Variety is the spice of life. I like grilled cheese, but I would never force my enemies to exclusively eat grilled cheese sandwiches for the rest of their lives. Living a varied life makes it worth living, and when it comes to online dating profiles, variety is equally important. Don’t serve women 6 identical photos when you’re building your online dating profile, each photo should have a different purpose.
Why Variety Makes or Breaks Your Profile
You know what’s not appetizing? Walking into a restaurant, seeing the menu, and realizing it’s just one dish served six different ways.
The same principle applies when building good Bumble profiles, good Tinder profiles, and good Hinge profiles. You wouldn’t want to eat 6 grilled cheese sandwiches in a sitting, so why would you expect someone to swipe through 6 nearly identical photos of you?
Each of your photos should be doing something different. Telling a story, revealing a new facet of yourself, and giving someone a unique reason to be interested.
The Core Principles of Choosing Photos
Here’s the thing about creating good dating profiles: there are two fundamental rules that separate the profiles that get matches from the ones that collect dust.
Every photo should teach the viewer something new about you. Not “here’s my face from a different angle.” Not “Same background except now I’m wearing a new shirt.” Something new. A hobby. A passion. A glimpse into your life. A moment that reveals your personality. Something that makes you YOU and not just another face in a sea of swipes and scrolls.
Every photo needs a reason for existing. I’m not being metaphorical here. If you can’t explain why a photo is in your profile beyond “I look good in it,” you’re already in dangerous territory. The best male Hinge profiles understand this instinctively, everyimage serves a purpose.
Stop Serving the Same Hot Dog with Different Condiments
Having 1 face with 6 different backgrounds is the equivalent of a plain hot dog with ketchup instead of mustard, or dijon, or horseradish. It’s still the same damn hot dog! You haven’t changed the fundamental experience, you’ve made a superficial adjustment.
Good Bumble profiles, good Tinder profiles, and good Hinge profiles all understand this: changing the background from your bedroom to a coffee shop to a park doesn’t create variety if you’re doing the exact same thing in each photo.
You should be serving a sampler of your life. Show yourself hiking, with friends, engaged in a hobby, or traveling. Show yourself doing literally anything that reveals who you are beyond what you look like sitting or standing still.
The entire point of a dating profile is to teach someone something new about you. If you aren’t doing that in each photo, you are failing. Your online dating profile is an ad for you and your life.
One Attractiveness Photo Only
You’re allowed to serve one DSLR/portrait photo that exclusively focusses on your looks.
Women don’t swipe right on generic men. They swipe right on the person.
They want to know who you are, what you do, what makes you laugh, what you’re passionate about, and whether you have a life that looks interesting enough to want to be part of.
Give them variety. Give them stories. Give them reasons to be curious about you.
You get the idea.
A New Era of Online Dating Technology
Technology has come a long way since the 1200s when men wrote poems and soliloquies about the mysteries of women.
Now that the internet exists, famous questions about women have been answered. From online discussion boards, to large scale surveys. We’re not guessing anymore on what yields real results.
And if you’re looking for a personalized co-pilot to show you the kinds of photos that will serve you best in your online dating journeys, there are abundant tools and resources to do this for you. No more wondering why you’re not getting matches.
Photomaxxer offers a free instant profile analysis for new users.
Just clear, actionable feedback on how to build dating profiles that actually reflect who you are, AND get results.
The Bottom Line
Stop serving the same grilled cheeses. Stop serving one hot dog with different condiments. Stop featuring yourself in identical poses against different backgrounds.
Variety is the spice of life. Build a profile that showcases the full spectrum of who you are (or just copy our successful dating template).a Start giving women a reason to swipe right on you specifically, not just another generic attractive guy.
For years, hiring a dating profile photographer seemed like the gold standard of online dating for struggling guys. Ask any online forum and they’ll tell you to hire an online dating photographer. But why? It seems intuitive, fancier photos -> more online dating matches. But you should look closer, and realize it’s all a self perpetuated marketing ploy.
A few different groups keep pushing the lie that professional dating photos will solve your problems:
People who fail at online dating, and
Dating profile photographers.
Ask a surgeon if you need surgery, of course!
Ask a realtor if you need another house? Obviously… are you dumb?
Ask a dating profile photographer if their photos will cure all your woes? No brainer.
All for the low low price of $800 – $2500…
Dating profile photographers are in the business of selling fancy photos, not more matches nor romantic connections. And these dating photos won’t actually help you! Look at this snippet below, taken directly from an article on a dating profile photographer’s website!
These guys are straight up telling you not to expect to improve your matches! If this isn’t convincing, I don’t know what is.
Online dating photographers know from experience that their dating photos don’t always work. But a man’s gotta eat, and hopefully it’ll be on your dime, so they continue to push the lie.
