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Picture
Tips
One thing almost everyone will ask for when you first meet
online is a picture. Looks aren't everything, but it's always
better to put a face to the words before you have a lot of
time to build a mental image of the other person. Here's some
tips to make the most of your photos.
Photo Don'ts
No
Pixel-Heads! What's does that mean? That's when the picture
of you is so small, or taken from so far away that your head
is barely visible... thus the size of a pixel.
Tennessee
Tuxedo. Pictures are more than just faces. Your surroundings
and clothes tell a lot about who you are. Unless you are James
Bond, I highly doubt you walk around in a tuxedo every day.
So ditch those wedding pictures. Same goes for ladies in bridesmaid
dresses, but I've never met a woman who *liked* her bridesmaid
dress enough to want to send a picture of herself in it. (Pink
chiffon... nightmares... flashbacks... Aaaaaaaaaack!)
A
Group Thing? Don't send a pic of you with all your buds...
especially if you don't identify which one you are! Even if
you do... it's just not right to go around sending pictures
of your friends to people neither of you know. At very least,
ask your friend's permission before you send pictures of them.
Obstruction
Overload! Nix the caps and sunglasses. You can't really
see what a person looks like. I see a guy in a baseball hat
and shades, I wonder what the heck is he hiding underneath
all that!?! You start to look like the police sketch of the
Una-Bomber! Remember, you goal is to give a realistic impression
as to who are what you are all about.
Big
Scary Giant Heads! Your face should not take up the entire
monitor! I don't want to be able to count your pores and nosehairs!
Be
Kind To Bandwidth. Don't send great big pics that are
gonna take forever to download and eat up server and hard
drive space. Especially keep in mind if someone is using a
free email provider, such as Yahoo, they might only be limited
to a certain amount on their account. If they're getting a
lot of pictures sent to them, or just have a lot of mail stored,
you're going to jam their account if you sent mongo-huge pictures.
This might piss them off, and they might be more inclined
to delete you than write you back.
The
Ex-Files. Don't send a pic of you with your ex! There's
this wonderful tool out there... it's called "crop."
Use it. But watch out for mysterious hands that appear on
shoulders... Looks like you're visiting the Addams Family.
Let's
Do The Time Warp Again! Come on... if your high school
graduation picture is the most current pic you have, it's
time for a new one. Keep it at least somewhat current! You
don't want someone thinking you're still sporting that 1989
hairdo, do you? Get a recent picture. You want to make sure
they're going to recognize you when you meet.
Keep
It Clean! Please, no risque pics. Just think of Mahir
in his red Speedo. Is that the impression you want to give?
Besides, lots of people check the personals and read their
e-mail from work. I don't know about you, but I don't want
my boss walking by as some half naked beefcake is downloading
on my monitor!
Photography
101. I'm not expecting Ansel Adams here, but don't send
pics that are too dark, too bright, or too blurry. If it looks
like an example of a picture taken with the wrong film from
a Kodak commercial, don't send it.
Partying
Like It's 1999! I've gotten so many pictures of people
obviously completely anhilated. Do you really want the first
impression you give to be of you downing a bottle of tequila?
Trick
Or Treat?! I love Halloween. I love people who love Halloween.
But I don't want that picture of you in a costume to be the
only picture I have! Those would be great for a supplemental
picture... shows that you're a fun loving person, just don't
make it the ONLY picture. (Note: Pictures of guys in drag
is just scary, even if it is for Halloween.)
File
Facts: Some things you should know about digital images
Resolution:
Keep it at 72 dpi. That's the resolution of your monitor,
so anything more than that is overkill.
Size:
I like to keep an image less than 50K in size. As far as pixel
dimension... I think about 300x400 is a pretty good size.
Some folks out there have their monitors set to a 640x480
resolution, so a really big picture won't even fit on their
screen!
Type:
For most photos, jpegs work best. It doesn't have to be the
highest quality, either. I keep it midrange. Oh, and don't
send bitmaps. I don't want to get into file-type anatomy.
Just trust me on this one. Gifs are ok, but as far as full
color photos go, you'll get a better quality pic at a lower
file size with a jpeg.
Subject
matter: Just make sure you're clear and visible. That's
all I ask. Here's a good "rule of thumb" you can
use. If you can cover your face with your thumb, it's probably
too small!
Editing:
If you love Photoshop as much as I do, the temptation
to correct pictures is almost irresistible. I say, it's fine
to clean up pictures but don't alter yourself to the point
of being unrecognizable. Hey, I could give myself full pouty
lips, a perfect button nose, and huge twinkling eyes, but
that just wouldn't be me.
But
I don't have a picture...
Ugh...
I wish I had a dime for every time I read that. We're not
talking about rocket science here, folks! The technology required
to send an electronic picture is NOT some unattainable goal.
Scanners and webcams can be had for as little as $50, and
digital cameras start as low as $100. Even if you do not have
a one of these devices, you PROBABLY know someone who does.
If not, then you can get normal film developed onto a disc
at any photo developing lab. Heck, they do it at Wal-Mart!
So, stop whining and complaining that you don't have a picture
to send and get off your lazy butt and get one. Don't expect
to meet someone without letting them see your picture. Don't
expect someone to give you their home address so you can mail
a picture, or stash the picture in a super-secret location
so they can pick it up. Just do it.
How
to send a picture...
Many
personal ad sites don't let you attach a picture file to the
e-mail, but that does not mean that you can't send a picture.
You can easily send a link to a picture if you have one uploaded
onto the internet. To do this, you would need to have server
space. Most ISP's offer free space to their customers, but
if you do not know how to do this, you can always sign up
for a Geocities account, or a smiliar free webspace provider.
It's really easy to make a homepage on these sites, and they
have great instructions.
If
you have a webpage with a picture of yourself on it, you have
two choices: 1) send a link to the site, or 2) send a link
to the picture. I only ask that if you send a link to the
site, make sure the picture is on the home page. But I beg
you, don't say, "Go to www.whatever.com, then click on
the side bar that says 'Pictures,' then go to the bottom of
that page and you'll see a link to Bob and Jan's Wedding,
then click on that and scroll to the bottom of that page,
and click on the link to 'wedding party,' and I'm the fifth
one from the left in the top row on the third picture on the
page."
Don't
laugh. I've gotten similar instructions!
If
you have the person's e-mail address, it's easy to send a
picture. Just make sure that 1) The picture is in a format
that all computers can read. Jpegs are best. 2) It's not such
an enormous file size that it's going to jam up anyone's system.
Anything under 100K is alright. 3) It will actually *fit*
on a person's monitor. No one wants to be able to print out
your picture and use it as a wall mural!
Follow
the directions for your mail program for sending attachments.
Word of warning: AOL users should note that the "insert
a picture" (or whatever they're calling it these days)
option for their mail service is not compatible with anything
other than other AOL users. In short... don't use it.
Picture
Tips
©
2003 Lorina.Net
Lorina
is the webmaster and administrator of this site, as well as
numerous other online dating and personal ad resources such
as Dating Advice
Forums and Dating
Review.
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