Best Online Dating Photos for Women: Hinge, Bumble

Online Dating Photo Tips For Girls: Best Dating Profile Photos For Girls, Best Female Photos For Bumble, Hinge, Examples, Good Women Dating App Photos

When it comes to dating profile photos for women, there is no consensus around do’s and don’ts, which photos are best and which photos to avoid. 

The reason being is that attraction and looks are somewhat subjective in the sense that some people view certain outfits, poses, angles, levels of makeup, filters as deal-breakers where others don’t really care. The best dating photos for women are different depending on who you ask. People are biased, friends are biased and people don’t always like their photos.

It’s important to understand what your photos signal as that can affect the volume and the types of guys that contact you on a dating app. Beyond that, it’s also essential to understand that photos can be misleading and cause people to forego subsequent dates if you don’t look like your photos.

After reviewing thousands of profiles over the years, I have a pretty good handle around etiquette, expectations, best practices as well as first impressions.

Below are some helpful tips to understand which photos to avoid, which photos to strive for and what photos do best on dating apps like Hinge, Bumble.

Worst Profile Photos For Women, Bad Profile Pictures For Bumble, Hinge

If you open any dating app these days, you will see some photos you wish you could unsee. Sure, women are not as likely to post the cringeworthy photos that men do like posing next to cars, drunk photos, photos of their stomachs, but there are some terrible photos that are not that much better.

Photos that don’t look like you now, are a huge no-no. There is a reasonable assumption that the photos in a profile should look like the person who shows up to the date. Seems pretty straightforward, but you would be surprised how often this is not the case.

The most obvious offenders for such photos are those that are filtered, photoshopped, feature excessive makeup or taken years ago. People want to know what you look like now, not when you were younger or not with filters applied nor with skin-softening applied, and definitely not when you were in better shape.

I know the competition is tough on dating apps and I know there is pressure to look your best and present yourself in a flattering manner, but no one wants to feel deceived.

On certain apps, if your profile is reported often enough for misleading photos, you can be banned from the apps altogether

Related read: Should You Get Professional Dating Portraits?

Being Reported, Banned For Using Misleading, Old Photos On Bumble, Hinge

Men are likely to report fake profiles, misleading photos, wrong ages and even complain about ghosting than women are on the apps.

It’s unfortunate, but when authenticity and being honest are emphasized on dating apps, one should adhere to those guidelines. If you notice that men are in constant violation of such double standards, there are some reasons for that.

As I mentioned before, women are less likely to report men on violations of terms of service. The other thing to consider is that when men conduct themselves in such manners, they sometimes unmatch or block women in advance to make it harder to get reported on apps. Bumble has addressed this on their end but even so, out of sight, out of mind reality comes into play.

Even if a guy is successfully banned for misrepresentation or online/off-app behavior, there are very few safeguards in place to prevent him from creating a new profile with the same or different photos.

Most guys use a new phone number or different photos to avoid being recognized. If this is the case, you should definitely report profiles and specify that the user likely created a new profile after being banned.

Related read: Biggest Mistakes Women Make On Dating Sites

Best Bumble Dating Profile Pictures For Women, Best Hinge Photos Female

A minimum 4 is recommend for any dating app and up to 6 photos are suggested to show you in all your glory. This is something that should be learned by now in online dating 101.

These photos should feature different outfits, locations, environments but ideally poses, body language so it doesn’t feel like you hired a professional photographer (and possibly photoshopped your photos).

Just because Tinder gives you 9 slots and Match provides endless options doesn’t mean you need to use up all the slots. You are only as attractive as your worst photo – remember this golden rule of online dating. 

Similarly, if there is inconsistency around your photos i.e. hair length, hairstyle, weight, weird high angles or other features, guys will likely swipe left as they know better than to believe your worst photo doesn’t look like you now.

Related read: How To Take Your Own Dating Profile Photos

Dating Profile Photos That Hide Your Appearance, Face: Selfies, Sunglasses

When it comes to photos for your dating profile, people want to see how you look like and that is often hard to know when most of your photos are group photos, photos with sunglasses, photos take from high angles, or selfies of just your face.