Why don’t professional dating photos work?
The Authenticity Trade-Off Nobody Talks About
Ask any dating profile photographer what their plan is for you and you’ll hear:
“We’ll take high quality photos that make you look good”
“High quality dating photos will make you look professional and high value”
“We’re going to set you up with specific photoshoots that make you look cool and interesting”
The main priority of online dating photographers is to manufacture situations where they can get really high quality dating photos of your face, while pretending to be authentic. But women are smart, they know when a guy has had professional pictures taken. When a woman sees professional dating photos she immediately but silently asks herself the question:
“Why does this guy have professionally shot photos in his online dating profile?”
There are only 4 viable answers to this question:
He’s a professional model or actor.
The dating photos were shot for an event or special occasion.
Portrait photography is his hobby, passion, or career.
He can’t get women to like him using regular pictures, so he spent big bucks to try and make himself look good with professional photos.
It’s not hard to discern which one is the case!
Here’s the fatal flaw in the online dating photographer approach: In trying maximize your appearance and certainty about your looks, you lose the authenticity that women actually crave. You’re left with professional headshots that look like LinkedIn profiles. Staged dating photos that scream “I hired someone to make me look good.”
Professional photographers won’t tell an authentic story about who you are. When women see you posed by yourself, they can’t help but wonder “where are his friends?”, and “what is he doing???”
Women can instantly spot professional dating photos. The perfect lighting. The too-good-to-be-true angles. The “this guy definitely hired a photographer” vibe.
Instead of building trust, these photos create suspicion: “What does he really look like?”
Authenticity is the number 1 killer of guys who try to create good dating profiles. Hiring a dating photographer is throwing your authenticity out the window.
What should I do instead?
Go digging through your library for photos that show you doing real things, and authentically sharing your life. You don’t have to be completely visible in all of your photos. Use photos with friends, and get photos that you would be proud to have, even if you weren’t going to use them in your dating profile.
Don’t let the masses and online dating photographers convince you that spending $800 or more will magically cure your online dating difficulties. Instead of hiring a professional photographer, tell your friends that from now on, you will pay them $5 for every good photo they take of you. Your friends can capture all your most authentic moments, and are with you all the time. THOSE photos will get you the results you want.
If you want to know how to build a truly excellent dating profile, check out our Men’s Complete Dating Profile Template, which is leagues ahead of anything else you’ll find online.
Are you interested in having your own personal co-pilot guide you through building a standout online dating profile? Backed by real scientific studies and field-tested research, new tools like Photomaxxer offer expert help 24/7, for 1/20th the cost of a typical professional photographer.
2x to 10x your dating results, without the high price tag.
Good luck, and go live happily ever after. – The Dating Djinn
Welcome back to Dating Djinn, where we’re revolutionizing your approach to profile optimization with lessons from… baseball? That’s right, gentlemen. Today we’re diving into how Brad Pitt’s legendary performance in “Moneyball” holds the secret blueprint for building a dating profile that wins championships in the online dating world.
You might be thinking, “Sir Djinn, what does baseball have to do with getting matches on Hinge?” Everything, my friend. Everything.
The Moneyball Revolution: Why Traditional Thinking Fails
In 2002, the Oakland Athletics had a problem. They were broke. While teams like the New York Yankees were spending $125 million on players, the Oakland A’s had a measly $44 million budget. By all traditional measures, they should have been crushed.
But general manager Billy Beane, played brilliantly by Brad Pitt, had a revolutionary idea. Instead of following conventional wisdom about what makes a “good” baseball player, he used data and analytics to find undervalued players who could actually win games. The result? The Oakland A’s won 103 games and made the playoffs, competing directly with teams that spent three times more money.
The dating parallel is clear: While every other guy is following the same tired playbook (gym selfies, car photos, bathroom mirrors), you’re going to use data-driven profile optimization to gain the upper hand. You don’t need to be the richest, tallest, or most conventionally attractive guy on the app. You just need to be smarter about how you present yourself.
Billy Beane assembled a championship team by understanding what actually wins games. We’re going to assemble your perfect dating profile by understanding what actually gets matches, dates, and relationships. The keys that nobody else is using.
The 8 Core Stats That Win Dating Championships
Before we build your championship roster, let’s understand the game we’re playing. Through extensive data analysis at Photomaxxer, we’ve identified the 8 core traits that statistically drive dating success:
Attractive 🔥 – Your baseline appeal and physical presentation
Adventurous 🏔️ – Showing you live an exciting, travel-filled life
Popular 👥 – Demonstrating social proof and likability
Physique 💪🏻 – Displaying physical fitness and health
Charming 🌹 – Appearing relationship-ready and emotionally available
Talented 🎸 – Showcasing unique skills and interests
Affluent 🥂 – Looking put-together and financially stable
Exciting ⚡️ – Radiating excitement and spontaneity
The Profile Optimization Revolution: Why Most Guys Are Playing the Wrong Game
Just like traditional baseball scouts obsessed over players who “looked the part” – tall, athletic, classic swing mechanics – most guys and dating photographers focus entirely on making you look conventionally attractive. Generic headshots, gym selfies, walking on bridge photos that check one box: Attractive.
