5 seriously good questions to ask yourself before heading to your dating photo shoot
You’ve taken the step to invest some time, effort and money into a dating photo shoot but you haven’t got the first clue how to make it count. You’ve never done anything like this before, right? And it’s right outside your comfort zone. That’s OK, that’s OK, good stuff happens outside that comfort zone. To help you prepare for your shoot though, I’ve pulled together the five key questions you need to ask yourself to help you prepare like a rockstar for your shoot. Grab a pen and get stuck in.
How can I rock my confidence?
People who feel comfortable in their skin are generally much happier when online dating because they don’t take everything to heart and they’re just enjoying the experience for what it is without too many expectations. But even more crucially, confident people are often seen as the most attractive people, no matter what they actually look like. This is great news. It means you don’t need to be the hottest person on the web to attract great people. You just need to nurture some rock solid self-belief. Our top three tips for indestructible self belief are:
- Care less about what others think
- Manage your inner critic
- Think back to that time when you were on fire and channel that
But if you’re really struggling with this area, it is well worth investing more time in. I’d recommend grabbing a copy of You are a Badass by Jen Sincero for starters.
What message do I want to share about myself?
I ran a recent Twitter poll to find out what people think is more important in a dating profile photo – looks or vibe. And guess what, 100% choose vibe! Vibes are the emotional signals a person gives out to those around them with their body language and social interactions, so it makes sense that they’d be critical in dating photos as dating is all about finding a strong emotional connection. While showing people what you look like is obviously a crucial factor in your photos, you can let them know what kind of person you are by what you’re wearing, what you’re holding, what you’re doing and where you are. When people look at your photos, they aren’t just finding out what you look like, they’re figuring out, often subconsciously, who you are as a person and what kind of life you lead. When you get together with someone, you’re basically merging lifestyles with someone else so you need to know that your lives are going to mesh well together.
How can I ensure I’m camera ready?
Prepare for your dating photo shoot as though you’re going to bump into that one ex – you know the one – the one you secretly want to win back. Picture exactly how you would like to look when you bump into that elusive ex, and that, my friend, is the quickest way to figure out how you should prepare. You only get that one chance to impress the ex. Make it count.
How can I show people what makes me different or special?
Dating profiles are most meaningful when they help you stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons. Most dating profiles and accompanying photos are cookie-cutter versions of each other. You, however, are so much better than that, that’s how you found your way to the blog of a dating photography agency, after all. Use your photos as a great opportunity to show people, not only that you’re confident, look good and have a great vibe but also what makes you stand out from others. What are your passions, obsessions that make you uniquely you? Think about how you might incorporate clues about them into your photos in clever way. Having a chat with your photographer about this might spark some ideas.
How can I make it go well?
The best way to make your dating photo shoot go well, is to actually just relax and have fun with your photographer. So if all else fails just relax and go with the flow. At the heart of all good portrait photography, if you strip everything away, is just two people connecting. A good photographer will know this and take the lead. But you can help too. Be curious about them, find out whether you have any shared passions and interests. Just the act of talking about shared passions together will make the connection between you strong and the photographs will be much more powerful for it.
At the end of the day, if you can find a way to enjoy this shared experience and just have a laugh, you will get the mood just right for dating photos.
Words and photos by Saskia for Hey Saturday
