Advice: profile photos (YEA/NAY?)

DOT - Long time lurker (formerly under a different handle, admittedly), I come to you for advice.

I've spent the last 14 months working on myself. I'm still a work in process (and feel I always will be) but with the encouragement of several people in my life (therapist included, fwiw), I'm putting myself out there again. I've never been much into elaborate dating profiles but I'd like to try to make the most of OLD potential.

I am a mid 30's dude so I don't have a ton of photo options (at least recent ones). So I'd like some advice on whether I should use certain photos. I will give descriptions (as it's not a question about the quality of the photos but the appropriateness of the context). I already have two picked out that I'm going with (a post-half-marathon photo from late last summer and a random solo photo from a dinner with friends where I'm smiling).

1. I have no VERY recent photos (i.e. last six months). I'm an amateur photographer with a decent camera so I'm thinking of doing a proper selfie (I don't do phone selfies). Nothing elaborate but enough to show how I look right now. It wouldn't be obvious that it's a selfie as I'd use a timer and have the camera on my tripod. I feel pretty comfortable with this one. But... Yea or nay?
2. I read a lot about including group photos. I don't have any at all with my friends (we just don't do that). But I do a sport (martial arts) where there always seems to be group photos happening. I'm not particularly close with any of my teammates although I'm very friendly with them in the context of the club and related events. The smaller group photos I am in I am wearing a gi (a couple years in and still a white belt -- people might construe a white belt, though, as my being "new" to the sport and find it disingenuous). I generally train/compete in no-gi though and the only group photo I can find in no-gi is a large one and might take some time to pick me out. I'm thinking an arrow or caption (i.e. "fourth from the left") might do the trick. Yea or nay?
3. I am bald and the majority of my casual photos (apart from #2, and #1 if I do it) show me in a hat (including dinner photo and half marathon photo, previously mentioned). I'm in a hat in most social situations but I don't want to seem like I'm hiding anything. One of the very best photos I have of myself is a work portrait photo that was professionally taken for purposes of using on LinkedIn and in our work web site. It's just me, smiling and bald head but clearly professionally done (my work was semi-casual, so no tie or blazer). It was my one of my ex-gf's favourite photos of me. So from late 2017. Yea or nay?

Thanks in advance :)

Submitted May 16, 2019 at 01:26AM

DOT - Long time lurker (formerly under a different handle, admittedly), I come to you for advice.I've spent the last 14 months working on myself. I'm still a work in process (and feel I always will be) but with the encouragement of several people in my life (therapist included, fwiw), I'm putting myself out there again. I've never been much into elaborate dating profiles but I'd like to try to make the most of OLD potential.I am a mid 30's dude so I don't have a ton of photo options (at least recent ones). So I'd like some advice on whether I should use certain photos. I will give descriptions (as it's not a question about the quality of the photos but the appropriateness of the context). I already have two picked out that I'm going with (a post-half-marathon photo from late last summer and a random solo photo from a dinner with friends where I'm smiling).I have no VERY recent photos (i.e. last six months). I'm an amateur photographer with a decent camera so I'm thinking of doing a proper selfie (I don't do phone selfies). Nothing elaborate but enough to show how I look right now. It wouldn't be obvious that it's a selfie as I'd use a timer and have the camera on my tripod. I feel pretty comfortable with this one. But... Yea or nay?I read a lot about including group photos. I don't have any at all with my friends (we just don't do that). But I do a sport (martial arts) where there always seems to be group photos happening. I'm not particularly close with any of my teammates although I'm very friendly with them in the context of the club and related events. The smaller group photos I am in I am wearing a gi (a couple years in and still a white belt -- people might construe a white belt, though, as my being "new" to the sport and find it disingenuous). I generally train/compete in no-gi though and the only group photo I can find in no-gi is a large one and might take some time to pick me out. I'm thinking an arrow or caption (i.e. "fourth from the left") might do the trick. Yea or nay?I am bald and the majority of my casual photos (apart from #2, and #1 if I do it) show me in a hat (including dinner photo and half marathon photo, previously mentioned). I'm in a hat in most social situations but I don't want to seem like I'm hiding anything. One of the very best photos I have of myself is a work portrait photo that was professionally taken for purposes of using on LinkedIn and in our work web site. It's just me, smiling and bald head but clearly professionally done (my work was semi-casual, so no tie or blazer). It was my one of my ex-gf's favourite photos of me. So from late 2017. Yea or nay?Thanks in advance :)