DateableHow to take good dating photos by yourself
Prop your phone on a tripod, use the back camera and timer, take many shots, and step back to see your full self, not just your face.
You do not need a photographer or fancy camera to take dating photos that work. Your phone's back camera, a tripod or a stack of books, a timer, and willingness to take many shots are all you need.
Why the back camera is sharper
Your phone has two cameras: the front-facing one for selfies, and the back one that takes regular photos. The back camera is sharper and clearer. The front camera trades sharpness for a wider angle so you can fit yourself in the shot at arm's length. For dating photos, sharpness wins. Use the back camera.
Set your phone on a tripod or use a stack of books
A tripod costs ten or fifteen dollars at any shop. If you do not have one, a stack of books works perfectly. Mount your phone so the camera lens is at chest height or eye height, pointing straight at where you will stand. The phone needs to be stable so it does not move between shots.
Now step back. Stand three or four feet from the phone, not at arm's length. A photo taken from arm's length puts your face huge on the screen and your body nowhere. A photo from a few feet back shows your whole self: your face, your shoulders, your posture, what you wear. That is what someone meeting you will actually see.
Use the timer or burst mode
Your phone has a timer (usually 3 seconds or 10 seconds). Press it, walk back to your spot, and smile. The timer gives you time to get into position before the photo takes. Burst mode is different: hold down the button and the phone takes many photos very fast, one after another. Burst mode is better if you want to capture movement or different expressions in one go.
Take at least twenty or thirty photos. You will only use one or two in the end, but taking many lets you choose the ones where your expression is natural, you are smiling if you want to, your posture is relaxed, and the light is kind.
I just take a heap of shots and delete the ones where I look weird. It takes maybe fifteen minutes and you end up with photos that actually look like you.
Move between shots, do not freeze in one pose
Do not take the same photo thirty times. Between each shot, move. Tilt your head left, then right. Smile, then look away. Cross your arms, then uncross them. Sit down, then stand. Put your hands in your pockets, then let them hang. Shift your weight. Each shift gives you a different photo, and you will find poses that feel natural to you and look good.
Light matters more than you think
The best light is natural light from a window or outside. Shoot in the morning or late afternoon when the sun is soft, not at midday when it is harsh and bright. Hard light makes you squint and puts ugly shadows under your eyes.
If you are shooting outside, do not stand with the sun behind you (you become a silhouette) or directly overhead (shadows under your eyes). Stand so the light comes from the side or from in front of you. If you are shooting inside in front of a window, position yourself so the light from the window is in front of you or to the side.
Wear something you feel good in
Pick clothes that make you feel like yourself. Solid colours and simple patterns work better than busy prints. Avoid very light colours that wash you out or very dark ones that disappear into a dark background. The idea is for someone to see you, not to see an outfit.
Your background should be simple and clean: a plain wall, a window, a garden, a street you like. A busy background with clutter distracts from you. You are the subject of the photo, not the backdrop.
Picking the best photos for your profile
After thirty shots, look at them all. You are looking for photos where you look like yourself, not a model. Pick ones where your expression is natural, your face is sharp and clear, and the light is kind. You need a mix: some looking at the camera with a smile, some looking away, some showing what you do or where you like to be.
On Dateable you can upload up to 12 public photos and 12 private ones. Public photos are the first thing someone sees; private photos you share with people who interest you. See choose your photos to think through which photos say what about you. For help writing about yourself alongside your photos, read write your profile.
Do not wait for a version of yourself that does not exist yet
Do not wait until you lose five kilos, or get a haircut, or buy new clothes, to take photos. Take them now. Someone matching with you is matching with you, not a version of you in six months. A photo of yourself as you are now, taken well, will get you better matches than a photo that is glamorous but not you.
Honesty in photos pays off. It means people who message you like you as you are, not as a surprise waiting to happen. See more tips on photos and get started.
