The Top 10 Online Dating Profile Photo Disasters For Single Dates To Avoid

by April Braswell on September 7, 2010

The Top 10 Online Dating Profile Photo Disasters For Single Dates To Avoid

Online dating for singles is more popular than ever. Gone are the early days of cyberdating when singles felt embarrassed to be posting a computer dating profile on the internet. Gone, too, are the days when internet dating in cyberspace truly was the land of blind dates because we didn’t yet have the technology to post online dating profile photographs.

Online Dating and Relationship Expert April Braswell

With so many singles going online and posting internet dating profiles whether at a niche dating site like JDate or a massive mainstream online dating site like Match.com, there really are a lot of DO s and DON’T s to what you put in your online dating profile. You are making a financial investment in your romantic social life when you post that internet dating profile. Surely you want to get the best ROI – Return On Investment of your hard-earned money as well as all the time you devote to online dating. So while online dating has gone completely mainstream in the 21^st century, there are still internet dating profile disasters to avoid.

Here are The Top 10 Online Dating Profile Disasters For Single Dates To Avoid.

Dud Photograph. With so many people now with a digital camera on their cell phone, many singles aim to rush to post their online dating profile and just use a cell phone photo as their profile photo. You’ve all seen them. The photograph taken with them smiling into the bathroom mirror and the flash of the camera reflecting also. You come across as someone who doesn’t really care about their social life. Other Potential Daters might think your smile is great and you are attractive. But they will pass your internet dating profile right on by because they think you aren’t that serious about dating with a feature profile photo like that.

Goofy Smile on a Young Girl
Photographs Featuring Other People. Yes, it’s lovely that you have friends and family. And when you are cultivating a shared life relationship, you want your potential mate to find your social circle enjoyable. However, featuring photos of you with others can be somewhat confusing. Even if you add an arrow pointing out which of the people in the photograph is you, the Prospect Date who searched on and found that group photo might be distracted by the other attractive people in your pix.

Photographs at Weddings. Surely every single guy who searches online when he sees your photograph where you are part of the wedding party simply runs screaming from your profile page. Even the single women these days do not find it attractive to see a profile photo of a single man in a tux with a young bride next to him. Yes, that may be your daughter or your niece, but most of the women online simply are not going to spend all the email investment time trying to clarify who that is and why you don’t have a current photograph. Surely you have the time to get a good photo and learn how to post it? Well, that’s what both the men and the women are thinking.
Photograph Features FiFi or Fido. Your pet may be your best friend. And in some regions of the country, they may be your constant companion and major support system. However, most singles want to see a photo that features you and your dazzling smile as the first photo they see in your profile. If you feel it best reflects your personality to include a photo of you with your pet companion, featuring a photo of you with your animal can be the last of the group of photos at your profile.
Over Abundance of Photos. OK, so many of the online dating sites allow you to post even up to 15-25 photo in your profile. However, this is not Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket, or MySpace where you have multiple photo albums. You want to have a few photos in your profile. You don’t want to have so many photos in your profile that your prospective date feels they know everything about you before you two even meet. What’s a good guideline? Keep it to about 3-5 photos in your dating profile.

Old Photographs. Even with the preponderance of digital cameras, some singles post photographs of themselves which are more than a few years old. Some even are of the dater from more than 10 years ago. Avoid posting your military service photo is if is more than 10 years old. And if your daughter is entering college, don’t include a photo of you in your profile where she is 5 years old even if you think you still look the same. You run the risk of your Potential Date feeling seriously mislead by you when you two finally meet and they may never want to see you again.
Glamour Photos. While I do highly recommend making the financial investment to hire and book a session with a professional photographer to capture you attractively in casual setting, professional photos are one thing. The super-made up, blurry backdrop images of Glamour Photos creates a highly artificial image of you online. You might get some initial attention from Prospect Dates. However, when they meet you at your first meeting date, you won’t look anything like your photos. That would waste both your time and money.
Boudoir Photos. The next level of professional photos are the boudoir photos. Not only are they way too revealing online and who knows once you post them in your profile where else they will end up, but you are setting the entirely wrong tone in your dating profile. If what you want is a relationship, having the first thing a Prospective Date sees of you is a Boudoir image will only distract them from developing the emotional side of the relationship.
Childhood Photos. It can seem like a cute idea to post a photograph of you from college or high school, showing how you have grown and evolved over the years. However, this is your online dating profile, not your autobiography. Let your Prospective Date become acquainted with you slowly over time. Allow them to feel an attraction to who you are now. And over a period of months of dating and courtship come to know who you have been over the past 10, 20, and 30 years.
Drivers License Photos. You might think with cell phones having digital cameras and so many people additionally owning a pocket-sized digital camera that I wouldn’t even have to mention this. Sadly, that is not the case. Some singles go to the financial investment of paying for a 6 month subscription to an excellent online dating site. And then they scrimp on the profile photo featuring an image of their drivers license photo. Your DMV photo may be a very flattering picture of you. However, using it sends the message to the other singles at the site that you just aren’t that serious about dating and finding a relationship. Best to get a professional photograph.