But there’s 1 problem. You have one face and one body, and you can only make yourself look so attractive using the right photos. If the only thing your photos offer is your face, going from 3 to 4 face photos is not going to help your profile!
Guys are all hitting the same tired angles, overvaluing only one kind of photo while leaving massive gaps in what women actually want to see.
Billy Beane’s revolutionary baseball insight is just as valuable in men’s online dating: Single-trait optimization is a loser’s game
The Traditional Dating Photography Trap
Every other guy’s profile tells the same story: “I am generically good-looking. Here’s my face!” Six variations of attractive focussed selfies.
Traditional online dating coaches and photographers keep pushing this failed strategy because it’s easy to execute and easy to sell. Promising you that the perfect lighting, angles, and maximum visual certainty of your appearance will bring you dating success. Leaving most users in a no-win profile situation:
It’s the equivalent of building a baseball team with six identical power hitters – you might occasionally get a lucky hit, but most of the time you will strike out.
The New Market Inefficiency Every Smart Guy Should Exploit
While everyone else fights for the same “attractive guy” positioning, massive opportunities sit completely untapped:
Here’s the basic blueprint of how each trait adds to your profile – consider this your foundation… the real magic happens in how you execute these.
Popular – Most profiles show zero social proof. But women want to see that others genuinely enjoy your company. One authentic group photo can demolish a dozen generic selfies.
Physique – Show your physique naturally through activities. Prove fitness while demonstrating an interesting lifestyle.
Adventurous – Show yourself actively engaging with incredible experiences. Promise a lifestyle worth joining.
Charming – The trait that conveys you’re qualified for a relationship with her. Smart guys showcase caring moments and attractive relatable photos. What’s the difference between a f*** boy and a boyfriend? Their softer side, charm.
Talented – Your key to uniqueness. Showcase what makes you irreplaceable. Musical ability, artistic creation, professional achievements, unique skills. This creates genuine intrigue and conversation starters.
Affluent – Not about flashing wealth, but proving life stability. Showing that life with you won’t be a struggle, without looking desperate or materialistic.
Exciting – Energy that translates through photos. Concert moments, high energy events with friends, adrenaline activities that prove you create fun wherever you go. Most guys look boring or low-energy even in their “fun” photos.
Compounding Effects
Here’s what Billy Beane understood that transformed baseball: Individual stats mean nothing – it’s how they combine that creates championship results.
A guy hitting just Attractive competes with millions of identical profiles. But a guy strategically covering Attractive + Popular + Adventurous + Charming suddenly becomes rare, valuable, and difficult to replace.
Real market data: Profiles optimized across multiple traits see 300% more quality matches than single-trait profiles.
Time to Build Your Dynasty
Billy Beane didn’t get lucky – he used every tool available to gain an edge. Your profile optimization needs the same analytical approach.
Remember, the A’s proved that smart strategy beats big budgets. You don’t need to be the tallest, richest, or most classically handsome guy on the app. You just need to be smarter about presenting your value.
Every other guy is still using the same tired playbook from 2015. The game has changed and nobody else has quite figured out yet what’s different. While they’re replaying one hit wonders, you could be playing the full album.
You’re positioned to showcase exactly what women are actually looking for, and have the next generation of tools to unlock it sitting at your fingertips.
There’s an opportunity in the market right now. What are you waiting for?
Ready to build your Moneyball dream team? Don’t rely on luck. Get your complete profile analysis and data-backed optimization strategy at Photomaxxer.
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Your First Dating Profile Picture: How to Make Women Stop Scrolling
Welcome back to Dating Djinn, where we’re turning your dating profile pictures into magnetic masterpieces that make women pause mid-scroll and think “Who IS this guy?”
Your first photo isn’t just a picture – it’s your movie poster. It’s the trailer that determines whether someone wants to see the full feature film (aka swipe right on your profile). Just like how movies don’t pick any photo for their posters, you shouldn’t put just any photo as your first dating profile picture.
Today, we’re diving deep into the psychology and strategy behind choosing that crucial first impression. By the end of this guide, your profile will have the stopping power it needs to make women want to know the man behind the pictures.
The Golden Rule: Rank Your Most Attractive Photos First
Let’s start with the obvious – but often ignored – foundation. You need to be brutally honest about which photos make you look your absolute best. This isn’t the time for humility or “this photo captures my personality better.” Your personality comes through in photos 2-6. Photo #1 is for pure attraction.
