Experience Matters: If you ask, many photographers will tell you they can do online dating photos (along with families, weddings, pets, babies, events, and the list continues), but very few of them specifically specialize in online dating photography and have done so for almost 10 years.

Success Stories: I've had many clients over the years experience a huge boost in the attention their profile receives, start new relationships, get married, and even have children because of the online dating photos I've taken of them. Head over to my Reviews page meet some of them!

Expert Team: I have brought together a team of experts in hair and makeup styling, wardrobe styling, and profile writing to supplement my photography skills and help my clients overcome some of the most common challenges in online dating. My online dating team and I are passionate about helping you reflect your best self in your photos, online, and in the real world. Nothing gets us more excited than when we hear back from clients saying they feel more confident and have attracted more and better quality matches than they ever thought possible.

First and most importantly, you want to make sure your profile photos look current. If you don’t have any recent, flattering photos of yourself to use, I recommend updating your photos immediately. After that, you’ll want to change your primary profile photo at least every two months. I find that using the seasons as a guide can be helpful because seasonal photos reinforce the message that you currently look the same in person as in your photos. You should also update your photos if you make any significant changes to your appearance as well.

Second, you want to make sure your photos are producing the results you want. If you start to notice a trend of matches who aren’t a great fit for you, that’s a good time to revisit your photos and profile text. Adjusting the order of your photos and tweaking your profile language every couple of weeks also helps to show the dating app algorithms that you are an active and engaged user, increasing how much they’ll prioritize and share your profile with others.

The more in advance you book your session the better. Ideally, you'll book four to six weeks out. We want you to feel prepared and to look like your best self for your session. This time frame allows us to work out the details and locations of your session, plan your outfits with the help of our wardrobe stylist, as well as for you to book a haircut, make an appointment with your tailor, etc. Your image reveal session will take place 3 to 10 days your photoshoot and then you'll receive the final images you purchased 2 weeks later via a gallery link to download your final images.

Classic Online Dating photoshoots are scheduled on a fixed weekday once a month. Five time slots are available that that day. I prefer weekday sessions because there will be fewer crowds at the more popular and photogenic locations we’ll likely want to visit (and you’ll have fewer sets of eyes watching, if you’re someone who feels self-conscious having your photo taken). If you'd like to have flexibity in choosing the day of your photoshoot, our Custom Online Dating Sessions are a great option for you.

For Classic Online Dating sessions, we'll meet on location in a neighborhood full of great photoshoot spots. I choose a new location each month to ensure variety and freshness for my repeat clients. We'll explore different areas of the neighboorhood to capture 5-8 unique images per outfit. This approach provides you with a diverse range of photos for your portfolio, each showcasing a different aspect of your personality and style. We'll be continuously on the move, utilizing the dynamic backdrops of the neighborhood. This not only adds variety to your photos but also keeps the session lively and fun!

Your photoshoot will last one hour which gives us 15-20 minutes per outfit, including time for you to change.

Not to worry, as long as the weather doesn’t prevent us from safely moving about, we will still move forward with your session. I have a list of tried and true rain plan backup locations. We’ll keep you dry under an umbrella and also take advantage of overhangs, awnings, etc. when we want to be outside. If we know there's a blizzard, hurricane, or other inclement weather in the forecast that will prevent me from creating a fanastic portfolio of images for you, we'll reschedule your session for another day.

Let me frame it for you this way—when was the last time you decided you weren’t interested in someone because their photo wasn’t pixelated enough or the lighting was too flattering? Probably never.

While there are definitely poses and locations that can make it look like you’re trying too hard (which we will definitely avoid), I find that using well-lit, flattering, and clear images on your profile, no matter where you rate on the attractiveness scale, you will automatically attract more and better matches. Using higher quality photos also sends the message that you take care of yourself and have your act together. My approach is to make it look like you have a friend with a nice camera who happened to take some great shots of you while you were at one of your favorite hangouts or doing a favorite activity.

That said, I strongly encourage my clients to use one normal, but still flattering cell phone photo in their portfolio (a travel photo or photo with friends or family works well). This will take care of any doubts about what you “really” look like while still leaving plenty of slots to share your best, higher quality photos.

Once you book your online dating session, you’ll have all of these questions answered in detail in my Lisa Damico Portraits Session Preparation Guide. This guide, along with the pre-session video consultation we’ll schedule, will address exactly how you should prepare your face, skin, hair, and wardrobe to look your best at your session. I pride myself on offering a comprehensive photo shoot experience to my clients, so expect a very informed process that involves a lot more instruction than just when to show up to the session.