Of course, it’s fine to have sunglasses on at the beach or in the sun, but ideally photos with sunglasses are not in more than 1 photo in a profile and ideally that photo is not the first one in your profile.

On that note, it’s important to have a range of photos that show you close up, full body and in clear lighting. Photos that are taken from weird, high angles to make you appear slimmer are not recommended.

Some guys swipe right on all or most profiles based on the first photo and then review the profile more thoroughly after matching. If you want to avoid false positives and unmatching, it’s best to present yourself clearly in your first photo.

Should You Use Group Photos In Dating Profiles? Hinge, Bumble Group Photos

Using group photos can be a great to showcase your social life, indicate you have friends and suggest that you have your own life and won’t be super clingy, but they can hurt your chances when it comes to creating a good dating profile.

Group photos are fine if limited to 1-2 photos max per profile, it’s obvious who you are in each photo and your attractive friends don’t command too much attention away from you. Guys use the rule of thumb that the profile never belongs to the most attractive woman in the group photo.

If you don’t have any group photos, that is completely fine as long as your photos are not all selfies. 1 selfie max is recommended per profile and ideally, it is an epic one i.e. travel, with a celeb etc.

Photos taken by others and suggest they were taken in the moment in natural environments and situations are absolutely great. I typically take photos in such a way that feel like a friend took them in everyday activities.

Posed Photos, Professional Photos, Instagram Photos & Plandid Photos

Just because your favorite IG influencer or model get an insane number of likes and comments on their photos, doesn’t mean you should mimic them in your dating profile photos. Photos that feel staged, posed or too professional will raise doubts about your appearance, i.e. photoshopped?

Furthermore, the last thing a guy wants to be is another outtake on the boyfriends of Instagram. These photos are a huge turnoff for most men with any self-worth. If you are the type who spends all their focus on obtaining the perfect photo, that will be obvious to guys as well.

These photos can suggest high maintenance demeanor. There is nothing wrong with spending time getting dolled up for a fancy event or date night, but if you appear to spend too much time on an everyday look or your photo looks like a stock image, hard pass.

Best Dating Profile Photos For Women: Cute, Funny, Good Dating Profile Pictures

The absolute best photos for a woman show range. The ability to get dressed up but also be comfortable and confident in her own skin in casual attire is great. Guys want to know what you are like day to day, not just a glimpse when you are posing for social media.

Photos are candid (not plandid), self-deprecating, imperfect and taken in the moment are best. Approachability but showing you put effort in your appearance is key. Activities, interests, quirkiness, humor and guilty pleasures are great.

The more boring, polished and staged your photos are, the more likely guys will focus on looks and sexual comments. Having conversation starters is a great way to connect with guys but also provide them an opening to not be so boring, unoriginal.

I would even go as far to recommend using Couchsurfing like photos for a profile. I recommend women dress down a bit so they can get less unwanted attention when showing too much skin, cleavage but you do you.

No matter what you put on your profile, unfortunately, you are likely to get unwanted attention from guys. Attract more quality guys who are not put off by narcissistic photos by using more natural photos.

Beauty, Narcissistic, Glamour Photos, Photos Showing Skin, Dating App Pictures For Girls

One of the biggest mistakes women make is focusing on photos that get the most likes on social media, the hottest photos according to friends or photos that focus on beauty/looks.

Sure everyone wants to look great but focusing on looks too much and lacking substance is a great way to turn away quality men who want to avoid narcissists and shallow women. Your goal is not about quantity but rather quantity.

Bumble Photo Tips, Hinge Profile Photo Tips Women: Good Bumble Pictures For Women

Hinge offers users the ability to caption photos. Take advantage of this. Use mood, location, nostalgia or anything to offer up some effort on your profile. Avoid the cringy photo prompts that are unoriginal and cliche. 

Female Dating Profile Pictures (TL;DR)

Remember, you will be judged by your worst photos, your friends may be unable to be brutally honest with feedback on photos, and photos that are professional can be viewed as scammy, fake or photoshopped.