Online Dating Etiquette: Pictures

Use Judgment

When posting pictures of yourself online you should use some judgment. It may be superficial but your picture is the first impression that someone gets about you (even before reading your profile they will see your picture). YES, a picture is worth 1,000 words. I am not sure if there are statistics yet for how long you have to catch a potential date’s attention. However, I do know that in a resume situation you only have 10 seconds to gain an employer’s attention.

Please Refrain Yourself

You should avoid putting up pictures of your chest/cleavage, etc (yes even MEN).  It sends the wrong message (if you are looking for a one night stand or just a booty call, then by all means put your chest up). However, if you really want to find a life-partner, long term relationship, etc putting a pic up of your cleavage or chest will only get attention from the wrong people. Come on girls, do you really want those emails that say “NICE RACK”. I have even heard of women that put up pics of themselves in a wet t-shirt and then get upset at guys for noticing and commenting. And on the other hand, if I see a picture of a guy in the hot tub it sends me the message that he is only interested in sex, and at that point he has already lost me and I don’t even read his profile.

Don’t Crop Out People

For those of you who think that you can crop out your ex from your picture and nobody will notice….who are you fooling? Everyone notices and it is just tacky. What else is tacky is putting up pics that your current significant other (so) or x-so took of you. Do you really want to see pictures plastered all over dating sites of your x-so that you took?

Personal experience: My so (while I was STILL with him) created a profile on a dating site (saying he was single, unbeknownst to me) with pictures up of him THAT I TOOK!! That has to be the most rude and heartless thing anyone has ever done to me.

Also, what is up with everyone taking pictures of themselves in the bathroom mirror? I guess it is just one of those things everyone thinks they should do, I really don’t want to see a pic of a commode in the background, and nobody else does either!!

Pictures You Should Use

Ok, now that I have told you what not to use, you are probably wondering what you should use. I like to see pictures that show someone’s personality. Funny and goofy pictures are good, pictures that show you having a good time, maybe doing something you like to do, these types of pictures give your audience a better way of getting to know you. I suggest that you use 3 to 5 pictures. The reason being is because each picture shows a different side of you (personality wise), plus if you have a picture that someone doesn’t see flattering usually another one will give them a different viewpoint.

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