Dating applications aren’t designed for you to meet your soulmate– quite the opposite. They’re designed to keep you mindlessly swiping until your fingers callous and your eyes dry out. To help reduce your monthly Visine budget, I’ve cherry picked some of the best Hinge picture examples for guys that will increase your match rate.

Ya see, if apps were truly effective they’d make no money because three months after signing up users would log off the app because they’d found a partner. Don’t believe me, fine, then explain to me why 50% of Tinder users have never even gone on a date with someone they’ve matched with?

While dating apps claim to connect singles with compatible partners, they’re really just digital dating games that rarely materialize in dates. Well, at least most apps are.

Hinge, however, claims to be different. Its famous slogan “the dating app designed to be deleted” captures its ethos brilliantly.

Hinge is one of the fastest growing dating apps in the US with downloads growing more than 100% from 2018 to 2019. Part of its more recent rise can be attributed to former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s revealing that he met his now-husband on the app. Downloads tripled from the second to the third quarter of 2019 after the former South Bend mayor told the news of his love affair with the application.

But an endorsement from a former Democratic presidential candidate isn’t the only reason Hinge is doing well. Singles see the app’s merit.

Hinge is different from Tinder, Bumble, Facebook Dating, and other dating apps for a number of reasons. The chief being that the app leverages your social network to find you dates. It plays on the old school way of setting people up by connecting you with friends of your Facebook friends.

Gone are the days of asking your buddy if he has any friends that he can set you up with. Hinge has optimized and digitized this way of mining for dates and according to my clients, it does it quite well.

While Hinge claims to be the only dating app designed to be deleted, it still looks, feels, and operates like many other dating apps. By this, I primarily mean that it’s superficial. The single most important aspect of your profile for singles scrolling through the app will still be your profile pictures.

To create the best profile possible we’ll detail 18 Hinge picture examples for guys that are proven to score you more likes.

Hinge Picture Examples for Guys: The 6 Must-Haves

1. The Closely Cropped Headshot

As with a professional resume, the most important information always comes first.

When it comes to dating apps, that information pertains to your face. She wants to know what you look like. Sure she cares about the size of your calves and if you have pecs, but significantly more important is what your face looks like. There will be time later on to show off your calves and pecs, but for the moment give her what she wants; a close-up headshot of your face.

If you think I’m suggesting a closely cropped headshot for your first Hinge photo you’re wrong, I’m demanding it.

Posting a group picture or one where your face is slightly blurry won’t even persuade her to view the rest of your profile. The average female Hinge user spends just a few seconds on a profile before swiping passing or liking a profile. There’s no time to waste with doggy photos or shirtless beach pics.

It’s understandable if you don’t trust that a headshot is a go-to first Hinge photo. You’re probably a rational analytical person that wants data to back up such a claim. Fine.

Hinge recently found that men that faced forward in headshot photos were 102% more likely to receive a like than the average photo.

Heed this advice. It’s not the best looking guy that always gets the girl, it’s the guy that puts together the best profile that does so.

The average female scrolls through dating apps with certain questions in mind. Questions like, how cute is this guy, is that his real hair, will he dismember me on a first date and feed my limbs to a pack of wolves? The guy that will get the most matches is the guy that answers these questions.

Women want men to address the mystery that comes with meeting a stranger. Once this mystery is addressed she’ll begin to feel safe. If you don’t make her feel safe, she’ll never agree to a first date.

A smile, high res photo, good lighting, and close up headshot can go along way in endearing yourself to a stranger scrolling through Hinge for her next heartbreaker.

2. The Full Body Physique Photo

The question of, “what does he look like” can’t be truly answered until she sees a full-body shot.

Close up headshots are great, but not if they’re the only type of photo you have in your arsenal. Continue to answer her questions regarding your appearance by posting at least one Hinge pic that captures your entire body.

If you’re not comfortable with your body, that’s okay… but you’ll still have to post a full-body shot. She’s not going to go out with you if you refuse to reveal certain aspects of your physique.

This guy nailed it.

All a quality Hinge photo needs to do is capture yourself dressed moderately well while showcasing most of your body and a smile along with a cool background. If you don’t have dozens of these photos in your library, it’s time to hit the park with a friend and snap a few.

Context is everything and then some.

Posting a full-body shot is one thing. Posting a full body shot while running a race through the heart of San Francisco is another. Ya see, a female Hinge user won’t just want to know how you look, she’ll also want to know who you are.

This photo clearly tells her that the guy above is fit, likes to race, probably lives in SF, and is ambitious. This photo will appeal to women looking for men with these characteristics. Imagine if this user simply decided to post a photo of himself smiling while leaning against a white background. The former photo offers much more information than the latter does.

Whenever you’re puzzled and don’t know which photo to upload, always choose the one that offers the most amount of information.

Women also love Hinge photos that show men playing sports. The same Hinge study previously cited found that athletic photos are 45% more likely to receive a like than the average Hinge photo.

3. The Hobby Shot Photo

Christopher Todd is an online dating photographer that has taken thousands of photos that have been swiped right on.

When it comes to creating a Hinge-worthy profile, he has two key pieces of advice.

The first has to do with, well, your face.

A cute face might be enough to score you a first date, but you shouldn’t rely on it.

Compared to Bumble and Tinder users, Hinge singles are much more interested in starting serious relationships than swapping spit with some dude with a cute face that they met on some app. Perhaps on Hinge more so than other dating apps it’s vital that users show who they are.

You could merely just write that you’re a photographer that spends each Sunday morning strolling through the streets snapping photos of strangers, or you could literally show her your hobby by posting a photo about it.

