Tinder Profile Pictures: The Ultimate Guide [By the TextGod] (2024)

So you want to get more and higher quality matches on Tinder?

In this detailed guide, you’ll find my best Tinder Profile Picture Tips.

Including 13 juicy tips on which photos are proven to get you the most matches. And a TON of screenshots from one of my coaches, TextGod students, and myself.

In this article:

• Use the FAT-Method to improve your Tinder profile pics
• The right order of pictures for your Tinder profile
• How many Tinder profile pictures should you have?
• 6 Tips to show you’re attractive
• 4 Tips to show you’re fun
• 3 Tips to show you’re trustworthy
• Build an irresistible dating profile

More...

Important: Just letting you know I am currently letting guys use my Profile Checklist for free. It's a simple fill-in-the-blanks code that shows you what to change about your profile. It's the first step to getting all the matches you want. Get it here for free.

Use the FAT-Method to improve your Tinder profile pics

When you improve your Tinder profile pictures, it’s important to realize that no picture stands alone.

It’s impossible to get advice on “the perfect Tinder picture” and then build a perfect collage of Tinder pictures. Your profile requires different pictures to become great.

You first have to understand what your profile should communicate to a potential match.

Therefore, I developed the FAT-Method that we teach to all our TextGod students.

The perfect profile pictures show that you are:

• Fun
• Attractive
• Trustworthy

Of course, your potential match wants to feel attractedto you. You have to be pleasant to look at.

However, that’s not all. More than anything, they want to feel it will be fun to be with you. They want a glimpse of your life and your personality.

Lastly, women in particular want to feel that you’re someone they can trust. She wants to make sure you’re not some weird or dangerous guy.

If your profile pictures are not FAT and you lack one of these ingredients, she is more likely to swipe you left.

The right order of pictures for your Tinder profile

So how do you distribute FAT over your Tinder profile? Which pictures do you need and in what order?

This is the optimal collection of pictures on your Tinder profile:

1. The first picture should show your Attractiveness. You only have one chance to get her to check out your other pictures. So your first picture should be a high-quality, chest-up picture of yourself. More on how to shoot attractive photos later.
2. The next two pictures should show you’reFun. It’s your chance to make her see how awesome being with you would be. Of course, showing your attractiveness in these pictures also doesn’t hurt anyone.
3. The last one or two pictures should focus onTrust. She knows you’re attractive and fun. The last thing she needs to know is if you’re a normal guy that won’t be weird.

Now this order isn’t set in stone.

I would always recommend you to start with an attractive picture of yourself.

But after that, a lot depends on the actual content of your pictures. Some show fun and trust at the same time. Fun is also very subjective. It depends on what you consider fun and what type of match you’re looking for.

However, keep in mind that showing you’re FUN has a higher priority than showing your trustworthiness. Because she first wants to feel excited about you before you glaze it with trust.

Below, we will go into how to show the FAT ingredients.

How many Tinder profile pictures should you have?

What’s the ideal number of pictures to get the most matches?

A much-debated question that gets very different answers from different coaches.

When I was discussing this over text with a psychologist, she said this:

I was impressed with her quick thoughts about the matter. And there’s some truth to what she says.

If you fill up every single photo slot, you look a bit try-hard.

‘Hey! Look at me and all the cool stuff I do. Look at my face from 5 different angles, I’m beautiful and cool, aren’t I?’

A great quote that I’ve always kept in the back of my mind during years of meeting women.

Retain some mystery in your profile. Don’t fall for the tryhard-trap by posting too many pictures.

How many pictures do I advise? It depends on how many you need to convey FAT. But I would go for somewhere between 3 and 5 pictures.

6 Tips to show you’re attractive

1. Do not use selfies

Who knows your good angles better than yourself?

You’ve studied your own mug more than anyone else. And you know a selfie can look damn good.

However, you’re overlooking two crucial points:

1. What a selfie says about yourself. Having nothing but selfies communicates (A) that you have no one to take photos of yourself, and (B) that you’re in love with yourself.
2. You’re a bad judge of what looks good. You focus on details that strangers won’t see or appreciate as much as you. A study shows that even your friends are bad at picking photos where you look your best.

More on selfies in this article:

• 10 Selfies on Tinder That DO and DON’T Work

2. Keep distractions to a minimum

Distractions tell your potential match’s brain to swipe you left. You read that right. Allow me to explain.

The more distractions there are in your first photo, the less likely you’ll get a swipe right. Why? Neurological research has shown us that the more the brain has to work to process your picture, the less likely someone will like you.

So what do you do?

• Eliminate distractions in the background. Other people are especially good at drawing unwanted attention.
  