Think of it like this: Would Ryan Gosling put his awkward teenage yearbook photo as his headshot? Would The Rock use a picture from his fanny pack phase in the ’90s? Absolutely not. They lead with their A-game, and so should you.
First: Go through your phone and select your top 10 most attractive photos. Be merciless, this is the capstone of your profile, be your biggest critic.
Pro Tip: If you’re struggling to identify your best photos, the AI world has been making large strides. Photomaxxer has tools to be your complete dating profile copilot, using advanced AI. It can pick all your photos, your best profile photo, and 5x your matches, without you having to think about anything. Try it for free with your first profile review
Make Yourself the Star: Pick Photos Where You’re Prominent
Here’s where most guys fumble. They pick photos where they’re:
Squinting into the camera like they’re solving a math problem
So far away they look like a Where’s Waldo puzzle
So close up you can guess when their last dental cleaning was
Partially hidden behind sunglasses, hats, or other people
Your first dating profile picture should make it crystal clear who you are within 0.3 seconds. That’s literally how long women spend on each profile before making their swipe decision. You need to be obvious.
Pick photos where you’re not too far away, and not too close. It’s gotta be just right. Make sure you are DOING something. Women should look at your profile and see a human DOING, not a human being.
Take a look at these excellent first photos that will make them stop.
Pretend you’re any one of these guys, and CROP the photo into you only, but make it obvious there are people around you. Let their shoulders remain in the photo, but don’t let them steal the spotlight. If you allow them to stay in the photo, they must be shorter or less attractive or less prominent than you.
In every Tom Cruise movie poster, where is Tom Cruise? Front and center, clearly visible, impossible to miss. That’s your standard.
Don’t stop here: Uniqueness
Once you’ve narrowed down your most attractive and visible photos, it’s time for the secret sauce: uniqueness. This is what separates the boys from the men, the extras from the leading actors.
You don’t want to look like Generic Dating App Guy #47,832. You know the type – gym selfie, car selfie, bathroom mirror selfie, repeat. That’s the equivalent of every superhero movie having the same poster design. Boring. Forgettable. Next.
Instead, you want photos that tell a story and make women think:
“I wonder what he was doing there…”
“He looks like he has an interesting life…”
“This guy is different from everyone else…”
Pro Tip: Don’t focus solely on how conventionally attractive you look. Focus on how interesting and unique you appear. A slightly less “perfect” photo that shows you doing something fascinating will outperform a generic “perfect” selfie every single time.
Examples of First Photos That Make You Look Incredibly Unique and Attractive
Your Cool Hobbies Photo
Maybe you’re teaching a cooking class, DJing at an event, showcasing your art piece, or hit a sweet kick flip. These photos work because they show you’re not just another guy who watches Netflix on weekends. You’re the protagonist of your own life story. You’re doing things that other guys can’t do.
A Confident and Social Photo
A photo from a wedding where you’re clearly the most charismatic person in the frame, or you’re giving a toast at an event. You look put-together, social, have good posture (no slouching) and look like someone who others naturally gravitate toward.
You’re hiking somewhere beautiful, but the photo doesn’t look staged. You look like you’re truly engaged in your activity, and just so happened to get a photo at the perfect moment. Sitting by the campfire with friends, walking with your dog in the woods. You must be doing something. Preferable with someone or something.
Now, HOW?? Could a women consider scrolling past this. He’s less visible, but it’s perfect
When Less Visible Can Be More Powerful
Here’s something most dating coaches won’t tell you: Sometimes, a photo where you’re slightly less visible can be incredibly effective – but ONLY if it’s eye-catching and tells an amazing story.
Examples that work:
You performing on stage (even if you’re not huge in the frame, it’s clear you’re the star)
You in the middle of an extreme sport with incredible scenery
You at an exclusive event where the setting itself communicates status
The key rule: The photo must be so visually striking that women stop scrolling AND it must be obvious that you’re the coolest person in the frame, even if you’re not the biggest.
The Pattern Interrupt: Marketing Psychology for Dating Apps
Let’s talk about something most guys have never heard of but every successful marketer knows: the pattern interrupt.
In digital marketing, a pattern interrupt is content designed to interrupt someone’s automatic scrolling behavior. It’s what makes you pause when you’re mindlessly scrolling through social media and actually pay attention to a post.
Your first dating profile picture needs to be an interrupter. While every other guy is posting the same tired gym selfies and car photos, you need to be the record scratch moment in the rom-com of her swiping session.
Pattern Interrupt Techniques:
Visual Contrast: Bright colors, interesting lighting, or unique settings
Unexpected Elements: Something that doesn’t fit the usual dating app pattern
Story Intrigue: Photos that make viewers want to know “what’s happening here?”
