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printerboy
Posts: 4 | Thanks: 2
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2022 9:37 pm
Goal: Get Laid
Age: 28

Sun Aug 14, 2022 1:06 pm

Hey everyone, this is my first New Topic post!

I'd really appreciate feedback on my photos! You will find two folders in the attached Google Drive: "current" and "new". The "current" folder has the photos in my dating profile. I used a profile that had photos similar to the "current" folder to find a LTR a couple years ago. The "new" photos are ones that I am considering adding to my profile.

My main questions are: which of these photos are usable? And, which should I make my first photo? I will to pay for professional touchup on the ones we like. Also, happy to hear feedback on fashion, looks, etc... I'm far from an expert in online dating so feel free to give your honest feedback - I'm eager to learn!

More about me: After my long term relationship ended earlier this year, I started going out regularly. Since then, I have one nightgame close. I also have two pulls from Bumble but closed neither. I live in San Francisco and am a Software Engineer.

Thanks again - this is an awesome community. Looking forward to contributing!
Last edited by printerboy on Wed Oct 05, 2022 5:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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pancakemouse
Posts: 1768 | Thanks: 1053
Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2021 4:14 pm
Goal: Master cold approach
Age: 33

Sun Aug 14, 2022 1:31 pm

16

and

either 15 or 10

are both better than your current options.

---

You would have much greater benefit, though, from a complete makeover and transformation, then getting professional photos from there. That is the only way to truly succeed in San Francisco (speaking from 7 years of experience living in the Bay).

I would start by shaving your head completely with an actual razor (like a Gillette Fusion) every day.

Then you need to upgrade your style (@Radical here has a style thread that should get you started).

Then you should add 5-10lbs of muscle.

Then do a photoshoot.
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Bman
Posts: 812 | Thanks: 1234
Joined: Sat May 21, 2022 11:26 am
Name: Brandon
Goal: Get Laid
Age: 30
Motto: Pursue Purpose
Location: Austin, TX

Sun Aug 14, 2022 6:08 pm

First, welcome man. Congrats on the nightgame pull and getting some dates from Bumble.

For the photos I'll try and point out why they are good, bad, or could better so you can start judging these for yourself as you take more. Please note I'm not ripping on you or judging you. I'm judging the photos and trying to help you understand what good photos are so you can have better success.

Current
A - Ok IF this is all you had to use.
B - Bad. One eye is a little lazy, face needs shaved, need better outfit, and better posture.
C - Funny, but will turn some girls off due to controversy which is fine, but limits your options and ideally you want as many options as possible in the beginning. Also recommend only having one "funny" type photo on your profile.
D - Ok. Its at least a hobby shot. But it would be better if you were riding it in an action shot or you had your helmet off, leaning on the snowmobile in a masculine pose. Think badass biker dude leaning on a motorcycle.
E - Interesting, but bad. Avoid close up selfies of your face like this.
F - Bad. Bad expression and basic, average guy looking.

New
1 - Bad. Bad outfit, bad angle, and feet are weird. But getting a shot with your dog is a great idea. Your dog is smaller so you could get a good one outside with the dog on your shoulders or playing with the dog. Google "dog and male model" and you will get the idea.
2 - Bad. Too far away. Poor outfit. This could be better if you were wearing a laid back "cabana boy" type outfit and had some friends in the shot, saying your a laid back dude who likes to have a good time.
3 - Bad. Weird facial expression. Poor outfit.
4 & 5- Bad. Face is a bit out of focus. Weird camera angle.
6 - Ok. If you were wearing a more stylish outfit and set the depth of the camera so the background was more blurred, this could be better. Additionally fixing the lighting in post edit would help. This one is better than the others as you have a more hard, masculine look on your face.
7 - Ok. Better outfit, better facial expression. Follow the advice of 6. Avoid having dumpsters or anything with a negative association in the background. Also in these walking photos, take multiple shots continuously so that you eventually get one where your whole body is in focus. Here your foot is out of focus, which is not a big deal, but does improve the photo.
8 & 9 - Bad. Slightly out of focus.
10 - Good. Decent outfit, stance is ok. Take the phone out of your pocket before taking the photo though. I would also crop this down to be closer to you. If you edit this adjusting lighting, contrast, and saturation, the background will be more interesting.
11 - Bad. Bad pose, head is too far forward.
12 & 13 - Ok.
14 - Bad. Weird facial expression. Also looks like you don't know what to do with your hands.
15 - Ok. Follow previous advice.
16 - Ok. Would be better without the weird camera angle.
17 - Bad. Weird facial expression and you started to slump your posture from the previous photo in 16.
18 - Bad. Bad color filter and focus.
19 - Ok. If this was the only social photo you had to use, it's ok. But you do look a tiny bit chubby in this and teeth are a bit yellow. You could edit those things and fix it up, and it would be an ok social shot. But it would be better to just get a better photo.

