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When girls are scrolling through Tinder, they look at your profile photos extremely quickly, and they make the decision to swipe right or left in a matter of seconds.
If you don’t have the right pictures on your profile, you’re going to be very disappointed. In fact, a lack of great photos is often the only thing preventing average guys from getting laid like crazy.
In this article, I’m going to show you how to pick the best tinder pictures for your profile and how to tell a good story with your profile. This advice is specifically tailored for Tinder, but it equally applies to all online dating profiles.
How to take the best pictures for tinder
These guidelines will help you pick the best profile pictures and make a good first impression when girls are quickly swiping past.
1. Don’t use a selfie
You might be tempted to use a selfie for your profile picture because you probably already have dozens of them on your phone. It seems like the logical choice, but there are several good reasons to avoid using selfies.
When you take a selfie, you’re often looking at yourself in the mirror and using your phone. This creates a very unnatural and posed look to your picture that comes off as a little bit lonely and desperate. Girls much prefer guys who look like they’re living a fun and interesting life instead of posing for the camera.
The mirror selfie also makes it look like you have no friends and couldn’t even find someone to take a simple dating profile picture for you.
The other problem with selfies is that they tend to distort your face and make it look more bulgy than in real life. This is because cell phone cameras use a very wide-angled lens, and you need to have the phone right up in your face to fill the frame.
2. Use high-quality photos
It’s critical to use high-quality photos when you’re picking shots for your tinder profile. It sounds obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many online dating photos look like they were taken with a flip phone from the 1990s.
A high-quality photo is not blurry, has good lighting, and good composition. For the first two photos in your profile, this means that your head and upper body fill the frame, and girls can see your face clearly.
If you’re worried that you aren’t a super attractive guy – don’t worry. There’s no point in trying to hide what you look like behind dark or blurry photos. There are lots of other ways to make sure that your best features are accentuated.
Some guys even go so far as to hire a professional photographer and do a full-on photoshoot for the day. You’ll get good results from this, but I don’t think you need to spend the money personally. Just follow this guide, and you can easily take good photos yourself.
3. Make your pose look natural and relaxed
Showing yourself in natural poses is one of the most important things to think about when you’re picking good profile pictures.
Your profile pics need to show girls the best version of your life. Instead of stiffly posing for the camera, they want to see you having a great time in all different types of environments and situations. This will make it easy for girls to imagine being by your side and having fun with you.
A natural pose also allows you to show off your best features. For example, if you have a great facial profile or a super fit upper body, a natural pose will let you find the best angle to show it off to potential matches.
Part of making your pose look natural often means not looking directly at the camera. If you’re looking off to the side, it will appear much more like the photo is capturing a random slice of your amazing life.
4. Show yourself taking care of something
Whether they like to admit it or not, most women love to see a guy who’s paternal and knows how to take care of children or animals.
Unless you’re actually a father, including a photo of you holding a baby isn’t a good idea and sends the completely wrong message. But girls go utterly wild for photos of guys holding a dog or any other cute and furry animal. There are so many photos of guys holding dogs on Tinder that it’s becoming a massive cliché. But the simple fact is that it works, so don’t be afraid to use it.
5. Don’t use pictures with a lot of other people in them
Group shots are fine to include as the third and fourth pictures in your tinder profile, but make sure there aren’t more than about 4 or 5 other people in the shot.
Group pics show a girl that you’re social, and you have a lot of fun friends, but if it’s not completely obvious who you are in the group photo, leave it out of your profile. It will just look like a bunch of random people, and girls will skip over it in a heartbeat.
6. Don’t use a topless photo unless you’re super ripped
Opinion seems to be divided around whether shirtless pics are a good idea to include in your Tinder profile pics.
The most important rule is to never include shirtless photos unless you have a very good body to show off. But even if you have male model abs, there’s a good chance many women will be put off and think it makes you look vain.
If you want to include shirtless pictures in your Tinder profile, my advice is to make sure you choose a very candid shot. It should look completely natural that you have your top off. For example, because you’ve just come out of the water or you’re working out. This will make it appear more like a random slice of your life than a photo that’s been set up for maximum effect.
7. Don’t leave your face in shadow
Every photo you choose should have even, natural lighting and not leave your face in deep shadow. A shadow completely hides the shape of your face and eyes, which is highly unhelpful for girls who want to see what you look like.
The best way to ensure you get good lighting in your photos is to take them outdoors on a bright and sunny day. Most photos indoors look bad because there simply isn’t enough light in the room for it to be properly exposed.