Social Proof: Images that show you’re clearly popular, successful, or talented
Advanced Users Only: Mastering Group Photos as Your First Picture
Most dating experts will tell you “never use a group photo first.” They’re mostly right – for beginners. But if you’re ready for advanced strategies, a group photo can be incredibly powerful IF you execute it perfectly.
Requirements for a Successful First-Photo Group Shot:
You must be the obvious focal point: Positioned centrally, slightly forward, or naturally drawing the eye
You must look like the leader: The most animated, the most charismatic, the one others are looking toward
The setting must be interesting or fun: A wedding, exclusive event, music festival or adventure that adds to your story
People: 3-4 people max
You must be the best-looking person in the photo: Harsh but true – women will always wonder about your better-looking friends
When Group Photos Work:
You’re the center of attention at a high-end event
You’re leading an adventure or expedition
You’re receiving an award or recognition
Red Flags That Kill Group Photos:
Women have to play “guess who posted this profile”
Your friends look more attractive or charismatic than you
You’re wearing sunglasses while others aren’t
You look uncomfortable or like you don’t belong
The photo quality is poor or the setting looks cheap
The Final Test: Would This Stop You Mid-Scroll?
Before you commit to any first photo, ask yourself this question: If you were a woman scrolling through dozens of similar-looking profiles, would this photo make you stop and want to learn more?
Be honest. If the answer is “maybe” or “I think so,” keep looking. Your first photo should be an undeniable “hell yes.”
Remember, you’re not just competing against other guys on the app – you’re competing against her Netflix queue, her Instagram feed, her text messages, and everything else demanding her attention. Your photo needs to be more compelling than all of that.
Your Action Plan
Audit Your Photos: Go through your entire camera roll and select only photos where you look genuinely attractive and confident
Apply the Visibility Test: Eliminate any photo where you’re not immediately identifiable as the main subject
Check the Uniqueness Factor: Remove generic photos that could belong to any guy’s profile
Test the Pattern Interrupt: Show your top contenders to female friends and ask which would make them pause while scrolling
Implement and Track: Use your chosen photo for 2 weeks and monitor your match rate
Conclusion: Your Photo is Your Movie Poster
Your first dating profile picture is like the poster for the movie of your life. It needs to be compelling enough that women want to buy a ticket to see the full story.
Most guys treat their first photo like a passport photo – technically accurate but completely forgettable. The guys who truly crush online dating treat it like a movie poster – designed to create intrigue, attraction, and an irresistible desire to learn more.
Remember: You’re not just looking for any match. You’re looking for the right match. A powerful first photo doesn’t just get you more swipes – it gets you better swipes from women who are genuinely excited about the kind of man you appear to be.
But picking all the right photos isn’t an easy task. If you’d like an online dating copilot that’s already helped dozens of guys pick and arrange their best photos for maximum success. Photomaxxer has developed the worlds first science backed dating profile tools that you can use to 2-10x your success.
Now stop reading and start implementing. Your future self and your future girlfriend will thank you.
Want more advanced strategies for dominating online dating? Check out our complete guide to the 6 essential photos every man needs and learn how to build a profile that makes women compete for your attention.
When I first got into online dating, everything was a complete mystery to me. What photos do women like? How close do I put the camera to my face? Should I take a shirtless selfie? Was Zoolander onto something with his Blue Steel? Let’s just say I made A LOT of mistakes, mistakes that you can avoid too.
It’s been many years since that fateful day, and after many failures and experiences:
NO I should NOT take a shirtless selfie
NO, you should NOT do a blue steel
Don’t put the camera too close to your face. And lastly
4. Women like photos that contain 8 core traits
You’re probably thinking “Dating Djinn, is it seriously that easy? This is ridiculous, men have wondered for thousands of years what women want. How do you know what works?”
YES. Yes, it is that easy. Teams of data scientist have been running the numbers at Photomaxxer to find the most important traits that you can include in your profile. Profile optimization starts with picking the set of photos that make you have these 8 traits. You don’t have to have all of them, but more are better.
1. Attractive🔥
It’s not surprising that women like attractive men. We’ve known this since the dawn of time. Every man has known this since he stepped foot in High School.
Attractiveness goes a very long way and it should be every man’s priority to increase it as much as possible.
2. Adventurous🏔️
Photos of you visiting the Eifel tower, Grand Canyon, climbing a mountain,. Going jet skiing, snowboarding or paragliding. Any outdoor activity you share conveys that you’re a cool guy who gets out and does stuff. Stuff that women might want to join you on. Golden hour is also perfect for taking photos at sunset.
