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The best photos for online dating are candid/lifestyle portraits, where they don't look too staged. They are typically shot outdoors with natural light, or in public spaces (like coffee shops).
We've tested many different types of portraits and the style we keep coming back to is candid/lifestyle.
While traditional portraits or headshots can still give you a leg up from low-quality phone photos, the best way to maximize your matches is with photos that don't look too over the top/professional. Our testing data backs us up here. Let us explain.
You know when you see a celebrity on a magazine and they look almost too perfect? That's because on big fancy photoshoots there's typically lot of artificial lighting and airbrushing going on. This makes the person look great, but the resulting look is very artificial, so we don't believe it.
When it comes to your photos, you want them to look great but also look real/authentic/believable.
It shouldn't look like you paid someone for a photoshoot. Instead it should look like you just happened to be out on the town, looking your very best, wearing your best clothes with a nice natural expression on your face... and your photographer friend with the $6000 camera just happened to snap a photo of you.
Think candid, natural and organic (instead of posed, forced and airbrushed). Your new photos will be slightly edited for tone/color/style and you yourself will look fantastic - just not in a cheesy sorta way.
Booking a dating profile photographer is easy. Just choose your location, pick your package and select from the available dates/times in their calendar. You can book a photographer here.
After you book your shoot you'll receive a series of onboarding emails including:
We require a 50% deposit to lock in your booking in our calendar. The remaining 50% is due on the day of your shoot.
We process payments via Stripe, so we accept any major credit/visa-debit cards.
If you need to cancel your shoot, just give us 24 hours notice and we'll give you a full refund, no questions asked. Cancellations that are made the day-of forfeit their deposit.
You can reschedule your shoot up to two times, free of charge. Just let your photographer know within 24 hours before your shoot and they will give you a link to book another date/time.
If the weather is bad on the day of your shoot (ie. rain, snow, etc.), your photographer might preemptively ask to reschedule the shoot. Photoshoots during a snowstorm are fun for no one, including your photographer.
If the weather is calling for heavy rain/snow, we'll gladly reschedule your shoot.
If the weather is cloudy/overcast, we suggest still shooting as this is actually perfect lighting conditions.
A common myth is that bright, sunny days are the best for photoshoots. If it's too bright, you'll likely be squinting from the sun. We also have to deal with harsh shadows which makes shooting much more difficult.
Cloudy, gloomy and overcast days produce incredible results for portraits. The sky acts like a big soft-box and makes the light flattering and even.
Your photoshoot will take place outdoors at a predetermined location. We choose spots that have a range of scenery, backdrops and points of interest nearby to give you a variety of different shots.
Outfit changes take place in the restroom of the coffee shop that we meet you at. Alternatively, some clients bring their vehicle and do outfit changes in the back.
We recommend bringing a duffel bag, gym back or suitcase for your outfit changes.
Your photographer will choose the very best photos from your shoot and edit them. We choose photos based on our research & testing of works (and what doesn't) on online dating apps.
If you have a preference for what types of photos you receive (ie. if you want more photos of you in the blue shirt vs. the red shirt), just let your photographer know.
It will take approximately 5-7 days to receive your photos. Once they're done being edited, you'll receive a private gallery link to view and download your photos.
Yes, you can get the raw/original files if you book our All-Star package or above. This is an extra step that takes a lot of extra time on our end, so we can't offer it on the lower packages.
Notes about unedited raw files:
• The raw files will be unedited, straight out of camera
• They won't be curated (so there will be some blurry, or underexposed shots)
• You need special apps to open raw files (ie. Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture One)
Don't worry too much about people staring. We choose locations that have semi-private areas to start, and if you're feeling comfortable, we'll bring you to a more public area for the rest.
Photoshoots are extremely common for both men and women of all ages. You might get a few peeks, but for the most part people will just carry on and continue with their day without giving it any thought.
In the extremely rare circumstance that someone walks up and asks "What are you guys doing? Is this for a magazine or something?" we respond with something boring like "Yep, this is for a blog post".
You should hire a dating profile photographer if:
Yes. If you're recently divorced, that means most of your recent photos probably have your ex in them. We'll give you a variety of shots for your dating profile, and show you how to use them properly.
If you've never had a photoshoot, don't sweat it. We're experts at working with beginners. We will coach you on posing and facial expressions to help you get stunning, natural looking photos.
The majority of our clients hate getting their photos taken. But that's because they've never had a photographer who was dedicated to finding their good side, who will coach them through the process.
You get unlimited global personal usage rights for your photos. Use them anywhere, on any platform. Your photographer retains the copyright (as per copyright laws) but you retain usage rights.