• Create a strong contrast between you and the background. If you have dark hair, go for a light background. If you have light hair, go for a dark background.

3. Use the torso up shot

There’s one Tinder profile rule you need to respect if you want people to match you.

Your first photo should show no more of you than your face, and your torso.

Neuroscientific research has proven this to be the most effective.

Let’s use this photo from a TextGod student as an example.

This guy had a photoshoot done to get better results on dating apps. (More on photoshoots in a bit).

And I got to say, this is a pretty good shot of him. But not as a Tinder profile pic. Because it’s showing more than Head & Torso.

Full-body shots are important to have in your dating profile, but keep them for later. Perhaps as your 3rd or 4th photo.

But when it comes to your first photo, you want to have something similar to this:

And that’s all you need.

4. Know how to use black and white

Let’s start with a general rule: 9/10 times color is the way to go. But there are a few exceptions.

The first one is explained by photographer Carla Coulson:

One reason she uses black and white is when she wants “to cut to the core of a portrait and let the person stand out not the colors.”

A good example of this is this portrait of TextGod coach Dan:

Here’s what photographyvox says:

“Humans see the world in color, and a rendition of the world in monochrome makes us pause and look closely. Removing color from a picture helps the viewer to focus on a subject’s emotional state. Black and white portraiture lets the audience see the subject’s face and read his or her eyes without distraction.”

I especially love the last sentence. You’re drawn to Dan’s eyes way more than when this photo would be in color. Where the colorful walls behind him soaked up much of the attention.

Another good reason to use black and white, is when your skin isn’t perfect. Both Coach Dan and one of our students were still figuring out how to give their skin that healthy glow.

We noticed that black and white photography can also make you look more attractive until you figured out a way to optimize your skin.

I love this raw and manly photo of one of the most dedicated TextGod students I’ve ever seen.

To repeat Carla’s words: by cutting out the color, this photo really lets the person stand out.

Enjoy this ‘before and after’ of my student:

5. Show off your body in a nonchalant way

Let’s be honest. Women like a man with a great body. Someone who works out.

Sure, it’s a little superficial. And no, you don’t need to be jacked to do well with women. But it does make things way easier!

1. You’ll be sexier naked.
2. You’ll be sexier dressed.
3. You’ll radiate discipline.

When using a shirtless photo on your online dating profile, remember this:

Only use a photo with an artsy ring to it or an action shot.

Mirror selfies and any other type of selfies are out of the question. Also, don’t post post-gym selfies. They make you look try-hard and in love with yourself.

Anyway, this is the type of skin-showing photo that DOES work:

This shot has a bit of an arty vibe to it. And besides showing that I’m in shape, it also shows a cool place. With the empty park, the line of trees, and the sharp Telecom tower peaking rising above.

By making this shot black and white, it gets that perfume-ad-feel.

It’s not just about the body anymore. This picture shows equal amounts of travel, adventure, art, and manliness.

6. Use an online dating photographer

A lot of the photos you saw in the tips above were shot by a professional online dating photographer.

If you have the right guy, he knows exactly how to make you look as attractive as possible. He can create the perfect first Tinder profile picture for you.

A Tinder photoshoot is something that can greatly improve your love life.

But be careful of making these three common mistakes:

• Don’t use more than 1 photo wearing the same outfit.
• Don’t use more than 1 photo at the same location.
• Don’t do the same thing in every photo.

Try different poses, different angles, different sides of your face, and maybe even different hairstyles. If your hair looks EXACTLY the same in every shot… people will know you had yourself a little photoshoot.

For more on Tinder photoshoots and photographers, check out this article:

• Looking for a Tinder Photographer? 7 Crucial Caveats

4 Tips to show you’re fun

7. Show that you have a bit of an edge

This photo can make a huge amount of difference.

I’ve had a student that was pretty damn good looking but had mediocre Tinder results. Meanwhile, I had another client who was pretty average-looking but had an amazing set of photos that got him lots of likes and matches.

What type of Tinder profile picture am I talking about?

The one that shows you have balls.

We’re talking extreme sports here. Well, actually, making it seem a little dangerous is all you need.

Here comes the photo that did the trick for me, a surfing shot.

It’s not super extreme, but the sea does give it a dangerous and adventurous element.

How did I do it? I just made a screenshot from one of the frames that a GoPro camera on my surfboard shot.

One student of mine who’s currently doing great on Tinder, uses this photo:

Great for when you don’t:

• Surf.
• Snowboard or ski.
• Climb.
• Skate.
• Breakdance.
• Fight (martial arts).
• Mountain bike.

If you’ve ever been paragliding, skydiving, or any similar activity that induces fear… great! Use it.

