When it comes to online dating, we all know how important it is to show your best possible self. I work with many clients who are ready to get back into dating but not sure how and I always suggest that delving into online dating is a quick and effective way of getting started. It’s a great way to meet completely new people, improve your conversation and interaction skills, practice the dating game and find someone who you enjoy spending time with, of course!
The things is, many people’s downfall is that their online dating pictures do not sell them well. In fact, they can sometimes suck! If you’re going to do it, you might as well do it properly. So if you are one of those who has their face only half in the picture or so cocooned in ski gear that no one can actually see what you look like, or you’re throwing a middle finger at the camera with half a pint of beer split down your front (no, that’s not a good look!), then it’s worth looking at fixing this simple thing to improve your chances of getting dates - by miles.
And I’m not saying it’s about looking like a catwalk model. Let’s face it (unless you are a catwalk model of course!) with the power of Photoshop it’s easy to take a little digital enhancement a bit too far and then you’ll just annoy your dates when they see you don’t really look like that in real life. And it won’t be because you don’t look like it that’s the problem. It’s because it can be a little deceptive and portrays that you aren’t confident enough in your own skin. Same thing as using a picture of yourself taken 10 years ago.
The key really is to put pictures on your profile that show your best self - and your personality. And believe it or not there is a lady who specialises in photography specifically for dating profiles - what a cool niche! That lady is Saskia of Saturday Night’s Alright. I had a shoot with Saskia a few weeks back and I can honestly say that I had such a brilliant time doing it and I’m delighted with the shots. It’s worth mentioning I’m very difficult to please when it comes to photos of myself but when I got these back I was so happy and couldn’t wait to add them to my website. (My shots were for promo purposes but the vibe of the shoot was still much the same as how Saskia works with her dating clients). I used to do a lot of singing and acting and the shoot definitely unleashed my inner performer again, which I have to admit, I took full advantage of for the hour!
Saskia is very creative - she has a fantastic eye for what works and how to capture you in the best light and puts you at complete ease, which makes the shots very natural and reflective of your personality. She asked me to send over a mood board in advance so she could think about location, props and poses etc. This meant that when I arrived she knew exactly where we’d go and what we would do but she’s also very much up for a bit of improvisation. A bonus was that we had such giggle, which helps ease the pressure of having a camera in your face if you’re not used to it!
I’ve included a selection of the images from the shoot in this post. I can’t recommend Saskia and her team at Saturday Night’s Alright highly enough and given that she’s been featured in The Daily Mail, the Evening Standard and nominated for 3 awards at The UK Dating Awards, it’s not only me who thinks so!
So, if you are considering an online dating profile spruce up, you’ve read this at the right time 🙂 You can find Saskia over at Saturday Night’s Alright and she also has a great blog filled with dating tips and advice too.