Sad that it needs to be said, but don’t give the finger to the camera.
Really? If they’re a good quality final image, why not?
Because the bathroom-mirror-reflection picture screams two things:
- I have no friends to hold this camera and take the picture for me
- I’m too stupid to figure out how to use the timer on my cheapie point-and-shoot digicam
Not exactly attractive qualities in a potential mate, dontcha think?
(additional points are subtracted if a cell phone has been substituted for a proper camera)
I’m a private kind of guy, and I don’t feel too comfortable asking my friends to take a picture of me for a dating site. I don’t get a whole lot of pictures taken of me normally either.
This one I tried, and attempting to get yourself in a position that actually looks decent using a timer is really bloody hard. I couldn’t get any picture to look decent (although that may just be me).
That said, bathroom mirror pictures do scream lame, unless it’s something risque. Then, it’s understandable they wouldn’t want someone else involved. 
Don’t post a pic of your dog - just your dog.
Don’t use a group photo of five people who fit your nebulous description without at least indicating which one you are. Wait a minute, wait a minute, there are *six *people in that photo? Those white spots in back are your eyes. Oh, ok…
“Marla Hooch. What a hitter!”
I was once examining a parrot for a client. I had seen the bird several times, and we (the client and I) engaged in some casual chit-chat. She told me she had a dog at home, and looked in her purse for a photo of said dog.
She showed me the pic of her dog. It was a PG-13 glamour shot of her in lingerie. With her dog. Freaked me out. :eek:
Do not do that stupid kissy-face thing that teenage girls like to do on myspace. It isn’t attractive, it’s just totally hackneyed and clicheed. Stop.
Re: Webcam shots and Mirror shots - They scream loser. (At least to me they do.) Don’t you have any friends or family that can be bothered long enough to take a picture of you? A webcam shot is always poorly lit, at some weird angle, and not very flattering. Plus I can see your stereo sitting on a cinder-block and plank shelf in the background.
“And that, ladies, is how to hit on your veterinarian. Any questions? No? Fine, let’s move onto how to let your gynecologist know you’re interested.”
I’ve got a full on boner just thinking about the germs.
Webcam shots can be all right (the non ‘Oops, is my photo being taken?’ coy smile and sideways glance variety) but I agree that it’s nice to know that the potential dater has at least one friend willing to take their photo.
Play hard-to-get during your exam? :eek: 
HA! I had to picture that, didn’t I?
“Oh, I don’t think so, Doctor! You’re going to have to at least buy me a drink first.”
For gay guys: DO NOT POST PHOTOS OF YOU SNUGGLING WITH WOMEN!
Honestly, I don’t know how many times I’ve looked at ‘match.com’ and seen pictures of men seeking men with their arms wrapped around a lady. I don’t care if she’s your ‘Grace.’ In fact, the idea that your so lovey dovey with your fag hag kind of turns me off.
This makes me want to look at gay sites just to see people using "Will and Grace’ as a reference system of some sort. Who’s their Karen??
Ah, my favorite rule that I decided to ignore. This is the one that drove me nuts. I went shirtless in round two of Match and I’ve got to tell you that a women’s instinct is to say ‘no shirtless pics’ and her reaction to the shirtless pics is WAY different.
This hard rule versus actual behavior is similar to the rule versus behavior of: “men, don’t shave your chest.”
Let me say this, with a deep and profound experience related to both: I will IGNORE this type of advice. Going shirtless on Match AND shaving my chest demonstrates to me that women say one thing, but their behavior does NOT back it up.
Well, if your chest is that hairy, maybe they thought you were wearing a sweater 
Are you hot? Do you have a bare chest the ladies actually like seeing? If so, this is probably why.
I’ve seen 2 women on Match that had a bunch of photos of themselves on vacation in some tropical spot, where every photo was them on the arm of, or in the lap of, a different dude. That’s a great message for the world. “Two hurricanes and I’ll sit in anyone’s lap.”
I’ve noticed it’s pretty common for women to have no main photo but instead a bunch of group photos all taken at restaurants or bars or some other social event. I’m happy that you’re social, Match person, but it’s nice to include a portrait shot so I can see what you look like without having to do a photographic logic puzzle to figure out who you are.
Oh: I have no interest in a picture of your dog or cat without you in it, and I think pictures with your kids are kind of dragging them into something they’re best left out of. A cropped-out dude’s arm makes me think this is the only good photo you’ve ever taken. (Snarky_Kong: A wedding photo, seriously? That’s grim.) Pictures of (say) sunsets with no humans in them at all makes me think you are potentially the master of cliche. What, couldn’t get a photo of you taking a long walk on the beach?
I think in 30 years when someone sees a photo a person has taken of themselves at arm’s length they will roll their eyes and think, “How early 21st century.”