Hire An Online Dating Photographer, Professional Dating Photos?

Professional Dating Photos, Dating Headshots, Dating App Photographer – Do You Need A Professional Photographer For Dating Photos? Online Dating Portraits?

When outsourcing aspects of your dating life, it helps to know the limits of what so called dating app photographers can and cannot do. Professional dating app photos can actually result in fewer matches. Most professional dating photos can appear staged, still and awkward.

Professional profile pictures should be approached with caution. Very few photographers specialize in this field and the ones that do it regularly, full-time, well they often lack approach and awareness of what actually works on dating apps. Online dating headshots (dating app headshots) can feel to forced, try-hard (needy).

Most of their focus is getting photos that are modeling-esque, perfect portraits and a bit narcissistic rather than capturing personality, uniqueness, candidness and authenticity (best types of photos in my opinion). Ideal dating profile photos are in the moment, effortless and organic.

Testimonial From A Client Who Hired Another Photographer 

How Important Are Photos On Dating Apps? Do I Need Online Dating Portraits? 

They are crucial. Great photos can make you more interesting, make it easier to message you and make you more attractive with the right lighting, confidence, style and body language. Similarly, bad dating photos can make attractive people less desirable and make them look cringy if done poorly.

Dating apps are competitive but you don’t need professional photos do have a great profile. Great photos aren’t everything, but you should give it some effort. Glamour photos or overly done photos can feel fake, photoshopped and leave people doubting your actual looks.

When I take photos for clients, I offer choice of DSLR camera or my mobile phone (Google Pixel 5). I approach taking photos like a friend took them but one that knows how to take good photos, in the moment, rather than posed.

Related read: What To Wear In Dating Profile Photos

Hiring A Photographer For Online Dating Photos, Dating Portraits

Online dating photos are a unique style of photos that require patience, knowledge of dating apps, locations, audiences you are trying to attract, wardrobe styling and so much more.

Don’t hire another lifestyle photographer thinking you can get good photos. These are often staged, stiff and obvious you paid someone to take boring, cliche photos of you.

Most of my business comes from clients who made the mistake of hiring someone else only to have little to no success after. Photos take by other photographers often lack location, activities, conversation starters (all crucial elements in a dating profile).

Related read: How To Look More Attractive In Dating Photos

Dating Portrait Photos: Do Professional Dating Pictures Help? Dating App Portraits

Online dating photographers certainly can but rarely do. Most photographers don’t know how to take good photos for dating profiles. They are often too stiff, staged.

Most photographers don’t analyze your age, lifestyle, wardrobe, dating history to understand you. Most photographers use boring environments without details, context and are afraid to take candid photos at bars, cafes, landmarks etc.

No photographers I know of (other than myself) ask to see existing photos so they know how to complement what you have, understand your appearance, tendencies or suggest using some good photos you already have.

Should I Hire A Photographer For My Dating Profile? Are They Worth It? 

Most photographers have never used dating apps or are single and struggle with dating themselves. Many assume blurred bokeh shots that are studio like in style are the best to use for a dating profile but this is poor advice.

Candid, natural photos are often the best photos to use in a dating profile yet professional photographer often have an ego or lack of awareness to produce such images.

Photography For Dating Profiles: Professional Dating Profile Photographers (Hinge, Bumble)

The best photos for dating profiles are often candid, natural and contain conversation starters in the background, environment and are not necessarily crisp, polished or perfectly lit.

Ones that convey authenticity, warmth, smiles and context are the ones that are the most revealing and insightful about people.

The rise of Instagram models, proliferation of social media photos and pressure to look one’s best even at the cost of manipulating photos via filters, photoshop and staged environment has created an unhealthy mindset around what makes for a good photo and as such, has led to an arms race of skin softening, slimming angles, weird poses and RBF across the faces of men and women alike.

Just because some people get lots of likes on IG doesn’t mean those photos do well on dating profiles or attract the type of people you want in your life.

There are photographers for everything these days: weddings, engagements, newborns, events, headshots, editorial, food, nature, fine art etc. but one of the newest specialties is online dating photographers for dating headshots and dating app photoshoots.

Not everyone who offers or even willing to take photos for dating profiles knows what they are doing. Many are overextending themselves and take stiff, portrait photos that are unusable.

A good portion of my clients come from those that made the mistake of hiring other photographers and didn’t see any improvements in their likes and matches – don’t be that person that has to pay twice.

Send me a note, bookmark my contact page or follow me on social media for my upcoming travel plans.

Generic Photos, Redundant Locations, Backgrounds: Online Dating Photoshoot Tips, Warnings

Most of these photographers will take portrait photos, stiff, staged photos, overly photoshopped images and headshot like photos – these are the worst type of photos to use on your dating profile.

Take a look for yourself, they use the same backgrounds for all their photos. I know because their clients come to me after not having success after their photoshoots.

