Welcome to Part 2 of our explanation of Tindering in Korea. Our topic today is pictures. Just like Part 1, this will have one style from Julius and then a different style from me. Let us know which ideas best fit your style by sending an email here!
PICTURES
JULIUS: Arguably the most arbitrary reason for which direction we swipe on a person and likely why we use tinder are because of their profile pictures. This is what will determine 99% of a woman’s interest in you. Just as how we judge them for their pictures and swipe, they do the same albeit at a much harsher rate. For my friends that complain about their lack of success on tinder is usually due to the quality and content of their pictures. Since tinder allows you to connect your Facebook profile, be sure to choose your best pictures. Ensure success by making your profile picture your best picture. Like any dating website, your profile picture is what you use to get their attention and what usually leaves a lasting impression. So make it the one that counts the most. Make it interesting. How? Being in South Korea shows that you’ve probably traveled to other places and seen some interesting things. Put a picture of you standing in front of a palace or other historical monuments. Been to another country? Show pictures of yourself visiting those places. I’ve used photos of myself visiting Japan and Thailand to garner interest and help with conversation with a match. Make yourself look interesting doing things most people have never done before, like mountain hiking or posing in one of Asia’s many skyscrapers with a sweeping view of the city behind you. Try to stand out from the usual shirtless-beer-drinking-guy-at-the-mudfest crowd.
Most people don’t bother looking at your other pictures, so you definitely want your profile picture to be the one to stand out. If they don’t immediately swipe right, at the very least you’ll get them interested enough to look at your other pictures.
Now, these pictures cannot be any of the following: bathroom selfies, car selfies, tiger selfies, fedoras, Myspace angles, shirtless selfies and group photos. Here’s why. Bathroom selfies are unimaginative and gross. That’s where you take a dump and shower. Why take a picture in there? Every basic guy has a car selfie. Women get it, you’re a proud owner of a Hyundai. Tiger temples are neat and offer a unique experience, but everyone posts a picture next to a tiger thinking they’re the first. People will think, “Cool story bro, real original!” simply because it’s so common. Fedoras are bad fashion and an example of what you shouldn’t wear in your picture. Myspace angles have been run to the ground and are only used by tweens nowadays. Shirtless selfies scream, “My personality sucks, but my body is great!” Not to mention that the immediate impression you leave will be of a douchebag. Never use group photos, especially as your main profile picture. As I mentioned before, most people don’t bother to look at your other pictures. So they won’t trouble themselves to see who you actually are in the group photo you posted. It also confuses people, as I’ve seen women cleverly post multiple group photos to keep you guessing as to who they are. Most of the time it just leads to disappointment and a guaranteed left swipe when you see that they’re the least attractive one in the group.
JACK: In my estimation, your picture is only important insofar as it can generate interest from the type of girl you’re trying to attract. As long as your picture generates some interest about you, it’s fine.
We’ve all seen too much of the same stuff in Tinder pictures, and so have the girls who you’re trying to convince to swipe right for you.
Travel pictures? Done. Gym photos? Boring. City view, at a tourist attraction, or (God forbid) holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa? She’s going to swipe left, and she’s even taking a shit at the time.
Every kind of ‘cool’ picture is incredibly overdone here. You’re in a country across the world from your hometown, so you’re already in a group of rather adventurous people who like to travel. They aren’t going to be very impressed unless you have a picture of yourself at the summit of Everest.
Instead, I tend to go a bit more low-key. For a while, my profile picture was just a candid shot of me playing guitar in a park and a small audience watching. I’m not dressed up, I’m not doing anything amazing, I didn’t put any fancy filters on it. It got much better responses than other ‘cool’ photos.
Some people say you need to get some pictures professionally done, and if you’re vain enough to do it then go for it. It can’t hurt, but I’m also not convinced that it will help that much. There is basic photography advice floating around online that will help more. Candid shots tend to do better than posed shots, not close to the camera but close enough that your face is visible, engaging in some kind of activity, things like that.
More important than the actual picture though is that you are thinking about your target audience. If you’re honestly looking for someone who’s into mountain biking with you, then a shot of you doing that activity is perfectly fine. The same is true of bathroom selfies. I’m not here to judge.
When I had that park picture up, I wasn’t looking for club sluts. I was looking for a chilled out kind of girl who would enjoy an evening out in a dive bar listening to some shitty local band play. I tailored my picture to the type of girl I wanted at the time.
You need to be honest with yourself about what type of girl you’re looking for on Tinder and tailor your profile to best attract them. If you’re looking for someone who’s going to come over and blow you tonight, you need to put up the kinds or pictures and statements that will attract that girl. And by the way, if that’s what you want, just swipe right on white girls. They’re always down for it.
Stay tuned for Part 3 coming soon – Messages!
Leave a Reply