There is a reason why they say a photograph is worth a thousands words. And it is valid in the case of online dating when with a swipe left or right people decide who they are interested in or not. Should we blame them for that? Of course not. Don’t we do the same when we glance at each other in real life, waiting in line at a store, or at a bus stop, or across the room at a party?

As someone who used online dating myself, and saw many, many bad profile photos, I knew I can help people obtain better and more meaningful photos of themselves for their online profiles. People fall in love instantly and furiously, I’d say, and scientists confirmed it: according to Science Daily, “falling in love only takes about a fifth of a second”. (Source)

It means we only have a few seconds, if not less, to make an impression on someone or to attract the right person for us. I read all I could read on the subject and after careful planning and detailed communication, I met Zoe at one of her favourite locations - Chorlton Waterpark, on a lovely afternoon for a photo session aimed at updating her online dating profile.

Zoe is a professional voiceover and copywriter. She writes on her profile: ‘Music and comedy are my favourite things’, and lists Radiohead as one of her favourite bands. Now, if you love Radiohead, you are my friend, my friend!I knew this is going to be a great session, so I planned it with joy and loads of enthusiasm. Zoe was very open towards my ideas, very flexible and keen to experiment. We were lucky to have perfect weather for such photography, with cloudy skies, then a bit of gentle sun, constant change in light that made everything a bit challenging but more interesting as well. I opted for natural poses, allowing Zoe to be herself, and encouraging her to smile more, as I thought her smile is very photogenic!

I intend to make this photo service as client-oriented as possible, with loads of attention to details, in order to express clients’ individuality a bit clearer and naturally, so that they increase their chances of finding the right person for them! I told Zoe about this, and the fact that I want to create portraits that ‘speak volumes’, that are natural and humane and that the right people will fall in love with. I was happy to see she understood what I meant.

Rain started as soon as we stopped our session - so we were extremely lucky! She chose a few photos that she liked and has already used them on her online profiles.

Left: Screen shot of Zoe’s profile photo before our shooting. Right: two of my favourite photos taken at Chorlton Waterpark.

Here is Zoe’s feedback:

Working with Livia was a fabulous experience for me. Like most people, the idea of having my photo taken filled me with dread, but as soon as I met her, she put me at ease immediately. She let me do my own thing, alongside giving me pointers on how to pose/stand. I can actually say I ended up really enjoying it! I am thrilled with the results too – I now have some profile pics for my dating profiles/social media that I actually like! I was 100% recommend Livia to anyone requiring photographer services – she listens and she delivers!

I am grateful to Zoe for being so generous with her words! She did not mention I struggled a bit with my jokes repertoire, aimed at making her smile more - but I promise I’ll update on that. Apparently, my ad-hoc invented pseudo-start of a joke, ‘Three croissants entered a pub’ can make people smile for a short while, enough to take a shinny, happy photo - but I should do better.

Here are a few more examples of photos taken during our session: