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Admit it, you judge a book by its cover. It’s human nature. We judge Netflix suggestions by their thumbnails, wine by their labels and a chicken shop meal deal by the picture in the window.
We can’t help but make snap judgements from first impressions, especially with online dating. Studies show that users judge a profile in less than a second....a SECOND.😱
That means, whether you like it or not, your photos are the most important part of your profile so here are a couple quick guides to help you choose the best shots possible.
The classic shot, taken from the chest up to show off that pretty face and glowing smile.
It’s tempting to use a quick selfie but selfies can distort your features or have weird angles so ask a friend or set a timer, but don’t take it too seriously; this isn’t LinkedIn or Passport Control.
A profile without a full length photo is like a tin can without the label, you can’t really know you’ll like it till you see the whole thing.
Some people avoid them because they think they’ll get more matches but profiles without them always do worse. Besides, why bother matching with someone who wouldn’t like the full you?
Instead, show off that glorious bod or fabulous sense of style and match with the people who will truly like you...nay, deserve you.
The first two shots are all about establishing what you really look like. Now you need to prove you’re a real life person with a more natural and relaxed side, ie not posing!
So ask a friend to take some photos of you when you’re out or doing something, but try to make it look like you have NO clue your picture is being taken (this is when doing drama at school comes in handy).
Having interests make you interesting and being interesting makes you attractive. Simple as that.
So show off what you’re interested in whether it’s football, painting or competitive line dancing. Just make sure it’s something you do regularly, if it makes it into your profile people will assume it's a big part of your identity.
No date is going to be impressed that you look older than your photos so stick to photos from the last two years, even if you looked fantastic at that wedding five years ago. Don’t have any recent photos? Go out and get some!
It’s nice to show you have friends but no one likes trying to work out who you are in a group shot. So never use them for your first two photos and never have more than three people in them.
Photos with sunglasses consistently do worse than ones without. It’s all in the eyes, don’t hide them, show ‘em off!
This includes hiding their face with an emoji 🙄.
At best it looks like you only have old photos (see earlier point), at worst it looks like you’re boring and haven't done anything interesting since being with your ex!
A photo is worth 1000 words...except mirror selfies. They’re boring, show zero personality and are just a bit cringy. You can do better.
Go. Easy. On. The. Filters (and no Snap filters!)
A bit of editing is ok, but it needs to actually look like the real you! We don’t want you to be included on the next episode of Catfish UK, thanks.
Now it’s over to you, time to update those profile pictures.
Team Elate x