8. Include a variety of locations and activities
A good way to make your profile stand out is to show an activity picture of you doing something that girls will find impressive or attractive. Maybe you’re surfing, playing guitar, playing hockey, or cooking an awesome meal. The idea is to show your real life and communicate that you’re a fun and exciting person.
If you want to attract women who are into fitness or sports, then why not take your picture while working out at the gym? Just avoid the dreaded gym selfie and get one of your friends to take the shot. If you like traveling and adventure, showing yourself with a backpack in a famous exotic location is perfect.
9. Don’t pose with your car
Women are on Tinder to meet guys, not look at cars. You might be proud of your car and think it makes you look richer and cooler, but trust me – most women don’t care. They just think it makes you look like a poor version of James Bond.
How to make any woman want you (without saying a word)
In a recent study, women were shown pictures of men and asked to rate their attractiveness on a scale of 1 to 10.
But the researchers did something sneaky: they included multiple pictures of the same men standing and sitting in different positions with slightly different facial expressions.
Amazingly, women rated the same man very differently based on how he held himself. One way of standing would get him a rating of 5 or 6, and a minor adjustment would get him scores of 8 or 9.
How is this possible?
In ancient times, before spoken language existed, men had to seduce women without saying a single word. Body language was a man’s only tool to turn a woman on and convince him to sleep with her. As a result, the sexual part of a woman’s brain is much more responsive to the signals your body is giving off than to anything you say.
Relationship coach Kate Spring can show you how to use these body language signals to tap into any woman’s primal, biological desires and make her attracted to you.
These psychological body language techniques are so powerful that they bypass the logical part of a woman’s brain and compel her to think sexual thoughts about you. It doesn’t matter if she already has a boyfriend or has put you in the friend zone. She might even hate you, and she still won’t be able to resist.
And the best part is that these female mind hacks work for any guy. It doesn’t matter how attractive, wealthy, or confident you are talking to girls.
It sounds like a big claim, but Kate Spring is the real deal. She’s developed her methods using Harvard research and scientifically-validated psychological techniques.
Check out Kate’s free video presentation here.
You’ll be amazed at how differently women treat you and see you once you unlock the secret to body language attraction.
10. Wear something different in every photo
Make sure you’re dressed differently in each shot because it will stand out and look weird if your profile has two pictures of you wearing the same item of clothing.
You can also use your profile photos to showcase different aspects of your style. Women love a man who knows how to dress to impress, so consider including a photo of yourself in a suit or formal attire. Also, make sure you show off your casual side by wearing a cool graphic t-shirt or a unique jacket.
11. Don’t use any pictures where you look drunk
Probably the best way to turn a woman off your profile is to show a picture of you looking wasted. You may think it shows you know how to party, but remember that tinder users don’t know you from Adam. They’ll more than likely judge you as a loose unit who is going to cheat on his girlfriend and binge drink every weekend.
12. Avoid photos that include babies (unless you’re a dad)
Babies are cute, but they don’t belong in your Tinder photos. A photo of you holding a baby raises two many questions, and it makes your life look complicated.
The one obvious exception is if you actually are a father and have a baby. In this case, it’s very wise to include a photo of your kid, so you don’t give women the wrong impression about your life. There are many women on Tinder who will find the idea of dating a Dad very appealing, so don’t miss out on this opportunity.
13. Don’t pose with a hot girl
Some guys think that posing for a Tinder photo next to a cute girl is a good flex and will increase their chances of other hot women swiping right. This is not correct, and all it will do is confuse anyone looking at your profile and raise more questions. Is that your girlfriend next to you? And even if she’s just a friend, am I going to have to compete with her for your attention?
14. Make sure you’re smiling
Nothing says ‘happy’ like a genuine smile. If you look friendly, optimistic, and fun, you’ll attract many more matches than if you look miserable. Women want to meet someone with a positive attitude because it’s sexy and attractive.
Just make sure your smile does look genuine, and you’re not pulling a weird facial expression. Grinning like a fool or plastering a fake smile on your face that doesn’t reach your eyes won’t endear you to anyone. It can be tough to capture a genuine smile if you’re not used to posing for the camera, but keep at it until you get it right.
15. Avoid busy backgrounds
Busy backgrounds that are too distracting will make your photo look messy. Your Tinder photos need to be clean and simple and make you the star of the show. The best way to ensure this is to make sure you always fill the frame of the photo as much as possible.
Women will also make assumptions about you based on where you took the photo. If the photo was taken in a random carpark, it’s not going to appeal as much as a beautiful winery or a fancy restaurant.