3. Popular 👥
Showing that you have friends and that people like you. The more friend in your photos, the more women will take their advice, meaning they’ll like you too! If you walk into a room and smiles come to people’s faces, women will notice this in your photos. So go get some friends, and feature them in your profile. Fair warning though, make sure that you’re more attractive than your friends, or taller. You don’t want the women viewing your profile to want to date your friend instead. You should look like you’re the main character, and clearly her best choice.
PS: If there’s a lot of people in the photos, crop them to focus more on you. And don’t blur out your friends faces, just make it obvious who you are by being clearly visible and central to the photo
4. Physique / Athleticism 💪🏻
You like women with good physiques? They like men with good physiques. Sports are attractive, and if you can show yourself at the gym, or doing any sport, this is a big help. Photos at the beach can be excellent because you have a authentic way to show off your physique without looking too try-hard.
5. Charming 🌹
Looking like you’ll be a good boyfriend, and that you’re the kind of guy who they can come home to at the end of the day and feel comfortable with. Photos with your pets are incredibly charming. Photos with your parents also convey a familial vibe.
6. Talented 🎸
It’s time to whip out your impressive skills, because talent can make you look incredibly unique if you do it right. Not everyone can… play the bagpipes, juggle flaming torches, dance like a pro, paint like Bob Ross, or be a professional actor… This is your chance to be unique and show off one of your talents. Take it.
7. Affluent 🥂
Affluence is about looking like you aren’t poor. This is VERY different from looking like you’re rich. Affluence is about looking like you’re cleaned up, can go to a nice restaurant every so often, and looking like you have your life together. But, of course looking richer isn’t a bad thing either…
8. Exciting ⚡️
Exciting is about seeming like you would be fun to be around. Like every moment with you is interesting and like there’s good energy and vibes everywhere you go. People could look like they’re having a good time around you, but you could also be doing something wild and dangerous like cliff jumping, riding a motorcycle, or DJing a party, attending music fests. These activities are distinctly exciting while not adventurous
Mixing Traits to Optimize Your Profile
A lot of these traits have overlap and that’s the point. You’re building your perfect lineup of photos that express all your best qualities and attract someone who connects with your interests.
Playing guitar onstage (Popular, talented, exciting)
You get the idea.
If this seems like a lot to manage, there are easier ways to help pick your best photos. Photomaxxer has been building some of the best tools in the industry to help you evaluate your dating profile, predict your success and save you from struggling with matches, before you even create your dating profile.
Photo of results from Photomaxxer’s sample profile review
All you need to do is upload your 6 profile photos, and Photomaxxer will analyze your profile for these 8 traits and 300+ other factors under the surface. It’ll show you which of your photos make you look your most attractive, rank all your photos from best to worst, give you a searchable database of example photos ideas, and take all the work out of online dating. Your first profile analysis is free.
In summary, don’t do a blue steel, DON’T do a shirtless gym selfie, and combo these 8 core traits into your dating profile photos to have the greatest success.
If you want a dating profile optimization template to give you the easiest, greatest success, check out our Men’s Complete Online Dating Template for more help.
Welcome back to Dating Djinn, where we’re de-mystifying men’s online dating. We’ve seen some huge men’s online dating mistakes in previous posts, but today I’m gonna show you the other side of the coin, with a dating profile template and some example photos. This will make sure you absolutely crush it online and find your perfect someone. or someones… These 6 photos will do 90% of your online dating work, so all you have to do, is set up the dates:
You attending a wedding
Doing an outdoor activity
With Friends / Partying
With Parents or Family
With a pet
Showing off a talent
With these 6 simple photos you will crush the 8 core traits you need to succeed at online dating.
1. Wedding Photos
That’s right, wedding photos. But, I don’t mean the kind where you’re standing at the altar (although I’ve seen 1 successful profile do this… 😬 not a maneuver for beginners). I mean you at someone else’s wedding. Wedding photos are THE KING of mens online dating photos. Think about it, you’re looking damn good in your suit and tie, attending a luxurious event. You have friends and family all around you making you look charming and popular. Use a wedding photo in your profile and you will look SO good. Make them believe you can look as good as James Bond ALL the time.
Women love weddings. Weddings were invented for women, and woman take painstaking care that every detail of their wedding day is perfect. Weddings are the modern equivalent of a fairytale. Do yourself a favor and insert yourself into one of these fairytale photos. Wedding photos hit 4 out of the 8 most important qualities that men need to succeed at online dating. All in one photo! Women fantasize about their wedding day. Show yourself off in a wedding photo, because they should be fantasizing about you, you handsome devil.
“HEY HEY, look how good Reader looks at the wedding” – said every woman ever
2. Outdoor Photos
Pop quiz. What’s the difference between you and this guy^?
Answer: He’s outside, and women love him 🔥🔥.
