10 Worst Dating Photos, Picture Examples To Avoid In Your Profile For Guys & Girls, Bumble, Hinge

1 – Do not post photos with exes. Obvious, but you would be surprised how many people post photos with exes or possible cropped out exes or unlabeled photos of people who can be taken for an ex or current significant other.

2 – Stay away from selfies on dating app profiles. Especially gym, car and bathroom selfies. Unless you have an epic selfie on top of a mountain peak, ski lift, or with a celebrity, don’t use them. Keep the floating heads to a minimum (1 max, if that). Selfies can distort your face and make you look wider. Read more about using selfies on dating profiles here.

3 – Hold off on photos of your kids in your dating profile. It is great you love your children (in fact, it should be understood and doesn’t need to be said) but simply listing you have children (and if they are adults or living at home) in your profile is enough for now. However, if you have a pet, make sure you have a photo of your furry friend.

4 – Avoid profile photos with sunglasses and hats. People want to see your eyes and face. If you must, use one only. Use too many or one as your main profile photo and people might assume you have something to hide i.e. hatfishing. Limit to 1 per profile max and make sure it’s in an appropriate setting i.e. beach, outdoors.

5 – Stop using group photos in dating profiles unless you specifically mark who you are in the lineup (or it’s otherwise obvious). People don’t want surprises nor switch-a-roo. Definitely don’t use a group photo as your main profile photo, limit group photos to 1-2 max per profile and make sure your friends are not super attractive and for guys, significantly taller than you.

6 – No duck-faces nor Snapchat filters (no explanation needed) nor shirtless dating profile photos. It’s one thing to capture a photo in the pool at the beach but photos should be candid and natural not staged, obvious nor modeling-esque. Keep it classy, not tacky otherwise you will come off as self-absorbed, desperate, thirsty, narcissistic and gross.

7 – Stay away from photos without you in the photo! This is a dating website, not your portfolio gallery. Photos of a pet unless you are in the photo too but not giving it mouth hugs), painting, sunset, feet or view offer nothing to suitors. The focus should be on you not someone, something else.

8 – Avoid staged portrait photos and corporate headshots. These are often stiff, lifeless and are easily identifiable as being staged. People will look you up on LinkedIn to get a better look at you so save that photo for something more candid, natural as professional portraits suggest some photoshop or enhancements were made.

9 – Avoid tiny, distant, blurry and dark photos. People want to see you and how you look like, not a silhouette. These photos suggest you are trying to hide something. It’s ok to have one photo like this (especially if it’s an epic location, destination) but keep it to a minimum.

10 – Avoid looking too intense in photos – Not smiling, focusing too hard, ‘intense face’, looking constipated, bloated looks, creepy angles can all signal an uncomfortable feeling to users. Use bright, warm inviting photos. Read this guide for more info on looking too intense.

There are always exceptions to the guidelines above however first picture in online dating profiles are crucial. A decision to swipe left can be made just on the first photo alone.

Using one or two of the above photos will not ruin your chances for success but if most of your photos fall into one of the categories above, well you will have a harder time getting people to look past your photos. In general, you want to avoid using misleading photos (old photos, weird angles, different appearance).

You want photos that put you in the best light and that represent who you are. Below are my recommendations for the types of photos to put on a dating profile.