4 Things You're Getting Wrong With Your Online Dating Pictures

Nothing makes more of an impact on a prospective date than your profile picture (no, not even that incredibly witty joke it took you hours to write). You can have it all - from the great job to the adventures abroad - but an unflattering photo can score you a left swipe before anyone even makes it to the profile.

There’s a science to getting it right. Researchers have discovered all kinds of strange and hyper-specific facts about the perfect online dating photo (women who wear red, for example, are considered more attractive by men). But at the end of the day, few of us would be happy treating our love lives like laboratory experiments.

Dating needs to be more natural, more spontaneous, less calculated. The goal is somewhere between the extremes - a picture that’s flattering and thoughtful, but not engineered down to every detail. Avoid these four mistakes and you’ll be on your way to achieving the optimal balance.

#1 You lack basic photography skills.

Are your photos out of focus? Too light? Too dark? Too close or too far away? Are they taken from an unflattering angle? You don’t need to be Annie Leibovitz, but you do need a basic understanding of how to work a camera. Step one is making sure you can clearly be seen in the images. Step two is making sure they show you at your best. A photo that doesn’t meet those two simple standards doesn’t belong on your profile.

#2 Your pictures are impossibly perfect.

There’s a flip side to the point above. While you do want your photos to be flattering, you don’t want them to be too perfect - the kind of perfect no one believes is real, because it often isn’t. Don’t layer on filters or conduct extensive edits in Photoshop. Eventually you’ll meet your date face to face, when you don’t have the benefit of digital enhancement tools, and you don’t want to look like an entirely different person.

#3 You don’t have enough photos.

A single bathroom selfie doesn’t cut it. Every online dating profile should have at least three pictures: a head shot, a body shot, and one that expresses your passions or personality. The first two help dates determine if they’re physically attracted to you. The third helps them decide if they’re attracted to what’s beneath the surface - your hobbies, your skills, your lifestyle, your character. The combination paints the most complete picture possible of the person behind the profile.

#4 Your pictures don't tell a story (or tell the wrong one).

If you looked at your photos as a novel, what story do they tell? From the settings, to your clothing, to the props, pets, and people that appear, the pictures on your profile form a narrative. Consider what you want yours to say. A picture at Burning Man says you’re a free spirit. A photo at ComicCon labels you a proud nerd. A camping shot says you’re outdoorsy. A snap sipping Dom at a luxe rooftop bar says you like the finer things in life. Treat your pictures as an opportunity to affirm and elaborate on the story you tell in your profile.