Regardless of how odd your hobby might be, you need to post it.

Associating yourself with a hobby humanizes your profile. Like all dating apps, Hinge has a way of minimizing who you are. Combat this by showing her that you’re a unique individual that has his own likes, dislikes, and ways to spend his time outside of dating apps.

The above I’d rank in the category of “good hinge photos for guys, not great.” It’s because something it’s missing something. That something would be context.

As we’ve mentioned, context is best provided via a background. I’d assume the guy above is taking a break after climbing to the summit of a local mountain -but I can’t be sure. Make sure the background says just as much about who you are as your written bio.

What sets you apart from other men?

Is it your ability to run marathons, your propensity for baking banana bread whether there’s a pandemic or not, or your sick drum skills? Whatever the case may be, use your photos to stand out and humanize yourself.

Oh and by the way, every woman loves a musician. This isn’t personal opinion, it’s just a fact. Don’t leave those music photos in your library collecting digital dust, show them off and boast a little bit.

4. The Animal Lover Shot

Women love men that know how to take care of others. It doesn’t matter if they’re children, plants, or pets, women just love when a guy steps up to the plate and cares for another living thing. That being said, dog pics are going to get you more likes than plant pics will.

Just make sure you’re not dogfishing. Dogfishing is when you lead a female to think you have a puppy before revealing that Spot there is your buddy’s dog. It doesn’t sound that bad, but it makes you kind of a liar.

If you leveraged the doggy pic to score a first date it means that you hooked a single female because of a lie. Don’t be the guy that has to awkwardly reveal that he stole his friend’s dog to look more appealing on Hinge.

Your dogs awesome and stuff, but let’s remember that this is your profile. Never let your hobby, dog, or friend take center stage.

The photo above does a great job of keeping the viewer’s attention centered on his face while still scoring brownie points for posing with his k-9 companion.

It’s a dog eat dog world, especially when it comes to dating.

Posting a dog-pic is pure online dating gold. A 2018 social experiment found that men that swapped out their first profile picture for one that included a dog saw a 38% increase in the number of matches. Why not give it a try?

5. The Social Shot

Social pictures are great depending on the roster slot they’re slipped into.

For example, group shots should never be used as the first profile picture. Reason being, how the hell am I supposed to tell who is who if there are more than two people in the picture? It’s impossible to say with any certainty who Stacy is if there are also five other women in the photo. This is why social pics shouldn’t be used first, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be used at all.

Uploading a social pic shows that other humans like you. That’s pretty important when she’s trying to decide whether you’re first date material or not.

Social pictures must be leveraged, even the ones where it looks like you’re a Westworld extra.

One or two social pics are recommended. Try to offer something new in both pictures. For example, if you’re singing a karaoke duet in one photo, don’t be singing a wedding duet in another. Each photo should provide the viewer with fresh information.

Don’t settle for the first group shot you find in your phone’s library. Gather and consider 3 group shots before posting. It’s this restraint that will help you create a badass Hinge profile.

6. The GQ Shot

Women and men alike are attracted to status symbols. Of course, she’s more interested in the guy wearing a suit than the dude in the grey t-shirt (unless your last name is Zuckerberg).

Women have evolved to value status. And even if this feature wasn’t a part of female evolution, our culture still places great importance on what car you drive, clothes you wear, and watch you don. Worried that your bling will attract women solely out for your money? No worries, MegaDating will help you weed them out.

Any photo that has the combination of a GQ outfit, smile, close-up headshot, and eye contact is a winner.

That background!

Sure this guy is at a cheesy wedding destination, but the combination of the smile, style, and background make for a quality Hinge photo. Being that the GQ shot is one of the most appealing you don’t want it languishing as your final Hinge photo. Rather, make sure this one is placed among your first three photos.

Hinge Pictures for Guys…. That Women Will Ignore

Scary Muscle Photos

This is the perfect shot… for Instagram.

This shot doesn’t say sexy, nice, or trustworthy, it says I snort protein powder in gym locker rooms.

Keep your shirt on, smile, and count the matches as they roll on in. Otherwise, she’ll think you’re a killer…..

Selfies

Save the selfies for Snapchat.

The same Hinge study referenced prior found that selfies are 40% less likely to be liked than the average Hinge photo. That number soars to 90% for bathroom selfies.

Not Smiling in Your Photos

This photo has so many good qualities. It has a jungle backdrop, we can clearly see the subject’s face, but there’s just one crucial ingredient missing -a smile.

It’s only too easy to flex a smile for a prospective Hinge photo, so do it.

Forensic Files Photos

Save this photo for your photography portfolio.

Sure it looks cool and everything but we can’t even see half of this dude’s face. Most women won’t go out with a dude if they only know what half his face looks like.

Best Hinge Picture Examples for Guys: Conclusion

If you don’t have a library full of photos to choose from there are ways to remedy your situation.

The next few times you’re out and about just ask a friend to snap a few photos of you. After a few outings you should have enough Hinge worthy photos to choose from. If this isn’t enough for you, you can always hire a professional photographer.

Once you’ve narrowed your photos down to 10 or so, it’s time to run them through Photofeeler. That’s great and all that you think your photos are attractive but your opinion frankly doesn’t matter. Posting them to Photofeeler will have them graded by real females.

As you can see, there’s a lot to be pondered when choosing the perfect Hinge pics for your profile. If you need a helping hand, book a new client 1-on-1 Skype session with yours truly.

Together we’ll revamp your online dating profiles and create a dating plan that works for you. We’ll also spend time diagnosing your dating goals, creating an action plan, and determining if my 3 month coaching program could be a fit for you!!