7 ways good photos go bad
By Alan Goldsher

Say you're cruising the online personals and you find a "CrazySexyCool" headline that grabs your attention. Say you're intrigued by what her profile has to say and excited to see that you're everything she's looking for.

But then you look at her photos. Sure, she's attractive enough, you guess; it's just that her pictures are, well ... bad.

A quality photo plays a huge part the number of responses your profile elicits. In fact, profiles with photos receive seven times more attention than those that go photoless.

It isn't necessarily a looks issue; after all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just be certain you're seen in your best light, both literally and figuratively.

Don't call in a professional shutterbug, but be smart. Avoid these seven common photographic foul-ups:

1. Losing focus
You can be wearing your cutest outfit — with a 1000-watt smile plastered on your mug. You might be having a good hair day, even a great hair day. But if your photographer can't keep the camera still, potential matches won't be able to tell how smokin' you really are. Got a poor quality pic in your free profile? Replace it with another one right away.

2. The eyes have it
Blue or green, brown or hazel. You'll find they all work well. But red eyes are bad — and frankly, a bit scary. Invest in a flash that reduces red-eye or take a few minutes to touch up your photo before you upload it to your profile.

3. And who are you?
Unless it's your best picture ever, avoid posting group photos. If there are four other guys in the shot, nobody will be able to tell which one is you. Crop your pic to spotlight your face or describe in your profile where someone should look for you.

4. Disembodied parts
This one's hard for some singles to process, but here's this tired tip again: Do not post pics that show some faceless someone's arm around your neck or mystery lips kissing your cheek. A floating limb or a random torso is weird and disconcerting — and implies there's someone in your life that you're not willing to talk about.

5. Look happy, damn it
Let's see some teeth. Turn that frown upside down. Say, "Cheese ...." Long story short, look happy. You don't want scare away the clientele.

6. Pooches and pussycats
If you want to feature a photo of yourself posing with your pooch ... or kitty or rabbit or snake, great. But don't post a picture of your pet unless you've posted at least one pic of you. Though your Doodles might be a darling, a profile with a solo animal shot sends an odd message.

7. False advertising
Be sure you look like you do in the picture. Don't put up a shot you took three years or 42 pounds or six hair styles ago.