Recommendations
I'd recommend that you do photoshoot with a good photographer NOW and after following @pancakemouse's advice, preferably one that shoots for dating profiles or lifestyle/instagram brands and not just a portrait photographer. You will get what you pay for, so don't be too stingy here.

You could stand to gain some muscle, but no reason you need to wait on getting better photos now while you build muscle for a few months. My assumption being that as a software engineer in SF and the car in your photos, you can afford to do two photoshoots.

Your other option is to buy your own camera and continsously keep taking photos. A lot of them. 1000's of them. If you enjoy photography and want to learn the craft, then take this route. If you just want photos to get laid, hire a photographer for a few different shoots.

As for style, I will let the more stylish veterans weigh in here, but here are couple points.
  • The outfits in 7 & 10 are decent compared to the rest. @Radical is also the expert on hats, so be sure to check out his content.
  • Stay away from graphic tees, unless you are making a specific statement or attracting a specific archetype of girl. For example, in one of my photos (See below) I'm wearing a band graphic tee. However, it matches the rest of my archetype of a rocker/badboy vibe with the long hair, beard, and tattoos. This attracts one of the types of girls I like which is alt girls with tats, piercings, ect.
Brandon-16.jpg
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printerboy
Posts: 4 | Thanks: 2
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2022 9:37 pm
Goal: Get Laid
Age: 28

Mon Aug 15, 2022 5:36 am

pancakemouse wrote:
Sun Aug 14, 2022 1:31 pm
16

and

either 15 or 10

are both better than your current options.

---

You would have much greater benefit, though, from a complete makeover and transformation, then getting professional photos from there. That is the only way to truly succeed in San Francisco (speaking from 7 years of experience living in the Bay).

I would start by shaving your head completely with an actual razor (like a Gillette Fusion) every day.

Then you need to upgrade your style (@Radical here has a style thread that should get you started).

Then you should add 5-10lbs of muscle.

Then do a photoshoot.
Greatly appreciate your feedback! I'll get those photos touched-up. Your action plan makes a lot of sense. Expect a follow up post in a couple months with a new set of professionally taken photos. Will post any other results I get in the meantime.

Btw, I found Killyourinnerloser through your blog. It's been super informative, and I shared it with a couple friends as well. SF really forces you to be on top of your game due to the ratio and overall vibe of the city. A couple weeks back I was out in LES in NYC - different ballgame.

Thanks!
Last edited by printerboy on Mon Aug 15, 2022 6:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
printerboy
Posts: 4 | Thanks: 2
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2022 9:37 pm
Goal: Get Laid
Age: 28

Mon Aug 15, 2022 6:00 am

Bman wrote:
Sun Aug 14, 2022 6:08 pm
First, welcome man. Congrats on the nightgame pull and getting some dates from Bumble.

For the photos I'll try and point out why they are good, bad, or could better so you can start judging these for yourself as you take more. Please note I'm not ripping on you or judging you. I'm judging the photos and trying to help you understand what good photos are so you can have better success.

Current
A - Ok IF this is all you had to use.
B - Bad. One eye is a little lazy, face needs shaved, need better outfit, and better posture.
C - Funny, but will turn some girls off due to controversy which is fine, but limits your options and ideally you want as many options as possible in the beginning. Also recommend only having one "funny" type photo on your profile.
D - Ok. Its at least a hobby shot. But it would be better if you were riding it in an action shot or you had your helmet off, leaning on the snowmobile in a masculine pose. Think badass biker dude leaning on a motorcycle.
E - Interesting, but bad. Avoid close up selfies of your face like this.
F - Bad. Bad expression and basic, average guy looking.

