A photo is critical if you are doing online dating. Here are some humourous tips, yet useful, tips I've lifted from Match.com

32 tricks to make your photo pop
By Sharon Schroeder

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. How about a thousand responses to your free profile?

Profiles with photos attract up to 15 times more attention, and two or three images may generate even more activity!

So the next time you search for local singles, keep in mind these 32 dos and don'ts for looking good.

1. If you are not extra lean and muscular, keep your shirt on
2. Don't have an arm slung around someone else's waist
3. Don't stand in front of a picture of a yacht — unless it's yours
4. Your close up should actually be close up
5. Don't let 'em see the red of your eyes
6. Don't squint
7. A crooked photo creates a crooked neck and nothing more
8. Do not show all of your tattoos
9. A look that screams come-hither might make your ad wither
10. Smile ... if you have your front teeth
11. Don't wear an outfit two sizes too small — you want them to take a second look, not cover their eyes
12. Wearing shades doesn't show off the sparkle in your baby blues
13. Blowing a kiss at the camera could blow your chances instead
14. Nix the group shot; you're the star here
15. Don't make your funny face or scrunch up your nose — only okay for a child of four
16. Use a recent photo; an oldie, in this case, is not a goodie
17. Lose the cowboy hat; let her see your beautiful bald head
18. Muscle shirt, no — unless you actually have them
19. Avoid side views unless your side is actually viewable
20. Don't chop off your head or cut off your midsection; it's hard to picture the whole you if dissected in two
21. A mountain range background is nice, but seeing you as a dot is not
22. Letting it all hang out is out
23. Today may be the day he clicks on your ad — a good incentive to give it your best shot
24. Adjust the color and resolution, cut, rotate, size adjust — whatever it takes, then insert photo and watch what happens
25. If the photo is not quite to your liking, snap a few more; it's worth a little
26. effort and time to change your life from one to two Don't use your mug shot, not very arresting
27. A 'Thinker' pose in a bathrobe ... what were you thinking?
28. A cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other signals a deadend
29. There are a lot of don'ts when choosing the right photo, like don't take it too seriously; let your uniqueness translate into a slick pic
30. Does your photo percolate? Ask a friend or two what they think
31. Be in a good mood; the camera will capture your perkiness
32. Primp, be stylish, casual, off beat, be yourself, be perky — a presentation worthy of many admirers

Well fabulous love lives have some rocky times. Accept it, I tell myself. So this spam email "Top 10 Mistakes Men Make With Women" try to sell help to ("hurtng/angry" males???) caught my cursory attention. Just repeated-not endorsed. Don't read if you believe that there is never any manipulation going in love and sexuak relationships. Sexes could easily have been changed in ttle and probably are by the report selling spammer.

... MISTAKE #1: Being Too Much Of A "Nice Guy" Have you ever noticed that the really attractive women never seem to be attracted "nice" guys? Of course you have. Just like me, I'm sure you've had attractive female friends that always seemed to date "jerks"... but for some reason they were never romantically interested in YOU. What's going on here? It's actually very simple... Women don't base their choices of men on how "nice" a guy is. They choose the men they do because they feel a powerful GUT LEVEL ATTRACTION for them. And guess what? Being nice doesn't make a woman FEEL that powerful ATTRACTION. And being NICE doesn't make a woman CHOOSE you. I realize that this doesn't make a lot of logical sense, and it's hard to ACCEPT... but GET OVER IT. Until you accept this FACT and begin to act on it, you'll NEVER have the success with women that you want.

MISTAKE #2: Trying To "Convince Her To Like You" What do most guys do when they meet a woman that they REALLY like... but she's just notinterested? Right! They try to "convince" the woman to feel differently. Well, I have news for you... YOU WILL NEVER CHANGE HOW A WOMAN "FEELS" WHEN IT COMES TO ATTRACTION! Never, ever, EVER. You cannot CONVINCE a woman to feel differently about you with "logic and reasoning". Think about it. If a woman doesn't "feel it" for you, how in the world do you expect to change that FEELING by being "reasonable" with her? But we all do it. When a woman just isn't interested, we beg, plead, chase, and do our best to change her mind.Bad idea. One that will never work.

MISTAKE #3: Looking To Her For Approval Or Permission In our desire to please women (which we mistakenly think will make them like us), us guys are always doing things to get a woman's "approval" or "permission". Another HORRIBLE idea. Women are NEVER attracted to the types of men who kiss up to them... EVER. Don't get me wrong here. You don't have to treat women BADLY for them tolike you. But if you think that treating a woman well means "always getting her approval and permission for things", think again. You will never succeed by looking for approval. Women actually get ANNOYED at men who seek their approval. Doubt me? Just ask any attractive woman if Wussy guys who chase her around and want her approval annoy her...