When you are serious about finding and attracting a lasting love relationship online, you want to avoid this Online Dating Photo Disasters and invest in professional photographs for your internet dating profile. Then you will look your best online, attract singles who are a good fit for you, and enjoy better fitting first dates! With a great online dating profile photo, you can win at finding love online.

Happy Dating and Relationships,

April Braswell
Dating and Relationship Expert

Thank you for visiting us at AprilBraswell.com and for leaving your comments. Your participation and you are very much appreciated.

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Andy February 12, 2011 at 4:34 PM: Thanks a lot, mate, for writing these tips for what to avoid. I like the dating profile series you’re doing. More on that please.
larry blair February 13, 2011 at 2:47 PM: April, I’m not sure exactly why that matters to women. Isn’t a shy guy cute?
Christalia February 14, 2011 at 12:15 AM: I have to agree with your internet dating profile disaster reminder about not including too many photos. This is not your Myspace page. I don’t want to see more than 10 photos of any guy before I’ve met him. The really cute guys are always including pix in their profile with other women next to them. Makes me wonder, don’t you? You don’t have to prove to me how popular are, ok guys?
Tiffany February 14, 2011 at 8:30 AM: Hi April. Do you think that bisexual and lesbian women care as much about the dating profile photo as straight men seem to?
Vanessa February 14, 2011 at 11:13 AM: If the guy is like that in the photo what will he be like on the first date? Not worth time and effort to bother to meet them, that’s what I say.
Heather MacIntosh February 14, 2011 at 11:17 AM: Hi April. I think seeing some of those blurry internet dating profile photos just shows me that the person isn’t serious about dating and a relationship at all. Not of quality…
Joshua Jung February 14, 2011 at 12:23 PM: Hi. Very interesting dating site April. I found it on Yahoo. I’ll definately recommend it to my buddies for internet dating. Please continue the great work.
Nate February 15, 2011 at 9:59 AM: What do you think about dating internationally? should we always post our photos then? or wait to email them to each other?
Abigail February 15, 2011 at 11:13 AM: why do guys not post profile photos and think we’ll respond? I worry that they’re some creep if they don’t include pix in their profile. Makes yah wonder, doesn’t it?
Will February 15, 2011 at 10:28 PM: April I gotta tell ya that there’s a tremendous amount of high-quality information about dating photos throughout this post. Your whole dating blog is great. I just found you online and I will be signing up to your rss feed.
Janice February 17, 2011 at 6:33 AM: April you’ve got a number of helpful photo tips there. They’re great. Because I’ve searched for photo tips and I didn’t find any tips nearly as good as your are. l agree with your blog.
Shane Fraser February 17, 2011 at 11:07 AM: Exactly what I needed to hear plus I wish more of the single girls would read this too and not look so cheap in the bikini tops at the free dating sites. Makes me wonder what they really are.
Henry Harrison February 17, 2011 at 9:01 PM: April, few days ago we just discussed this with my friends about the photos to use or not to use online. thank you Do you think it matters how many pixels is in the photo or image size?
Kerrie D February 18, 2011 at 2:13 PM: Being a Newbie to online dating, I’m normally searching on-line for dating stories and tips that can help me. many thanks April!
Allison Street February 19, 2011 at 11:30 AM: Do guys who are serious for a girlfriend ever study this stuff, April? I can’t conceive that they’d use bathroom pix if they’re truly want stuff on it!
Christeen February 20, 2011 at 5:17 AM: This is why I love your dating blog, April. Great dating tips delivered with a sense of humor.
Iames Stevenson February 22, 2011 at 3:05 PM: April I love so much your right on points about photos. If a woman is attractive why is she in a bikini in her profile photo?
Lottie February 25, 2011 at 2:23 PM: Your dating tips are compelling, April. Most of the photos I see at POF are blurry and bad, both the guys and the gals. so, what are we to do?
Hank February 26, 2011 at 3:29 AM: Can I just have my friends take digital photos of me? So long as I avoid the photos taken in the bathroom?
Tom February 26, 2011 at 7:13 AM: With all the advances in technology in our digital phones, is it ok then to use casual photos taken with my iPhone in my dating profile? Don’t girls find that cute?
Jordan February 26, 2011 at 10:43 AM: Aw, this was a top notch post! What should I look for in a photographer to take my photos? How much does that cost? Is it expensive?
Gina March 1, 2011 at 2:20 PM: I was very pleased to find your dating tips web-site April. I wanted to thanks for your time for this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you blog post.
Makia Jagielski March 2, 2011 at 11:52 AM: Thanks for the dating tips post April. Your blog offers a really solution if you can for singles.
