Not having much luck with online dating?
Start with your profile photo!
Medium‘s got a new study on dating service pictures…and men and women are looking for different things.
The ideal photo for men is one where you’re looking straight at the camera, and smiling without showing your teeth.
For women…it’s just the opposite…look away from the camera and flash those pearly whites!
Men are twice as likely to have their photo ‘liked’ if they’re looking straight ahead, 43% more likely if they’re smiling without teeth and 11% more likely if they’re the only person in the photo.
Women are 74% more likely to get noticed if they’re looking off to the side, 76% more likely if they smile with teeth, 27% more likely to get noticed if they wear their hair up and 69% more likely if they’re the only one in the photo.
A few things that work on both men and women are artsy black-and-white photos, pictures where you’re playing a sport and candid shots where you don’t look like you’re posing.
The things that DON’T work are pictures in sunglasses, pictures with crazy filters (see Snapchat!), photos at the beach, photos with someone who might be an ex and selfies…particularly poser ones!
Get one of your friends to take your best photo…and upload it for the weekend!
(BONUS: Here are some surprising stats about online dating from Modern Dating Myths that might change the way you think about it!)