All of my online dating clients enjoy a complimentary professional image consultation and personal styling session in which our stylist will work with you to determine an editorial vision for your shoot, select outfits from your closet that will photograph best (and look great for you to wear on dates!), give recommendations on pieces to add to your closet and props to bring to enhance your shoot (hats, sunglasses, purses, etc.), and make skin preparation and hair styling tips and recommendations.

I know that you are likely busy and have other things to think about other than your online dating shoot, so let me be the one to organize all of the details and guide you through every step along the way.

Not to worry, I specialize in working with “everyday people,” especially those who feel they’re not photogenic and/or don’t like having their photo taken. I will coach you through exactly what to do and the poses and expressions that will make you look your best. All you have to do is show up for your session and my team and I will take care of the rest!

Particularly with online dating photos, it’s important that you look like your photos, so I take a very natural approach to retouching. I’ll use posing, lighting, and wardrobe to accentuate or downplay your favorite or least favorite features. Then, in Photoshop, I will remove stray hairs, blemishes, under eye circles, and, if requested, small scars. Basically, anything permanent, I keep, and anything you could change about your appearance in a couple of weeks, I retouch. No one should be able to tell your photos have been retouched and you will look like the best possible version of yourself. See an example of what an image looks like before and after retouching.

Dating is hard enough as is. If you’re going to do it, give yourself your best shot from the start instead of wasting your time, emotional energy, and money on dates with a mediocre profile and the mediocre matches it will probably attract. I have very intentionally put together my online dating photoshoot experience, process, and a team of experts to create the best results possible for you.

I charge a session fee which covers the cost of the photoshoot experience and is separate from the image purchase. My Classic Online Dating Session fee starts at $690 and includes a pre-session video consultation to meet me, plan your shoot, and talk through any questions you may have, a wardrobe styling and image consultation to select the exact outfits and accessories you’ll wear at your session, an on-site professional hair and makeup artist for quick touchups, an hour-long on-location photo shoot with mutiple wardrobe changes, retouching of your purchased images by a top retoucher, and a separate virtual photo viewing and ordering appointment to select your final images. You also have the option to work with a professional online dating profile writer and hae a review of your images by my expert online dating panel to identify the ones that will perform the best.

After all is said and done, online dating clients spend between $1,700 and $4,000 for their session and the images they select. Almost every client goes into the session thinking they’ll only purchase a couple of images and then are surprised by how many photos they just can’t live without from their session. Please know that there is no hard sell—I only want you to purchase the images you love and that will serve you best.

Once you’ve scheduled a date for your online dating session, you’ll also schedule a date for your virtual image reveal session—this typically takes place 3 to 10 days after your online dating session at my studio and is my favorite part of the whole process! I do this for a couple of reasons:

1) It makes the best use of your time and money. For example, if left to your own devices, you might select a closeup vertical shot for your Tinder profile photo. As Tinder forces you into a square crop for upload, using that shot would mean no one would see your carefully selected outfit, location, or even the top of your head for that matter. You would likely have to come back to purchase another image. I can use my expertise in online dating sites to help guide you to select the images which will work best for your intended purposes.

2) It can be overwhelming to look at so many photos of yourself and try to navigate making the right selection on your own when there are many variations, some more pronounced and others more subtle, in body language, expression, energy, etc. among the images. There are actually studies that show that a different part of your brain is activated when you look at a photo of yourself versus a photo of someone else, so in many ways, you’re the least qualified person to select in which image you look your best. For this reason, I have a panel of experts available to review your final images in advance of your image reveal session and I share their favorites with you as I guide you through my tried and true system that makes it easier for clients to decide between images, showing similar images side by side for easy selection.

You’ll receive the digital images you purchase two weeks (holidays excluded) after the image reveal session.

I like to take care of my paperwork upfront, so you'll pay for the session fee and sign a contract in order to book the time and date of your choice. As you’ll see in my contract, you can reschedule without penalty if notice is given at least 14 days prior to the session date, but the rescheduled session will need to take place within six months of the original session date.

In the event you cancel or don’t show up for your session, the session retainer fee is forfeited.

Due to the custom nature of this work, I cannot provide any refunds. However in the unlikely event that you are completely dissatisfied with your images, I offer a reshoot at a discounted rate. No client has ever had to take me up on this offer.

