What Pictures to Put on Tinder: A Simple Checklist

Deciding what pictures to put on Tinder is easier if you treat it as filling five slots rather than picking your favorite photos. Each slot answers a question the person swiping has: what does your face look like, what do you look like overall, what do you do, do you have friends, and where do you go. Fill each slot with your best option and you have a complete profile.

What pictures to put on Tinder: the five slots

If you have a sixth great photo, add a conversation starter: your dog, a dressed-up photo from a wedding, or something a bit funny. If you don't, five strong photos are better than six with one weak link.

What photos should I put on Tinder from my camera roll?

Most people have more usable photos than they think. Go through the last year of your camera roll with this filter:

• You're the clear subject. Not a speck in a landscape, not one of eight people.
• Your face is visible in at least most of them. No sunglasses in the first one.
• It's sharp when you zoom in on your eyes.
• It looks like you now. Same hair, same beard, roughly the same build.
• The light is decent. Daylight beats dim restaurants.
• No ex, no cropped-out arm on your shoulder.

Sort what passes into the five slots. Any slot that's empty tells you exactly which photo to go and take.

Tinder can help with the first pass. Photo Selector (iOS and Android) scans your camera roll on your device and suggests photos that might work as profile photos, based on things like lighting and composition, and it filters out group photos. Tinder says the scan stays on your phone and only the photos you choose get uploaded.

What pics to put on Tinder first

Your first photo matters most, because many people decide from it alone. The best first photo is simple:

• Chest up or closer
• Looking at or near the camera
• A real smile
• Daylight or soft window light
• A plain or lightly busy background
• Nothing covering your face

It also has a technical job. Where Tinder's face photo rule applies, your profile stays hidden until the app can find a face, and the help center says well-lit close-ups work best. That's exactly what makes a good first photo anyway.

If you can't choose between two lead photos, Tinder's Smart Photos setting can test them for you.

What photos to put on Tinder for each goal

Your photos should match what you're looking for. A few quick adjustments:

• Something serious: lean on everyday photos: cooking, a walk, with family or friends. Fewer party photos.
• Meeting people while traveling: a recent photo in the city you're in helps, but keep a clear face photo first.
• Shy about photos: fewer, better photos. Three strong ones beat six forced ones.
• Changed recently: new haircut, beard or weight change? Replace older photos first; they'll also cause trouble with photo verification.

What not to put on Tinder

• A group photo first. People shouldn't have to work out which one you are.
• Only selfies. Tinder's own Photo Tips suggests swapping one of several similar selfies for a hobby photo.
• Heavy filters. Smoothed skin and enlarged eyes look fake and can make you look different from your verification selfie.
• Old photos. If you'd look different on the date, it starts things badly.
• Anything against the guidelines. Tinder's Community Guidelines rule out nudity, violent content, photos of unaccompanied minors (including you as a child) and other people's images posted without their consent.

For the order, look and a full list of photos that cost matches, see Tinder pictures. If the problem is quality rather than choice, Tinder blurry photos covers the fixes.

Missing a slot? Fill it from one selfie

The camera-roll sort above usually leaves one or two slots empty, most often the full-body shot, the place or the activity. DatingProfile's HyperReal™ method can fill them from one selfie (up to 4 for a closer likeness). Pick styles that match your actual life, like the beach, a round of golf or an evening in the city, and choose from 4 shots per style. The photos keep your real face; use the ones that look like you now and follow Tinder's rules on honest photos. Either pack is a single payment, $29 for up to 30 photos or $49 for up to 140, with a 14-day guarantee.