If you're using your photos for business, that's fine too, but there are limitations. If you want to use them on your business website, social media or youtube videos, that's totally fine. But you can't use them on commercial print/tv ad campaigns. If you're interested in this use case, reach out to us and let us know.
Absolutely not. By default, we don't share client photos anywhere without explicit, written permission. We may ask you if we can use your photos, but ultimately you decide whether or not we can.
Unlike other photography companies that offer numerous services (ie. weddings, engagements and newborn photography), our sole focus is on capturing the highest-performance dating photos possible.
We understand the difference between a "nice photo" and a high-converting photo. We're constantly improving our strategy and approach in order to get you better results.
We specialize in photographing individuals who have never had photoshoots before. We're not shooting professional models and fashion icons. We work with regular guys/girls and have tailored our skillset around that specific type of clientele.
When we pick up the camera, we have a single objective in mind - help our clients communicate their confidence, charisma and zest for life. Highlight their best attributes in a real, authentic and desirable way. Your goals become our goals. Your wins become our wins. We're in this to see you succeed.
That's why you should work with us.
We recommend 3 outfits for your dating profiles:
The reason we recommend these three looks is that we want to show you in a variety of scenarios that don't look too staged. We go into much more detail about specific outfits in our 📸 Shoot Preparation Guide.
We have a number of ways we test/optimize our approach, including manual research, using sites like Photofeeler, hiring 'swipe' panels, and analyzing our clients' testing/optimization results.
When we first started this initiative we had no idea what we were doing. We thought "Our clients just need new photos, right?" but boy were we wrong.
Over time we tested numerous different portrait styles, from studio portraits to street photography. We've learned that certain approaches work way better than others, and some photography styles can actually hurt your success on Tinder. Here's how we're constantly learning what works (and what doesn't) when it comes to photos for online dating.
Our background is in digital marketing so we have a decent amount of experience in testing & optimization. That's why we give every client a testing & optimization framework to follow along with their photos. Most dating apps don't have rich analytics built in, so this framework is the closest thing we have to scientifically testing your photos with minimal variables.
After 6 weeks we follow up with our clients to learn what worked, what didn't and exactly which photo got the highest number of matches. We look for trends using variables poses, editing styles, backgrounds and facial expressions to learn what works (and what doesn't). We've gained a ton of insight from this and even picked up a few tricks to help sell the candid nature of our photos.
We used to conduct these interviews in-person, but now it's easy enough to conduct them over Zoom. After dozens of 1-on-1 interviews (across multiple cities) we feel extremely confident in what people are actually looking for. And luckily, it's not complicated.
What happens when you bring together people from different ages, races, backgrounds and genders to talk about their online dating preferences? You learn, a lot. Some things really surprised us, like the fact that most guys prefer photos where they look cool or badass... and how most women on the panel found those same photos to be rather lame.
This is an effective method to get more general insights, but it has a few caveats. The first is that the audience is distributed across the globe. This is a challenge as people from city to city tend to have different swiping preferences and biases. We prefer to gather data locally in each city to get a better understanding of what actually works in your geographic area.
Yes. While the results can vary from person to person, most clients see a sizeable increase in the quality & quantity of matches, and we've never had a client who didn't see some kind of improvement.
After testing with hundreds of clients (and thousands of photos) we've got really good at knowing what works and what doesn't on dating apps like Tinder. Here are the main factors that go into a high-converting photo:
• Confidence is extremely attractive, regardless of age, race or gender
• Charisma can be conveyed to help you look deep, fun and exciting all at the same time
• Natural smiles and laughing photos get more matches every single time we test them
• Positivity and happiness when conveyed in a photo makes people feel at ease and trusting
• Candid photos work really, really well because they show you in a more natural and relaxed state
• Authenticity. This is a big one. If your photo looks like it was obviously staged (ie. actor headshots) it's implied that the photo is not authentic, or that it has been touched up. The best photos look organic, effortless and authentic. There's certain poses, props and situations we'll put you in to sell the authenticity (like having a coffee, smiling and looking away).
Our secret sauce is in getting you to open up, laugh, have fun and enjoy yourself during the shoot. We're experts at not only finding your good side, but showcasing the various aspects of your confidence and charisma.
Even if you're not a super confident person, there's ways we can pull it out of you. That looks a little different for each person, but trust us when we say everyone has these elements in with their personality in some capacity.
As long as we cover these bases, you're bound to see positive results. We'll intuitively guide you on the other elements (poses, editing styles, backgrounds) based on what you're wearing, your surroundings, your personality and individual style.
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