps, there are plenty of fish in the sea.

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