If you ask, many photographers will tell you they can do online dating photos (along with families, weddings, pets, babies, events, and the list continues), but very few of them specifically specialize in online dating photography and have done so for 5+ years. I only photograph adults for online dating, headshots, and beauty portraits because that’s what feels the most energizing to me and allows me to really excel at what I do. I have brought together a team of experts in hair and makeup styling, wardrobe styling, and profile writing to supplement my photography skills and help my clients overcome some of the most common challenges in online dating. My online dating team and I are passionate about helping you reflect your best self in your photos, online, and in the real world. Nothing gets us more excited than when we hear back from clients saying they feel more confident and have attracted more and better quality matches than they ever thought possible.

Also, before transitioning to photography full-time, I was the marketing director for a local winery. While there, I grew their email list by 460% to 31,000 subscribers, increased e-commerce wine sales by 650%, and launched a campaign that organically reached 3.2 million people on Facebook and brought in more than a quarter-million dollars in revenue. I find that applying these same product marketing skills to my photography work greatly benefits my clients. In the same way I took the time to do my research and get to know a product, I take the time to get to know you and how you plan to use your final images, so I can make sure your photos really look like you (or how you aspire to be), and then strategically create images (while paying attention to all of the little details that make the difference between a just okay photo and the best photo you’ve ever seen of yourself) to help take your love life, confidence, and online presence to the next level.

First and most importantly, you want to make sure your profile photos look current. If you don’t have any recent, flattering photos of yourself to use, I recommend updating your photos immediately. After that, you’ll want to change your primary profile photo at least every two months. I find that using the seasons as a guide can be helpful because seasonal photos reinforce the message that you currently look the same in person as in your photos. You should also update your photos if you make any significant changes to your appearance as well.

Second, you want to make sure your photos are producing the results you want. If you start to notice a trend of matches who aren’t a great fit for you, that’s a good time to revisit your photos and profile text. Adjusting the order of your photos and tweaking your profile language every couple of weeks also helps to show the dating app algorithms that you are an active and engaged user, increasing how much they’ll prioritize and share your profile with others.

The sooner you book your session and more time you give yourself to plan and prepare the better. The online dating photoshoot experience typically lasts six weeks start to finish. We want you to feel prepared and to look like your best self for your session. This time frame allows us to work out the details and locations of your session, plan your outfits with the help of our personal stylist, work with our online dating profile writer, as well as for you to book a haircut, manicure, appointment with your tailor, etc. Your image reveal session will take place 7 to 10 days following the photoshoot and then you'll receive the final images you purchased two weeks later via a gallery link to download your final images.

I schedule sessions Monday through Thursday, typically between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM. I prefer weekday sessions because there will be fewer crowds at the more popular and photogenic locations we’ll likely want to visit (and you’ll have fewer sets of eyes watching, if you’re someone who feels self-conscious having your photo taken). Saturday and Sunday sessions are available to book with pre-purchase of the top image package.

For classic online dating sessions, we'll meet on location so we can get started right away.

For custom online dating sessions, we’ll start at my studio in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. We’ll use that as our home base and once you’re done in hair and makeup, we’ll do an in-studio look (most clients opt for a professional headshot) so you have a chance to warm up in front of the camera and get used to the different posing instructions I’ll be giving you throughout the session. Then, you’ll change into outfit #2, and we’ll bring outfits 3, 4, & 5 with us as we walk or travel to the other shooting locations I’ve selected just for you.

Depending on how many looks you'd like to do at your session and to allow time for professional hair and makeup and transportation between locations, online dating sessions can last from three to eight hours.

Not to worry, as long as the weather doesn’t prevent us from safely moving about, we will still move forward with your session. I have a list of tried and true rain plan locations and as we typically shoot in cafes, bars, museums, etc. (typical first date locations), the weather doesn’t impact this. We’ll keep you dry under an umbrella and also take advantage of overhangs, awnings, etc. when we want to be outside. If at the end of the session, I'm not satisifed with the quality of images I was able to create because of the weather, we'll schedule a follow-up mini-session on a sunny day.

Let me frame it for you this way—when was the last time you decided you weren’t interested in someone because their photo wasn’t pixelated enough or the lighting was too flattering? Probably never.