MISTAKE #4: Trying To "Buy" Her Affection With Food And Gifts How many times have you taken a woman out to a nice dinner, bought her gifts and flowers, and had her REJECT you for someone who didn't treat her even HALF as well as you did? If you're like me, then you've had it happen a LOT. Well guess what? It's only NATURAL when this happens... That's right, I said NATURAL.When you do these things, you send a clear message: "I don't think you'll like me for who I am, so I'm going to try to buy your attention and affection". Your good intentions usually come across to women as over-compensation for insecurity, and weak attempts at manipulation. That's right, I said that women see this as

MANIPULATION.MISTAKE #5: Sharing "How You Feel" Too Early In The Relationship With Her Another huge and unfortunate mistake that most men make with women is sharing how they "feel" too early on. Attractive women are rare. And they get a LOT of attention from men. Most men don't realize this, but attractive women are being approached in one way or another ALL THE TIME An attractive woman is often approached several times a DAY by men who are interested. This translate into dozens of times per week, and often HUNDREDS of times per month. And guess what? Attractive women have usually dated a LOT of men. That's right. They have EXPERIENCE. They know what to expect. And one thing that turns an attractive women off and sends her running away faster than just about anything is a guy who starts saying "You know, I really, REALLY like you" after one or two dates. This signals to the woman that you're just like all the other guys who fall for her too fast... and can't control themselves. Don't do it. Lean back. Relax. There's a much better way...

MISTAKE #6: Not "Getting" How Attraction Works For Women Women are VERY different from men when it comes to ATTRACTION. You need to accept this fact, and deal with it. When a man sees a beautiful, young, sexy woman, he INSTANTLY feels a sexual-attraction. But does the same apply for women? Do women feel sexual-attraction to men based mostly on looks? Or is something else going on? Well, after studying this topic for over five full years now, I can tell you that women usually have their "attraction mechanisms" triggered by things OTHER than looks. Have you ever noticed that you see a lot more average and unattractive men with beautiful women than the other way around? Think about it. Women are more attracted to certain qualities in men... and they're attracted to the way a man makes them FEEL than they are to looks alone. If you know how to use your body language and communication correctly, you can make women feel the same kind of powerful sexual attraction to you that YOU feel when you see a hot, sexy young woman. But it's not an accident. You have to LEARN how to do this. And ANY guy can learn how...

MISTAKE #7: Thinking That It Takes Money And Looks One of the most common mistakes that guys make isgiving up before they've even gotten started... because they think that attractive women are only interested in men who have looks and money... or guys who are a certain height... or guys who are a certain age. And sure, there are some women who are only interested in these things. But MOST women are far more interested in a man's personality than his wallet or his looks. There are personality traits that attract women like a magnet... And if you learn what they are and how to use them, YOU can be one of these guys. YOU DO NOT have to "settle" for a woman just because you aren't rich,tall, or handsome. Let me say this again: If you know how to use your body language and communication correctly, you can make women feel the same kind of powerful sexual attraction to you that YOU feel when you see a hot, sexy young woman.

MISTAKE #8: Giving Away All Of Your Power To Women Earlier I mentioned that it's a mistake to look to a woman for approval or permission. Well, another similar tactic that a lot of guys use is GIVING AWAY THEIR POWER to women. Said differently, guys try to get women to like them by doing whatever the woman wants. Another bad idea... Women are NEVER attracted to men that they can walk all over... Women aren't attracted to Wussies

!MISTAKE #9: Not Knowing EXACTLY What To Do In Each Type Of Situation With Women Now I'm going to blow your mind... A woman ALWAYS knows what you're thinking. Women are approximately TEN TIMES better than men at reading body language. That's ten TIMES. I know, it might be hard to believe. But for example, if you're out on a date with a woman, and you want to kiss her, she knows it. And if you don't know exactly what to do and exactly HOW to kiss her, and you just sit there looking at her and getting nervous, she won't help! And this goes for ALL aspects of women and dating... Approaching a woman, getting her number, asking her out, kissing her, getting physical... everything. If you don't know what to do in each situation, you will probably screw it up... and LOSE EVERYTHING. And you KNOW it. It is VITALLY important that you know EXACTLY how to go from one step to the next with a woman... from the first meeting, all the way to the bedroom.

MISTAKE #10: Not Getting HELP This is the biggest mistake of all. This is the mistake that keeps most men from EVER having the kind of success with women that they truly want. I know, guys don't like to make themselves look weak or helpless. We don't like to ask for help.


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