The Top 10 Online Dating Profile Photo Disasters 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 Coach’s Tip and Advice for Great Internet Dating Photos for your Singles Sites and Apps Profile

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.  It’s ok to start with Free Dating Sites and Apps to get your sea legs, but once you’re all warmed up socially, you are looking into the paid dating membership sites and choosing a few, right?

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.

1. 1. 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.
   2. 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.
   3. 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.
   4. 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.
   5. 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.
   6. 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.
   7. 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.
   8. 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.
   9. 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.
   10. 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

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