Barbara Ann Smith March 2, 2011 at 2:44 PM: I simply added your web page to my favorites once I found your dating tips blog, April. I really like reading your blogs. Your tips are great and you’ve got a fun sense of humor. Many thanks!
Amber Birkich March 4, 2011 at 10:14 PM: Great information for the dating sites. Seems the photos at the free dating sites are the worst. Now that I found your dating tips site I’m the following your blog!
Wyatt March 7, 2011 at 11:33 AM: April I really like your dating tips blog that I’ve found it. Its a master peace ! Do you do workshops on this to demonstrate your singles tips, too?
Neal March 9, 2011 at 3:17 AM: this is certainly a Delightful reminder to keep my shirt on, lol, when I get my pix done. Do you think having my friends photo me with their iPhones will be good enough?
Ahmed March 9, 2011 at 10:12 AM: Unfortunately you don’t see a lot of great photos at POF. Seems like the girls don’t really make much effort to live up to looking beautiful. Why do you think that is?
Delroy Smith March 10, 2011 at 12:17 AM: What quality level of pixels should the photographs have for dating profiles?
Daniel March 12, 2011 at 1:26 AM: April, tell me the truth, are all the girls in bra tops just baiting for other websites? They can’t be serious about dating, can they?
Issac Teyler March 12, 2011 at 2:46 AM: I’m wondering, April, what clothes to wear for a photo shoot. I do enjoy reading your dating blog because of all your hard work and clear dating expertise. You really understand men and tell it like it is without getting all neggie or anything.
Dison March 12, 2011 at 4:55 AM: Keep doing such a terrific job with the dating tips, April!
Mike March 12, 2011 at 5:49 PM: Your point about the bathroom photos is amazing. The clearness in your dating blog is just spectacular. You are clearly are an outstanding dating expert and quite knowlegable on the subject. Thanks a million and please continue your highly enjoyable work.
Dederick March 13, 2011 at 11:04 PM: whoah April your dating tips weblog is excellent i like studying your posts. Stay up the good tips for singles! Do you realize, a lot of singles are hunting round for this information, you can aid them greatly!
Samora Wong March 14, 2011 at 1:14 AM: I am truly impressed with your knowledge and tips for singles, April. I should say you are clearly a top expert. I seriously find it hard to encounter a really quality dating blog that’s both educative and entertaining, and let me inform you, you have got hit the nail on the head. Really glad I stumbled onto your site during this in my hunt for a online profile tips.
Eddie Straley March 14, 2011 at 10:48 AM: Gotta feeling this is how women really feel about seeing our photos at the free dating sites but we’re not paying attention like your tips could help us.
Jessica Maurice March 17, 2011 at 5:48 AM: April if men would read your dating tips their profiles would be a lot better. Why do they use those photos?
Diane Martinez March 17, 2011 at 12:57 PM: Hello. fantastic job. I didn’t imagine this. This is a remarkable story. Thanks!
Gisella Tennent March 17, 2011 at 5:41 PM: April most of the profiles of guys I’ve seen at POF are not attractive. The guys are not appealing. Do you think there is a difference between the paid sites and free sites?
Desene Mirina March 17, 2011 at 11:06 PM: From what I’ve seen at the dating sites both single men and women could use reading your tips April.
Sandra Boleda March 18, 2011 at 11:07 PM: Does it matter where you go to get your photos taken or can I just have my girlfriend use her iPhone?
Erin Roberts March 19, 2011 at 9:58 AM: I truly enjoy reading your singles dating website April. You have got superb dating tips to offer.
Jason Lipson March 19, 2011 at 3:47 PM: Sweet tips for photos, April. Super friendly. Most of the photos at the free sites are blurry and poor quality. What do you suggest?
Stewart March 20, 2011 at 6:02 AM: Wow, awesome blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is excellent, as well as the content!
Scott Griem March 22, 2011 at 3:39 PM: Good posting for online dating singles and our pix im subscribing to your rss. Many thanks once more.
Bryant Venga March 23, 2011 at 7:59 PM: You are a very intelligent individual, April. You’re clearly a dating expert. Why can’t I use photos with other people in them? Doesn’t that show that I’m a fun guy?
Karla Olah March 25, 2011 at 10:51 AM: Hi, Neat post. It’s a problem if your photos are blurry or send a bad message. My girlfriends just don’t get that and use cheap photos. The guys just don’t respond to them.
Walliah March 25, 2011 at 12:38 PM: After reading a number of your dating tips, April, I actually like your approach to blogging and dating. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website listing and shall be checking back soon.
Jaunita Nerren March 26, 2011 at 1:49 AM: It’s excellent singles dating site, I was looking for something like this to post a good dating profile. Thanks for teh help.
Sylvia March 30, 2011 at 12:09 AM: Hey April, I agree. THe bathroom mirror photos are the worst. So unappealing.