If you're anything like most people, you probably think of your photos in terms of content: "Here’s me smiling. Here’s me looking tough. Here’s me in Hawaii with that wacky turtle." However, today we'll analyze photography from a numerical angle, discussing flash, focus, and aperture instead. Many don't consider these technical aspects when choosing a profile photo, yet, as OkCupid’s data reveals, their misuse can seriously mess you up.
The data comes from a study by OkCupid, one of the largest and most interesting datasets ever crunched. The dating site published a blog post in 2010 aggregating 11.4 million opinions on what makes a great photo. That blog post has been deleted for years, and some of it might be dated, but Wingman has recovered these fascinating findings.
OkCupid's Experiment:
- They collected 552,000 example user pictures.
- They paired them up and asked people to choose which of two users they’d rather date based on their photo.
- They collated millions of judgments with information like the time of day the picture was taken, shutter speed, and so on. Modern cameras embed this data in a special header called EXIF.
- OkCupid made graphs.
Here are the findings:
1. Panasonic > Canon > Nikon
Upgrading from a smartphone camera to a full-on dedicated camera is a good idea to make some of your pics stand out with quality and professionalism. The type and brand of camera you use significantly affects how good you look in your pictures. This is a plot of the most popular camera makes:
As you can see, the general trend is that more complex cameras take better photos. Interchangeable lens cameras (like digital SLRs) make people look more attractive than basic point-and-shoot cameras, and those, in turn, outperform camera phones. Kodak, however, seems to be an outlier. They may want to reconsider their sharing features.
Regardless of the specific brand, the "more complex is better" trend holds across all ages:
Also, an interesting fact—iPhone users have more sex.
And now we have statistical proof that iPhone users aren’t just getting fucked by Apple:
The chart pretty much speaks for itself. The data comes from 30-year-olds across the board, so it’s not a matter of older, more experienced users choosing one phone over another. As part of OkCupid's general camera-efficacy analysis, they discovered data on the number of sexual partners for 9,785 smartphone users. They dropped the data into Excel, and voila. Here’s the plot by age:
Everything in these studies is anonymized, and the names and actual photos are removed when OkCupid does this kind of research. Only the aggregate stats are visible. Now, let’s set aside brands and gadgets and dive into how purely photographic techniques can affect your precious face.
2. The Flash Adds 7 Years
This simple finding speaks for itself.
Soft light can hide wrinkles, blemishes, and red eyes. The harsh light from a flash, however, tends to highlight them. By tracing the red lines in the graph below, you can calculate the "aging" effects of a flash. For example, a 28-year-old using a flash looks as attractive as a 35-year-old who didn’t. The difference is clear.
Most flash exposures—even from SLRs—appear to be direct flashes, where the light fires directly at the subject, creating harsh shadows. If possible, use a flash that can bounce off the ceiling or walls for a much better effect.
3. Blot Out All Other Reality
OkCupid found that the best pictures have a shallow depth of field, meaning the subject is in sharp focus while the background is blurred. This creates a professional, visually appealing effect.
Rather than go into the weeds of the optics behind this effect, here's a simple explanation: A shallow depth of field comes from using a wide-open aperture, marked by low f-numbers like f/1.8 or f/2.2. For two photos taken at the same distance, a lower f-number produces a shallower depth of field.
OkCupid’s analysis also produced an interactive plot that shows how the f-number correlates with user-attractiveness scores, alongside examples of each photo type. For obvious reasons, they restricted this analysis to photos taken with cameras capable of a wide range of apertures.
In OkCupid's view, photos with low f-numbers appear more intimate and personal, which likely leads to better viewer responses.
4. There Are Peak Times to Take a Good Picture
Below is a distribution showing when users are most likely to take their pictures. It also highlights the sheer volume of photos OkCupid analyzed for this study:
But the more interesting question isn’t when people are taking photos—it’s when they’re taking their best ones:
Broadly speaking, late night and late afternoon are optimal times for snapping a good photo. OkCupid can't say why, but they speculate that late-night shots tend to be more provocative, while late-afternoon photos benefit from pleasant lighting.
The timestamps are adjusted for time zone and daylight savings, and when overlaid with the sun’s path during the day, the graph reveals peaks just after sunrise and just before sunset—prime examples of the golden hour.
In conclusion, the data strongly suggest that if you're single, you (or someone you know) should learn a little bit about photography. Technique can make or break your photograph, and the right decisions can get you more dates.
It's actually not that hard. Use a nice camera for some of your pics. Avoid the flash. Own the foreground. Take your picture in the afternoon. Then visit the nearest Apple store. Done.
This is part of a series of blog posts that analyzes OkCupid's online-dating statistics. You can find the others here: