We're professional writers and photographers, so we have some definite opinions about what goes into a profile - well-framed, properly exposed photos and coherent sentences with proper syntax and maybe a touch of playful humor. There is something to be said for the quality of writing and photography as an index to the intelligence and sophistication of its creator(s). As for our personal red flags that tell us this person isn't for us: People who TYPE IN ALL CAPS - the online version of shouting. People who use a lot of apostrophes to form plurals. People whose profiles are shot through with misspellings. People who can't differentiate between "woman" and "women." People who post sideways pictures or scanned photos that include the entire surface of the flatbed scanner with the actual picture occupying a small spot in a corner. (Image Manipulation 101 involves knowing how to rotate and crop a picture.) People who post pictures that have other people cropped out. People whose genders appear switched in the height/weight data box. I realize that this may make us sound overly picky and I guess we are. Everyone has their own set of filters for this stuff and these are ours - they help us avoid uncomfortable bad matches.

I also agree that good pics are the best thing you can do to draw attention. Luckily we can do our own which helps a lot.

I also think that you should have at least one or two snapshot type photo's to prove it really is you in the pics though.

Hey Shel, I happily volunteer to be your personal photographer :) and I'm pretty darned good too and I'm right down the road from ya!

At the same time, sometimes the resizing software on SLS can cause the photos to be grainy and not as good a quality, it's happened with a couple of our photos and I know they were high quality clear images when I uploaded them. So it's not always the photographer or the equipment.

Hmmm, we're pretty visual.........and why the HELL don't I live in Pennsylvania?

I couldn't agree more, but then men are supposed to be more visual and the ladies are supposed to be more emotional. If you believe that. It really does make you wonder however about grainy, out of focus poorly constructed photos. Have they even looked at their own photos? Yes a professional would be nice but as you can see from some of the previous posts on here that amateurs can do a pretty decent job. Not taking anything away from a professional because they really can make it that much better. CT is a good example of how well an amateur can experiment with construction and playfull lighting to come up with really enticing photos. Having said that I don't think it's rude to ask others whose photos you admire if they would mind helping you out. It can be done without expectations. I'm sure there are others out there willing to help.

We keep a mix of snapshots and more 'pro' looking shots in our profile usually. I intentionally do not airbrush or 'fix' things.

Too bad you're all the way in texas, I'd love to photograph you lost_j1 :)

I agree, professional pics are fabulous! I am actually interested in having some done at some point myself. However, when ALL of a couple's pics are professional to me honestly it does raise a flag. I want to see what you look like for real without touch ups and airbrushing. So seeing them yes, is wonderful and they are great....I do like seeing "real" pics as well however.

Having reconsidered this question, I'm coming around to the benefits of having a professional photographer take some tasteful "boudoir" type pictures that show you clearly and that might even be able to portray your interests and personalities. There is a dearth of good pictures on people's profiles and even if someone wasn't in the lifestyle, it would be a fun thing to do. But members still have to keep pictures current and can do that easily with simple vacation type pictures you might keep on your desk at work or the more daring intimate views you hope your kids never find!
The husband here.

The photos with the gray-black background show tons of personality. Thats *exactly* what I was trying to say.. Thanks for your comments Doc N Nurse :)

Our most recent pics came from a professional photographer that was doing sample pics. I really marveled at his ability to milk as much sexuality from his subjects as possible - he got poses I don't think people would ever have gotten on their own, just because of his abiliy to put his subject in a sexy emvironment and make them comfortable with their bodies. I really do think professional pics dress up a profile nicely - we have gotten many more views since we posted them.