Deadly Sins of Online Dating Profile Pictures: The Shirtless Guy and The Art of the Self-Portrait

In the first post in this series, you saw the first set of Deadly Sins for your Online Dating Profile Picture.  We saw Disembodied Arm, Blurred Out Girl, and Blacked Out Friend!  Next, we saw Ladies Man, Drunk Man, and Lewd/Rude/Crude Man.

What’s up for this round?

Shirtless (and possibly flexing) Guy and the Art of the Self-Portrait, bathroom style and webcam style.

Let’s look at some more sins for your photos…

The Seventh Deadly Sin: Shirtless (and Flexing?) Man

You’re proud of your rippling pecs.  Maybe there was that picture of you at the beach that came out really well.  Either way, we’d rather not see it, at least not in your profile.  You can share pictures of your bodybuilding hobby once we get to know you a little better.

To be fair – you can have a shirtless picture and still get a girl.  My GeekBoy had a picture of himself on a beach.  Red hair, blinding white skin.  After I rolled to save from Blindness, it was love!

Solution:  9 times out of 10, we laugh at shirtless pictures.  Think carefully before you include one.

The Eighth Deadly Sin:  Horrible Self-Portraits and Self-Photoshopping

The idea of asking your friends to snap some pictures for your online dating profile makes you shiver with fear.   So you think, “I’ll just take my own pictures!”   Here’s what happens.

The Bathroom Mirror Picture

The Awkward Angle Picture

Side Note for Ladies:  Guys know that it’s no accident when your cleavage is hanging out.  If you’re cool with getting some “inappropriate” emails as a result, let the girls air out.  If you’d rather find a “nice guy”, keep ‘em wrapped up for a bit.

Bad Lighting & Bad Photoshopping

The Webcam Portrait

Poor lighting, horrible color, no contrast.  This is you in your best light?  I think not.

Solution:  Get photos taken in good lighting by someone other than yourself!

Coming Soon…

The last of the Deadly Sins series… the Not-So-Deadly Sins.

Want advice on how to take great profile pictures, even if you’re camera shy? I dedicate an entire chapter to pictures in my ebook: You Geek, They Grok: A Geek’s Guide to Leveling Up Your Online Dating Game. Click here to check it out.

About e

Since 2008, E. Foley of Geek’s Dream Girl has been helping geeks from around the world find love. She writes amazing online dating profiles for her fellow geeks and guides them through the perilous waters of the dating scene and out the other side. She's totally proud to report that she's even caused a couple geek weddings! By day, she is the Copywriter at ThinkGeek, where her greatest challenges are coming up with enough Star Wars jokes that only reference the good movies and remembering which supers are Somethingman, Something Man, or Something-man. She lives in Maryland with DaveTheGame, her adorable cats, Mr. Peanut & Don Juan, and Titania, Queen of the Cocker Spaniels. (Email e, or follow @geeksdreamgirl on Twitter.)

Comments

  1. Sandrinnad says:

    webcam pic + no shirt makes me wonder in horrified fascination if he has a whole series like that….which gives me the creepy crawlies….

    (I mean at least if someone else takes the no shirt pic it’s probably all PG, right?)

  2. e says:

    @ Sandrinnad – Indeed, it does make one wonder… ;)

  3. I am lucky to have been taken since before digital pictures were highly available. I tried to never take a picture I didn’t want the developer to see.

    The shame-filter comes equiped on all process cameras!

    What’s up with the guy highlighting his Adam’s apple? Proving he’s not a girl in drag? If so, kudos on the choice of evidence. Worse pictures could have been taken. ;-)

    Darius Whiteplume´s last blog post..A TV show worth checking out, and a welcome.

  4. Matt says:

    Haha, I’m glad you were able to pass the gauntlet of Blinding White Skin +4 (albinos are +5). I figured if you can handle the blinding white skin then that’s one less thing for me to worry about. :)

  5. e says:

    @ Darius – I wondered about that guy too.

    @ Matt – Yeah, I was blinded. People had combat advantage, but luckily I wasn’t struck down.

  6. LokyCat says:

    “The last of the Deadly Sins series”

    Noooo=(
    Well, no good thing last for ever.=P

  7. e says:

    @ Loky – There’s a finite amount of Deadly Sins, y’know! ;)

  8. Hybban says:

    @e – But an infinite amount of ways to sin :)

    Hyb’

  9. e says:

    @ Hybban – So many fun ways!

  10. Brummelbrow says:

    I’m seriously guilty of the webcam one. OMG i need serious help.
    (plz don’t make fun of me… too harsly)

Trackbacks

  1. [...] Have a shirtless profile pic- It’s nice that you’re proud of your less-than-washboard abs, but please leave something to the imagination.  Better yet, show your face.  Please. [...]

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