Unfortunately looks do matter. A photo is the first thing a person sees on your profile. First impressions carry the most weight with dating apps. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter how you look in person if you don’t photograph decently. Plenty of people look better in person than in their photos which doesn’t help their case on dating apps.

You want to use at least 4 pictures but no more than 6 for a dating profile. The more photos you post the more harshly you will be judged i.e. you are only as good looking as your worst photo. With that said, some dating apps like Hinge require you to have exactly 6 photos.

Some people who are attractive can get away with it but largely you should not do this. It’s immature, tacky and generally used to distract others from your sub-par photos.

You want versatility in your photos to highlight environments, situations, fashion sense and lifestyle. Avoid shirtless bathroom selfies and other automatic left swipe photo. Dressing for the person you want to attract is what you should aim for (instead of dressing for comfort).

We all have that one ridiculous angle that makes us look like we're Angelina Jolie in her prime (which was Firefox, BTW), and that's great, but if this person can't recognize you when you meet in person because in person you look more like Wednesday Addams, choose another photo. That said, it's still cool to leave at least one of those angles up in there. (Look, I can't help it if I look really great up close because it makes my eyes look like I'm in a Japanese cartoon).

I am a big supporter of selfies. If they make you feel sexy and happy, take 'em every second. However, photos can also be used to showcase more of your personality, which is great if you're not as good at describing yourself as you are at taking photos of yourself doing awesome things with your cool friends. Or if you're like me, taking photos in a photo booth at a craft fair. Either way.

You're just starting out, so it's OK to only reveal a little bit because you have no idea who these people are or how this thing works and it's kind of scary! Just write what you'd feel comfortable sharing with a stranger at a bar.