8. Show that you’re not afraid of adventure

How do you convey that you are FUN? How do you make people want to hang out with you, instead of quickly swiping you left?

There are multiple ways to do this but here’s a crowd favorite:

Show that you’re not afraid of adventure.

Everyone loves adventure. And even if your new match is more of a homebody, she’s still likely interested in hearing about your fun stories.

Many people on Tinder intuitively know this. That’s why there are so many travel photos! Like this one from coach Dan, for example:

Not his best Tinder photo. But he does look like a well-traveled guy who can tell some stories about his trips.

The same goes for this photo of me:

Again, just a tourist shot. But can I tell a cool story about where it was and the things I experienced on that trip? You bet I can.

If you have pictures that show you’re going on adventures, show them!

It’s only a matter of time before your matches ask you for the story.

9. Keep group photos to a minimum

Please, avoid this next crucial mistake at all costs. It’s costing you more matches than you can miss.

There is only one good reason to use group photos: They demonstrate you have friends and have fun with them.

However, there’s a lot that can go wrong with group photos.

Here are the three rules for group photos:

• It should be instantly clear who you are in ANY Tinder picture, including group photos.
• Avoid photos with only women around you (because you think it shows you’re popular).
• Be the center of attention in your Tinder pictures.

Let’s look at some examples.

Starting with a paintball memory.

It shows you’re having a great time with friends.

However, it’s not clear where you are in this photo.

Group photos like these are very confusing to your potential Tinder matches.

So how about this one:

I’m the only guy in the picture PLUS I’m surrounded by women.

Women hate these types of shots. Because it looks like you have a huge ego and you are a player.

Now you won’t hear me say that group photos with women won’t ever work. There’s always a percentage of girls that will react to them. But you can attract these women in a more classy manner.

How about this next shot?

It’s still just one guy surrounded by women, but it has a bit more class.

Everyone is dressed in sixties style and posing together for a quick snap. You happen to be the only guy so it’s only logical you’re the center of attention.

But why even risk being seen as a guy on the prowl for one-night stands? Why not go for a more balanced option with other men in the picture?

Like this one, for example:

Even though I am not in the center of the photo, I am the center of attention.

Another example of a picture I will never post on my online dating profile:

Even though the girl in the photo is my girlfriend, and my hand is resting on her thigh, it just looks like I’m trying to get her attention and she’s not very much into it. While my good friend on the left looks way cooler.

He is on the front row, casually leaning to the side, and generally looking pretty fly. He is clearly the higher-status guy in this shot.

10. Make her laugh

This tip is easy to use, doesn’t require you to do anything, and makes her laugh!

Add a meme as a Tinder profile picture.

The only requirement is selecting a meme that YOU like. One that makes YOU laugh. That’s crucial for the added side-effect of this tip.

Not every potential match will like it. But that’s exactly the purpose. You automatically filter out people who aren’t a good match. People who don’t like your humor.

TextGod coach Dan is, for example, obsessed with this meme:

It’s so good he will always show it to his matches. And by doing so he screens for if they find the same things funny.

3 Tips to show you’re trustworthy

11. Show off your eyes

Your potential match has to be able to see your eyes. Why?

Eyes indicate what we are interested in. And if she can’t see your eyes, then she can’t tell what you are up to. That’s potentially dangerous for her.

The only time you can get away with obscuring your eyeballs is when you have plenty of other photos that give her a look.

12. Use pets to your advantage

Here are three things that land you better matches:

• Looking happy.
• Looking relaxed.
• Looking friendly.

And here’s how to achieve all three in ONE photo:

Pose together with your dog.

Research has shown time and time again how well it works at attracting the attention of the fairer sex.

Here’s an example:

Watch my video and you’ll see exactly what we did.

13. Be a leader

She likes the leader in you.

How do you show her that you’ve got your sh*t together when you aren’t jacked?

A good question.

With many answers.

And two of them are relevant here.

1. Show your match the leader in you. Women like that stuff. Just don’t have a photo of yourself delivering a speech, that’s not very special. And it’s very try-hard.
2. Show your success. It’s the reason why the internet is swamped with motivational videos, sudden success stories, and #10yearchallenge body transformations. A good example would be you running over the finish line during a marathon.

Build an irresistible dating profile

What I am very good at is getting everyday normal guys abnormal success with women.

I made a Tinder Profile Checklist (that also works for other dating apps) that has a list of yes/no questions for you to answer. The results will point out where you can improve to get more ladies.

As a bonus I added a video where I use the Tinder Profile Checklist on the fresh profile of one of my students.

Hope you found this article helpful.

Blessing,
Louis Farfields

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