Online dating - such BAD photos!!

[PinkGlitter17]

Just a lighthearted post.

I'm splitting up with H and was browsing (just for fun - I'm not up for dating any time soon) on match.com. I was surprised to see the men's profile photos. It seems to be a mixture of good photos of good-looking men, really bad photos of average guys, really bad photos of unattractive (imo) guys, and, frankly, photos that belong on Crimewatch (don't have nightmares 😉).

Why do people use such bloody awful pictures in their online dating profiles? Makes no sense.

Maybe it's low self esteem. If they manage to get a date at their worst, you can't be shocked when you see them.

I had a profile picture before I met my husband (old) and I remember being really worried if I didn't match up to the nice picture I'd chosen.

Yeah, I understand the low-self-esteem thing. It's hard to match up to a really great photo. I just would personally want to have a nice picture on there, that was a fair representation of how I look as well as flattering and attractive. Maybe a lot of men are gonna be a bit more WYSIWYG.

Did you find the ones where they're stroking a drugged lion/tiger/rhino?! Those always make me crack up. Do these men really think that the photos make them look well travelled as opposed to just like someone who doesn't care that much about animal welfare?!

Or loads of frankly-could-be-anyone skiing/skydiving/cycling pictures!

I love the ones that say "I have a good sense of humour" then have the scariest photos of them looking like someone out of Crimewatch! As you say, some are very scary! I think either they have no self-awareness, no common sense, or they look even worse when they smile

It's the 'upwards selfie' from penis level that cracks me up. NOBODY looks good from that angle, particularly those with multiple chins.

My friend says it often looks as though they've sent their dad along in their place.

Group pictures where you can't see which man it is or with several taller and hotter mates - why?
Selfies taken from terrible angles
Selfies in a bathroom
Selfies with t shirt pulled up displaying paunchy belly and hairy nipples
Pouting duck face
Big fish picture
Captive drugged animal picture
Swearing at the camera, swigging pint, fag in mouth, covered in sick, clearly passed out
Picture of the kids - just the kids
Memes from Facebook

I would stop now!! Browsing it may well make you think 'is he that bad' in your marriage.

Nowt to do with Self Esteem, more to do with most people haven't a clue how to take a good photo!.

Perhaps the Duchess of Cambridge could give classes, a decent little sideline for her when shes done piccy'ing Charlotte;!

these people just have no taste

Men generally don't get other people to take photos of them while trying on new outfits. The only times it's socially acceptable to get someone else to take a picture is:
At a group gathering, usually with a pint
At a tourist location
At a wedding
While holding a fish they have caught
Whilst showing off their new car.

Other than that, men generally don't have photos taken of themselves, as it's considered weird to ask a mate to take a pic and send it to you.

So they have a smaller set of photos to choose from

The ones taken on webcams are the worst. Really close up, looking miserable/murderous.

Have you considered that the terrible crime watch photos of unattractive men are actually the most flattering photos they have?

As in, the ones they rejected are much much worse.

I swear this is the absolute truth, I saw one photo on a guys profile of him and somebody else at someone's grave. He was one side of the tombstone and another guy was at the other.

Why.....just why???

I know the crimewatch ones you mean. Do you think they take a selfie, always from below to accentuate the chins, no attempt whatsoever to smile, then think, oh that's a nice one?

I take a terrible photo and I literally took about 50 so I could find a half decent one for my profile but at least I was aware when they were not flattering.

I think it must show a complete lack of awareness and effort and probably entitlement too.

Speaking for myself, I'm almost always the one taking the pics at an event so there are very few of me on my own. I had to do a lot of cropping when I put my OLD profile together.

IME, there are as many bad pics of women up there. Group shots where the profile owner isn't identified (but it's a good bet it's not the stunningly attractive one in the group), duck pouts, not very good cleavage shots, lots of pics with them drinking or in a pub (and no other settings), selfies taken in bedrooms where you can see how much of a tip the room is in the background etc.

I think there is a parallell between men on cycling / skiing and women riding horses. Men stroking drugged exotic animals, women have pics of their dog.

A gifted psychologist might be able to draw some conclusions about the prospective partner from those pics, but the rest of us might like to know what the suitor actually looks like, FFS!

the best one i saw when i was OLD was a guy who had taken a selfie in his kitchen, it wasnt him that was bad it was the background his kitchen looked like he was on the program hoareders, every surface was covered in stuff, old packets, dirty washing, dirty washing up, and if this was his kitchen i dread to think what the rest of his home looked like, how he thought any woman would even go there i dont know, dont go on that site any more but i bet if i did hes still on there

All my OLD photos are selfies, pretty much. Modern phones have good cameras, you can take multiple photos, edit them, or use a timer to get a photo from a better angle - there is no reason for anybody to have a crap picture even if nobody else every takes pictures of them. It is perfectly simple to take an accurate, normal-looking selfie that doesn't make you look like a murderer (unless, of course, you look like a murderer in real life).

I mostly feel offended at the thought these men haven't ever tried, not the smallest amount, to take a flattering picture. That you are supposed to be so grateful for a tiny bit of male attention that you jump at the chance to date someone who couldn't even be bothered to make sure his profile picture was in focus.

Gallavic - they think they are the hot one in group pics!

Ah there is also my personal favorite -
The erect penis under boxers.

I agree with everything that TheFifthkey has said. I have a combination of selfies and pictures taken by my mates on my profile. I try not to use the filter because I don't want anybody to have a shock when they meet me IRL.

My friend taught me how to take a good selfie: lift your chin up, turn your face slightly to either left or right hold your camera at arms length, slightly above you and snap ;-)

I don't reply to men with a solo profile pic taken in bathroom or car = married or man in a relationship up to no good (I know I know making sweeping assumptions, but so far this has been proven to be correct).

You'd have thought that seeing that a lot depends on the outcome of the online dating business where you are genuinely trying to find a life partner, then you'd invest in having some decent pics taken by a professional.

Unless it's just for the hope of a quickie on that POF or rather POS site.

As a man who did OLD for ages, I can say that there are plenty of women with poor photos too.