Roger-Luc Chayer
Gay single men or those looking for adventure, young or old, are increasingly turning to instant dating apps like Grindr, Gay411 or Tinder to find partners quickly. In any case, these apps all have one thing in common, they suggest to put one or more photos on your profile, because you can not say it again enough, it is wrong to pretend that the interested ones will read your text of presentation first, everything is in the picture, the first look!
Most people who open an account or feed it with texts and photos usually make the same mistake and this can greatly affect their chances of success if the goal is a quick meeting. Here are some examples.
The main photo: Placing a simple photo from the front, without choosing what surrounds us and without any particular reaction, can cause total disinterest. What people see is the message that the photo conveys and especially the interpretation to give to the entourage, the decor. According to Darren Rowse of the Digital Photography School, four ingredients would be essential to an effective main photo in a dating profile. 1- The lighting in front of the subject and especially avoiding to illuminate the background. « A good profile is good lighting ». Avoid direct exposure to a light source or the sun and prefer soft transitions. Avoid significant shading in the face. 2- Before taking the picture, look what’s behind you, because letting her stockings hang around, showing a messy bathroom or a messy room sends a very clear message. If possible, leave a distance between 15 and 20 feet between you and the back wall. A very dark background will always be preferable to too much light. The star of the hour is you!
3- If you have the possibility to have the picture taken by a friend or to use a tripod, make sure to take the shot with your best angle, it is imperative to avoid the « mugshot » style photos of face and too close together . Ideally, you should take the picture with a body angle of about 45 degrees while looking at the camera with your eyes. Avoid standing on both feet, vary the angles and position of your hands.
4- To avoid the static and frankly ugly aspect of a frozen photo, use the various functions of your device to create unusual effects. Program an auto-shot with the zoom to the maximum and step back to fit within the lens frame, turn off the flash, which is the most repelling element of any Darren photo, and always focus on a background blurring. Fuzzy faces and whole bodies in soft focus are to be avoided. The first message that it sends is that the subject wants to hide his wrinkles and that the person may not be honest with his appearance. Art fuzziness is out of date since the 1950s, remember!
Finally, always favor the smile, look shy or thoughtful, looks are very effective to pass honest messages that will always be better perceived. How many times have you looked at an interesting profile based on a main photo and seeing the secondary photos you said « Ishhhhhhh kossé ça »? It is always better to use a single photo well done than to put too much and spoil everything with « the » photo ugly too. Write to us to tell us if your profile has improved with our tips at edito@gayglobe.net and we will send your comments to our readers.