16. Make sure you use current photos
Your Tinder bio needs to contain up-to-date information about yourself. You definitely want to show your best side, but lying about the way you look won’t help you as soon as you meet someone IRL. For example, if you had way more hair two years ago, don’t be tempted to use an old photo that shows off your luscious locks.
It’s important to update your dating profile images if anything significant has changed about your look. If you’ve lost or gained a lot of weight, got a huge tattoo that’s very visible, or even had a big hair transformation, you should make sure you highlight these changes on your Tinder profile.
17. Don’t wear sunglasses
Wearing sunglasses in your Tinder profile picture may look cool, but it makes it too difficult for women to judge what you really look like. There are so many options on Tinder; a girl will just swipe left and move on if she can’t see your eyes.
18. Try looking away from the camera
Unless you’re very good at posing for photos, looking directly at the camera can make the photo look very staged. For a more natural look, try looking slightly above or below the camera and towards your right or left shoulder. You can also experiment with tilting your head away from the lens at a slight angle.
19. Go for approachable instead of cool
Many guys question whether they should try and look more cool or laid back in their profile pics. I think there’s no doubt you’re going to get way more interest if you look like a friendly and approachable guy that a girl could take home to meet her parents.
You can make sure you have an approachable look on Tinder by wearing casual clothes, avoiding wearing sunglasses, and not striking any aggressive-looking poses.
20. Accentuate your best features
Even if you don’t have male model good looks, there’s always a way to make use of what you do have. Make sure your best features are emphasized by playing around with the lighting, angles, and what you’re wearing. For example, if you have a strong jawline, focus on taking photos from the side to show it off.
And the same goes for de-emphasizing features that make you self-conscious. If you’ve got a very boyish face, try and look manly by growing a beard. If you’re short, make sure you don’t include a photo of you standing next to someone a foot taller than you. And if you’re overweight, wearing darker clothes can help you look slimmer.
21. Don’t add heavy filters
Applying heavy filters and effects to your photos can make you look way too contrived. You want to appear as if the photo is a snapshot of real-life, so you should always choose natural-looking lighting and avoid using any kind of special effects. If you’re worried about your face looking washed out, try adding light with a reflector or flash rather than over-processing your photos.
22. Ask your friends for objective advice
If you doubt whether you look good in your Tinder photos, you should ask a friend or two to give their honest opinion. You would be surprised at how many of us are blind to the mistakes we make in photos. But you can trust your friends not to sugarcoat things.
Another option is to use an app like Photofeeler. It will allow you to post potential profile pictures and get unbiased feedback from real people about how you come across.
How many pictures should you add to your tinder profile?
Keep in mind that your Tinder photos are designed for a dating app profile, not social media. Every photo needs to be a clear winner designed to make you look attractive to potential matches and showcase your life.
Tinder allows you to add 9 photos to your profile, but the best number to add is between 4 and 6. This is enough to display a range of different looks and styles, but not so many that you’ll have some weak images in the mix. Remember that all it takes is for one bad photo to ruin your chances.
The basic rule is to only add additional pictures if you need to display something new and unique about your personality.
How to tell a story with your tinder photos
When it comes to online dating apps, first impressions are everything. Your profile pictures should clearly show what you look like and tell the story of your personality and your life.
First photo
The first photo in your profile should be a close-up of your face and show just enough of your upper body so that someone can get a feel for what body type you have. This is your main photo and the hero shot that will convince someone to explore further.
Second photo
Your second photo should also focus on your face, but you can zoom a little further out and show more of your upper body. Even a shot from the waist up is okay for your second pic.
The important part of your second photo is to showcase a different style or a different aspect of your personality. For example, the second photo would be perfect for showing you holding your dog or cat.
Additional photos
Photos 3 to 6 can be dynamic activity shots, group pics, or anything else that shows a girl what you’re all about. As I’ve discussed, make sure you’re still the hero of the photo and always project a positive and upbeat vibe.
Do you need a pro camera to take a good tinder picture?
Most modern cell phone cameras are so good that you don’t need an SLR or pro camera to take great photos. However, if you have a really old phone without a good camera, definitely find a better option. Your photos need to look high quality with excellent lighting and contrast.
Investing in a mini tripod for your cellphone is also a great idea. This will make it super stable and allow you to use the camera timer to take great tinder photos by yourself.
Final thoughts
It doesn’t matter what your style is, taking great tinder pictures is all about standing out from the competition and showing potential matches what you have to offer. Remember that first impressions are everything, so only upload winning images that show you off in the best possible light.