New
1 - Bad. Bad outfit, bad angle, and feet are weird. But getting a shot with your dog is a great idea. Your dog is smaller so you could get a good one outside with the dog on your shoulders or playing with the dog. Google "dog and male model" and you will get the idea.
2 - Bad. Too far away. Poor outfit. This could be better if you were wearing a laid back "cabana boy" type outfit and had some friends in the shot, saying your a laid back dude who likes to have a good time.
3 - Bad. Weird facial expression. Poor outfit.
4 & 5- Bad. Face is a bit out of focus. Weird camera angle.
6 - Ok. If you were wearing a more stylish outfit and set the depth of the camera so the background was more blurred, this could be better. Additionally fixing the lighting in post edit would help. This one is better than the others as you have a more hard, masculine look on your face.
7 - Ok. Better outfit, better facial expression. Follow the advice of 6. Avoid having dumpsters or anything with a negative association in the background. Also in these walking photos, take multiple shots continuously so that you eventually get one where your whole body is in focus. Here your foot is out of focus, which is not a big deal, but does improve the photo.
8 & 9 - Bad. Slightly out of focus.
10 - Good. Decent outfit, stance is ok. Take the phone out of your pocket before taking the photo though. I would also crop this down to be closer to you. If you edit this adjusting lighting, contrast, and saturation, the background will be more interesting.
11 - Bad. Bad pose, head is too far forward.
12 & 13 - Ok.
14 - Bad. Weird facial expression. Also looks like you don't know what to do with your hands.
15 - Ok. Follow previous advice.
16 - Ok. Would be better without the weird camera angle.
17 - Bad. Weird facial expression and you started to slump your posture from the previous photo in 16.
18 - Bad. Bad color filter and focus.
19 - Ok. If this was the only social photo you had to use, it's ok. But you do look a tiny bit chubby in this and teeth are a bit yellow. You could edit those things and fix it up, and it would be an ok social shot. But it would be better to just get a better photo.

Recommendations
I'd recommend that you do photoshoot with a good photographer NOW and after following @pancakemouse's advice, preferably one that shoots for dating profiles or lifestyle/instagram brands and not just a portrait photographer. You will get what you pay for, so don't be too stingy here.

You could stand to gain some muscle, but no reason you need to wait on getting better photos now while you build muscle for a few months. My assumption being that as a software engineer in SF and the car in your photos, you can afford to do two photoshoots.

Your other option is to buy your own camera and continsously keep taking photos. A lot of them. 1000's of them. If you enjoy photography and want to learn the craft, then take this route. If you just want photos to get laid, hire a photographer for a few different shoots.

As for style, I will let the more stylish veterans weigh in here, but here are couple points.
  • The outfits in 7 & 10 are decent compared to the rest. @Radical is also the expert on hats, so be sure to check out his content.
  • Stay away from graphic tees, unless you are making a specific statement or attracting a specific archetype of girl. For example, in one of my photos (See below) I'm wearing a band graphic tee. However, it matches the rest of my archetype of a rocker/badboy vibe with the long hair, beard, and tattoos. This attracts one of the types of girls I like which is alt girls with tats, piercings, ect.
Brandon-16.jpg
Thank you so much for the detailed feedback!! I intentionally posted a lot of photos with a variety of expressions/outfits because I wasn't sure what is "good". Your explanations help me get a sense of not just which photos to choose now, but how to take better ones in the future!

Your feedback on facial expressions is particularly useful. I will keep this in mind for future photoshoots. Also, in nightgame, I find I am witty and understand the principles of "good game", when to venue change etc.., but I want to work on my expressions / tonality / body language. How you present yourself is so important

It definitely doesn't hurt to improve my photos while I simultaneously build muscle and improve my fashion etc... I would like to learn more about photography, but will probably go the professional route because I don't have time to learn atm.

Thanks for the fashion advice as well. You make a great point about graphic tees, and I already started looking into @Radical 's content.

In the short term, I'll update my online profiles to see what kind of improvements I can get. Over the next couple months, I'll execute the long term plan we talked about and then do a follow up professional photoshoot. Will post updates. Again, I greatly appreciate your feedback!
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