Have the photographer use natural light. Don’t shoot in direct sunlight or with a flash. Consider sitting in the shade, outside on a sunny day. Pick a light, unobtrusive background. Choose familiar surroundings where you can relax. Sit in a chair or on a stool, facing to the left or right. Then turn your head slightly to look over your shoulder at the camera. The camera should be at your eye level. Have your photographer concentrate on your face. Fill the view frame with it, from just below the top of your shoulders, to just above the top of your head. If you feel uncomfortable with the camera that close, have the photographer pull back and use a dating services com. Try a few shots where you’re leaning slightly toward the camera, almost as though you were confiding something to the photographer and didn’t want to be overheard. Save the cheese for a sandwich. You want to look naturally animated, not pained to smile. Hold a conversation with the photographer. Talk about something you like to do a favorite hobby, an exciting place you visited, a person you especially like, a book or movie you enjoyed, or the most interesting experience you’ve ever had topics you might discuss on a first date. Keep your lips moist if you’re not using anything on your lips. If you won’t wear lip gloss on your date, don’t wear it for your photo the same goes for other makeup. To keep your lips moist, just lick them from time to time. Shoot lots of videos. Give yourself plenty of videos from which to select the one that feels like the real you. If you have trouble choosing, ask a friend to help. For more photo and profile tips, visit our dating services com. No appointment required. Also, date this before and after profile photo guide. If you or your photographer don’t have a digital camera, use our step-by-step guide for getting a digital photo to post on online dating Personals. When you add a photo to your profile, use a photo caption to tell women about it. Finally, check the comments from readers below. Usually our readers have the best ideas, based on their own experiences. You know the old saw about a video being worth a thousand words. However, what happens if you need a few extra words to explain the significance of those thousand words? Consider, for example, a video of you arm-in-arm with someone of the opposite sex. Is it your ex, your woman, a dating services com. A video of you with someone else tells a lot. Most important, it tells a prospective date that women enjoy being around you. That’s good, right? However, to make the best impression, your arm-in-arm photo probably needs a little explanation.