What Pictures to Use?
If you’re getting low likes on Tinder, your photos are usually the first problem. Here’s exactly what to use, what to avoid, and how to pick a first photo that feels “hop-the-fence” irresistible.
Quick links: Best Tinder Bios → Tinder Algorithm (ELO) → How to Get Matches → Why You Get No Matches • Homepage • Download SwipeHelper
Example profile photos that work
Photos like these get more right swipes: clear, high-quality, and showing you in a good light. Use them as inspiration for your own profile.
What NOT to have in your profile photos
Before we get to settings: avoid the kinds of photos below. These get left swipes.
Remember to turn off Smart Photos
Tinder’s Smart Photos feature automatically reorders your photos to “optimize” for swipes. For best results, turn it off and choose your own order so your strongest photo is first.
What you don’t want in your profile photo
For starters, your profile photo should never be:
- A selfie.
- A poor-quality photo (bad lighting, taken with flash, or at night).
- A group photo (save that for photo 2 or 3).
- A photo where your face is unclear (sunglasses = bad).
- A photo where you’re far away from the camera.
So what should your profile photo be?
The brain doesn’t like to be confused, so the most attractive profile photo is:
- A clean headshot, preferably showing the upper third of your body.
- A high-quality photo, with some clear contrast between you and the background.
- A photo of you alone.
- A photo without distracting “noise” in the background.
- A photo where your face is clearly shown (no sunglasses!).
The “hop the fence” principle — technique 1
Close your eyes. It’s summer. You’re in your backyard, your friends are over, and the grill is going. (Impossible burgers, of course.) Music is playing, and you even have a pool to cool off in. Pretty nice, right?
Meanwhile, your neighbor a few houses down has a similar setup. You don’t really hang out with him, but he seems fine. Now, let me ask you: under what circumstances would you abandon all your friends and hop the fence to join his BBQ?
If you and he already have the same setup… why would you leave the comfort of your own house to join his party? It’d have to be something big:
- Maybe a ton of people showed up, and their party looks way more fun.
- Maybe it turns out he’s a stand-up comedian and his jokes are so funny you need to head over.
- Or maybe everyone at his party is going to accompany him back to his boat for an afterparty.
Whatever it is, it’s got to be amazing, right? Tinder is no different.
When a woman looks at your profile, you need to convince her to “hop the fence” and come join you. Her “yard” is already full of close friends, family, and even some guys she casually sees. (Awkward, right?) So why would she leave the comfort of her own world to join yours?
The answer: you need to have something that she doesn’t have. Something so compelling she’ll “jump ship” and come join you. If a woman is interested in you, she will do anything to hang out—skip homework, ditch class, take off work, bail on her family—if you’re worthwhile.
When someone looks at your profile, they should say to themselves: Wow, he looks awesome to hang out with.
If you want matches on Tinder, you cannot be boring. That’s what the “hop the fence” principle is about. Your image should look way more fun than whatever the person swiping could be doing that day. You want to bring them on a journey.
For example: it’s probably evening, a woman opens Tinder, she’s sitting comfortably in her bed watching Netflix while scrolling. That doesn’t sound too bad, right? That’s what you’re competing against—you have to beat whatever she’s doing at that exact moment. A date scenario that looks fun (you’re smiling, approachable, and there’s probably food involved) can sound better to her than another night on the couch. Hence: right swipe.
How to get images this good
When a woman looks at your profile, this is what happens: she decides within a fraction of a second whether she’s going to swipe right or left. And she makes that decision almost exclusively on your profile picture. We want to stress this. Her choice is:
- Instantaneous.
- Unconscious.
You have maybe 0.1 second to “convince” her you’re worth talking to. Don’t get us wrong—your other photos and your bio are important too. She can preview your other photos before swiping right. But that doesn’t minimize the importance of the first. You’re communicating your values and how you view yourself by the choice of your first photo. So if she’s decided you’re not a match, there’s little need for her to keep looking.
We know this intuitively. And yet the overwhelming majority of guys use random pictures from Facebook or terrible bathroom selfies as their profile photos. Stop. Stop. Pls.
Use photos like the examples above—or let SwipeHelper help you pick and order the best ones for your profile.