Photos outdoors are incredible for your profile because they combine beauty, and adventure. I’m making it your job to put this little guy^^ to shame and go get yourself some eventful outdoor photos. Some of the most incredible views and photos you take will be of you in the great outdoors. Look at the possibilities:
These guys are showing off their exciting and adventurous lives, wouldn’t you love to join them? And it’s okay that they’re slightly obscured. They’re showing off their cool lives, they don’t have to always show their face.
3. Friends / Party Photos
“Mr. Djinn, I wish to make women think I am cool and that people love being around me”. What should I do?
“Sir dating acolyte, your wish will be granted.”
POOF! Your phone disappears in a puff of smoke, and reappears with photo after photo where you’re having an amazing time with your friends at your last New Years party. Upon closer inspection you notice that in every photo, not only are you the centerpiece of each photo, but that you are also slightly taller and better looking than all your friends. You’re giving off the mystical “main character” energy. Millions of men have wished this same exact wish, let’s take a look at their results.
Don’t you wish you were there with them?!?!?! I do. I wish I could be at all 5 parties at once, right now. Notice how each of these photos has a “main character”. You want to be THAT GUY. You DO NOT want women looking at your friend and thinking “I wish I could date him instead”. The two photos with sunglasses would be better off without them, but that’s unimportant. Each of these guys looks likable and fun. When you pick your friend group photo, make sure you are the main character, and that you’re either taller or better looking than your friends. The example photos skew younger, but any event or gathering will work.
4. Photos with Parents and Family
Your next task is to get a photo with your parents or family. Why would showing your parents be excellent you might ask? Because so far within this dating profile template we’ve demonstrated that you’re exciting, popular, attractive, and charming, but now we’re further emphasizing the charming relationship aspects of your profile. That you love your parents and family. Women find that stuff cute and relatable, after all, they have parents too. Seeing that you’re close with family is a green flag. This is your chance to show your softer side, and that you love your parents or siblings. Find a photo where you look good and shows family closeness. It can be a casual event, but it shows that you’re a part of something.
5. Photos with Your Pets
The most popular category in the cultural zeitgeist, a photo with your dog or cat. This is NOT a photo of your dog or cat, this is a photo of you WITH your dog or cat. Your pets are cute, but they DO NOT deserve a slot in your profile all to themselves. Any guy can put up a photo of an animal, but only YOU can put up a cute photo where your pet shows how much they love you. Our goal isn’t to prove you have a cute dog or cat, it’s to prove that YOU’RE cute, by stealing some of your pet’s mojo. Let’s do a side by side.
See the difference? Your pets are just as cute, but now, their happiness and cuteness rubs off on you. Your pets need to look happy when they’re with you, otherwise this won’t work.
6. Showing off a Talent
By now the ladies have seen that you’re charming, fancy, attractive, adventurous, exciting, a tad athletic, and popular. What’s the final component to your dating profile template? Talent. This is where you really twist the knife and drive home that you’re unique, and that not every guy can “YOUR TALENT HERE”. The best talents are easy to appreciate by an observer.
A Tier Profile Talents: All musical abilities, dancing, athletics, artistry, craftsmanship, acting or theater, public speaking, cooking.
But fear not if you don’t see your talent above. Because there’s an easy way to show your talent, and that’s by having your environment support your talent. Let’s take an easy example. Are you good at playing guitar? It would be even better if you were playing guitar on stage. Super athletic? Show yourself participating within a sports event. One of my client’s specialities is astronomy, and he was struggling to show his talent. Listen to me closely. If you can’t easily show yourself performing the talent, show the results of your efforts instead. We dug into his phone, and he had some excellent astronomy photos.
Some more example photos:
Put a small caption on your photo telling the photo’s story. The women that resonate with your hobbies will swipe right that much faster.
You won an award for writing? Put up the photo of you winning the award. I won an award for an invention ideas contest once and use it in my profile, to this day it is my best performing dating photo. Women find it interesting, I’m dressed up and I look good.
In Conclusion
If you use this dating profile template for your dating profile, you will be leagues ahead of most guys. For more examples of mens dating profile photos and examples of how to make your hobbies look good. Photomaxxer has accumulated the world’s largest database of searchable successful dating profile photos for men, and a wealth of resources for changing the difficulties of online dating into an effortless experience.
Your photos are the most important part of your dating app profile. Yet, virtually every guy is making at least one major mistake in their profile. Myself included, until I learned what I was actually doing. Here are the most common ones, and why.
1. Selfies
You’ve probably heard this one before, but it needs repeating. Stop using selfies. It literally doesn’t matter how good you look in them, they’re always a bad choice. Selfie at the gym, showing off your ripped physique? I’m sure it’s a good photo, and women really love abs and muscles (trust me). But that photo would be so much better if it were taken at the beach, or at a lake, or while you’re out playing volleyball. You get the idea. Selfie on a hike with a scenic background? That’s cool, but you need to have a friend snap your photo instead. You’ll look better that way.