Many clients I have worked with have made the mistake of working with an online dating photographer only to realize that their photos look nothing like themselves and are unable to secure second dates because their dates were misled with photos. Don’t let this happen to you.

There are only a handful of good to great photographers who know how to take natural, candid photos for dating profiles. I have seen plenty of online dating photographers, coaches etc. who have been single on dating sites for years.

Photos are the most important thing and often the first thing people notice on your profile but it is not the only thing they notice. Your app choice, bio, messages, date ideas, photo captions and swiping strategy are critical aspects of an online dating strategy that should not go ignored. Self-sabotage is one of the biggest reasons for poor performance on dating apps.

If you do decide to hire a photographer for your dating photos, test them on their knowledge of dating apps. Understand that you need photos in multiple locations and outfits not just places next to their studio.

Stiff, Boring Photos Obviously Taken By A Professional Photographer

The most obvious and cringe worthy dating profiles are ones that are obvious that a professional portrait photographer took your photo – same location and outfits, excessive skin softening, generic walls and locations in proximity as well as perfectly cropped and center focused images.

Hire someone who is a people person. The biggest indicator for successful photos is technical aptitude, location scouting, wardrobe styling and chemistry with the subject.

Be careful hiring a photographer from a marketplace as most of those folks have little to no experience with dating photos or don’t do this full-time.

A good online dating photographer should review your existing photos to see which ones are good enough to use on a profile, see where you can improve and offer guidance on how to complement your existing photos.

Tinder Photographers & Professional Dating Photoshoots: Privacy, Public Photos

Most photographers will post your dating photos on their portfolios as examples to get more clients – this is typical for new photographers, those with few reviews or those that don’t have an online reputation. Adding Tinder photographer to a website means nothing. In most cases it’s a marketing gimmick.

Read any contracts you have to make sure your photos are not being posted publicly on their site, stock photo marketplaces or sent to 3rd party editors.

These are your photos. You don’t want people to reverse image search you to see you hired a professional portrait photographer for your dating photos.

Do I Need Professional Dating Headshots? Headshots On Dating App Profiles

The answer is no. Most dating sites have a mobile app first approach and so as long as your photo is well lit and close up relatively speaking, you are fine.

Platforms that are desktop first may require a more cropped photos to be visible on a larger screen with more profiles visible i.e. OkCupid, Match.com or Plenty of Fish.

It’s fine to include one professional ‘obligatory’ headshot but don’t photoshop it or apply filters as people will assume you embellished your pictures. Keep in mind also that you will be judged by your worst photo.

Should I Use Selfies In My Dating Photos? Are Selfies Ok For Hinge, Bumble, Tinder?

Selfies are not recommended for various reasons (distortion because of proximity, lack of social validation, unflattering backgrounds and bad expressions).

It’s one thing to take a selfie with a friend, celebrity or epic lookout, it’s another thing to take a selfie in the mirror, bathroom, bedroom or hallway. Knowing how to use a timer, take photos from a distance or utilize good lighting can help.

How Do I Get Good Photos For A Dating Profile Then? How To Get Online Dating Photos?

There are several methods to do this. Don’t rely on the photographer with the best SEO. That means nothing.

Look at reviews, ask friends for referrals, use a tripod, ask friends, ask strangers, attend social events with a photographer, offer to take photos of others (they often will reciprocate) or ask someone like myself for a profile critique and analysis.

Online Dating Success: More Than Just Photos

Even if you obtain good photos, you can still not see an improvement on your dating app efforts. A good score on a rating site only measures one photo and not entire profiles.

You need a combination of photos that are close up, full-body, candid, natural, have varied backgrounds and don’t seem forced, poised.

Once you do meet that minimum threshold, other items can sabotage your efforts including poor bios, lazy prompts, bad choice of apps, unfavorable timing for sending likes and messages, or inefficient use of filters and preferences.

Make sure you address all the areas to improve success rather than focusing on just photos.

Matchmaking Photos: Photos For Matchmaking Profiles

The style and approach I take on for such profiles is unique. I am familiar with the importance of profile for matchmaking and family introductions in Indian cultures and the like.

Contact me today to learn about me process for taking photos for these purposes.

Don’t Use Snappr For Online Dating Photos, Snappr Dating Photos

More and more I get clients who come to me who have used services like Snappr to get photos for their dating profile only to realize that they don’t help improve success on dating apps.

Services like this tend to attract more amateur photographers who don’t have much experience not only with taking photos but more so dating apps.

I have seen numerous photo sets from clients who used Snappr and they often appear staged, rigid and polished. The price can be attractive but most people don’t end up using any of the photos on their profile.

https://www.insideimaging.com.au/2021/snappr-photographer-goes-rogue/

What Are The Best Pictures For Online Dating? Dating Profile Picture Photography

Organic, candid, effortless ones that have the look and feel like a friend took them.