The main problem with selfies is that they just make you look lonely. I could talk about focal length and camera angles, but it’s all besides the point. The more selfies you have in your profile, the more it will look like you don’t have friends. Guys with lots of friends will always have somebody to take their picture, and women know that. And, if you do have friends, but they never take your photo, just ask. You’re allowed to inconvenience someone for five seconds if it means making major upgrades to your dating app profile, and thus your relationship success.
2. Solo Photos Only
On that note, you need to have friends in your photos. There’s a lot of (horrible) advice out there about not including friends in your photos. There’s also some (slightly better) advice about having one singular friends photo at the end of your profile, but this is still not enough. The best male Hinge profiles have at least two photos with friends, and oftentimes even three or four. Some guys out there will tell you not to include social photos, because women won’t know who you are, but this is nonsense. As long as you have one clear photo of your face somewhere in your profile (ideally your first or second photo, but it can theoretically be anywhere), you’re good.
The reason social photos are so important is that, quite simply, they make you look popular. Think back to high school. The popular kids were always more fun to be around, more exciting, more desirable. Turns out, high school never ends (good song btw). Social photos are exactly what make you look more popular. Tip: they’re even better when you’re out doing things, like going to house parties, attending a wedding, being on a boat. The popular kid kind of stuff. But what if you don’t feel popular? What if you *weren’t* one of the popular kids in high school? Do you still need social photos?
Absolutely.
You need to show that you have friends in your profile photos, even if you don’t look popular, even if you and your friends are just sitting on the dirt hanging out with each other. Put yourself in the woman’s perspective. If she doesn’t see any friends hanging out with you, why would she want to either?
3. Strictly Appearance Focussed Photos
As men, it’s easy for us to know if we like a woman. Most men will say that their number 1 priority is to date a girl who’s attractive. We’re visual creatures! So when we look at women’s profiles, our first priority will be to know what they look like from all angles so we can judge how attractive they are. When you’re thinking like this, it’s easy to imagine that this is exactly what women want from men too, and that we should just post a bunch of photos where we show off how we look from many different angles.
WRONG.
Unless you’re a male model, every woman is just 5-10 swipes away from a better looking guy
Women want to know a EVERYTHING about you. I’ve been on many online dates where they confess to stalking me the night before using their Sherlock Holmes-like abilities. Focussing solely on your looks is a recipe for disaster. You are leaving huge gaps in your profile where they might have connected with your love for photography, board games, DIY projects, salsa dancing, or the New England Patriots… Focussing exclusively on your looks is a recipe for DISASTER, because no matter how attractive you are, there’s always another guy more attractive just a few swipes away. You need to focus on being unique and THE guy she’s looking for. Not just A guy.
Do you love beauty and color? I do. Whether it’s landscapes, sunsets, painting, comics, video games, sports, or cosplay outfits. Color and detail create better entertainment and experiences, and the world would be a little less interesting without them.
Street Fighter BW
If a game like street fighter came out in black and white today, would you play it? When you can choose from Elden Ring, Overwatch, Black Ops, or Halo Infinite?? NO WAY. If you prefer your video games in black and white, then you also wish all dating app were in sepia. 🤦🏼♂️
Halo Combat Evolved Released 2001
I’ve played early 2000s video games with more color than some men’s dating profiles.
Your online dating profile is an ad for you and your life. Make your life look exciting and vibrant!
Don’t expect women to swipe right on your profile if it looks like a 1990’s video game.
5. Showing your face in every photo
You have a huge collection of photos in your phone showing all the cool things you’ve done. When you start online dating, you might think that you need to showcase your face in every photo, too. The problem with this, is that out of the cool photos you have, you aren’t going to be perfect visible in most of them, and that’s okay! Look at this ski photo.
If this is you, you should 100% include this photo! Who cares that we can’t see your face, you’re AWESOME. If women learn from your first 2 photos that you have a hot bod, a great jawline, and a mustache like Tom Selleck, you don’t have to show your face in the rest. If you strictly follow the conventional wisdom of “Thou shalt reveal thine face in every online dating photo”, then accordingly, “thou shalt get fewer matches”. Show off your sweet ski jump, or the time you went cliff diving. Your other photos already show what you look like, let them do their job, and use the rest of your photos to look awesome.
Conclusion:
That’s it, if you avoid these 5 mistakes in your online dating profile, you will be leagues ahead of many other men. Stay tuned for our other posts as we seek to help men find greater online dating success.
TLDR: The 5 Mistakes
Using Selfies
Exclusively using Solo Photos
Only focussing on your looks
Using low resolution, low quality, low color images