While there are definitely poses and locations that can make it look like you’re trying too hard (which we will definitely avoid), I find that using well-lit, flattering, and clear images on your profile, no matter where you rate on the attractiveness scale, you will automatically attract more and better matches. Using higher quality photos also sends the message that you take care of yourself and have your act together. My approach is to make it look like you have a friend with a nice camera who happened to take some great shots of you while you were at one of your favorite hangouts or doing a favorite activity.

That said, I strongly encourage my clients to use one normal, but still flattering cell phone photo in their portfolio (a travel photo or photo with friends or family works well). This will take care of any doubts about what you “really” look like while still leaving plenty of slots to share your best, higher quality photos.

Professional hair and makeup styling is included in all of my sessions and the artist stays for the duration of the shoot to make sure you look fantastic throughout. All of the artists on my team are experienced, full-time hair and makeup artists, specifically trained in camera-ready makeup, and well-versed in working with all ages, hair types and textures, skin types and complexions, and levels of makeup application from natural beauty to full-on glam.

To ensure that we don’t depart too far from a look you can recreate for yourself for a date, I’ll have you send a photo of yourself in everyday hair and makeup to share with your hair and makeup artist in advance of your session. Unless you prefer something different, we find that a “natural beauty” look works best for online dating sessions.

You are more than welcome to bring your own products, especially if you have a lip color you just love, but my artists will have everything you need to look your best on camera ready and waiting for you.

Just as your favorite male sportscaster or celebrity wouldn’t get in front of the camera without some “skin prep and grooming,” we offer hair and very light makeup styling for our male clients as well. This ensures you won’t have any shininess, blemishes, or hair out of place that will detract from your photos.

Once you book your online dating session, you’ll have all of these questions answered in detail in my Lisa Damico Portraits Session Preparation Guide. This guide, along with the pre-session video consultation we’ll schedule, will address exactly how you should prepare your face, skin, hair, and wardrobe to look your best at your session. I pride myself on offering a comprehensive photo shoot experience to my clients, so expect a very informed process that involves a lot more instruction than just when to show up to the session.

All of my online dating clients enjoy a complimentary professional image consultation and personal styling session in which our stylist will work with you to determine an editorial vision for your shoot, select outfits from your closet that will photograph best (and look great for you to wear on dates!), give recommendations on pieces to add to your closet and props to bring to enhance your shoot (hats, sunglasses, purses, etc.), and make skin preparation and hair styling tips and recommendations.

I know that you are likely busy and have other things to think about other than your online dating shoot, so let me be the one to organize all of the details and guide you through every step along the way.

Not to worry, I specialize in working with “everyday people,” especially those who feel they’re not photogenic and/or don’t like having their photo taken. I will coach you through exactly what to do and the poses and expressions that will make you look your best. All you have to do is show up for your session and my team and I will take care of the rest!

I, of course, want you to feel comfortable, but as studio/waiting space is limited and, more importantly, as many people feel self-conscious having their photo taken, I find that having another set of eyes watching can make that worse. My team and I also want to give you our undivided attention during your session and having additional people present can take away from that or change the connection you have with the camera. Especially with online dating sessions, we want to be as discreet as possible when we’re shooting in public and the more people involved, the more likely we are to draw attention and the harder it will be for you to relax in front of the camera.

Particularly with online dating photos, it’s important that you look like your photos, so I take a very natural approach to retouching. I’ll use posing, lighting, and wardrobe to accentuate or downplay your favorite or least favorite features. Then, in Photoshop, I will remove stray hairs, blemishes, under eye circles, and, if requested, small scars. Basically, anything permanent, I keep, and anything you could change about your appearance in a couple of weeks, I retouch. No one should be able to tell your photos have been retouched and you will look like the best possible version of yourself. See an example of what an image looks like before and after retouching.

Dating is hard enough as is. If you’re going to do it, give yourself your best shot from the start instead of wasting your time, emotional energy, and money on dates with a mediocre profile and the mediocre matches it will probably attract. I have very intentionally put together my online dating photoshoot experience, process, and a team of experts to create the best results possible for you.

I charge a session fee which covers the cost of the photoshoot experience and is separate from the image purchase. My Online Dating Session fee starts at $1200 and includes a pre-session video consultation to meet me, plan your shoot, and talk through any questions you may have, a personal styling and image consultation to select the exact outfits and accessories you’ll wear at your session, professional hair and makeup styling (artist stays for duration of shoot to make sure you look fantastic throughout), an in-studio and on-location photo shoot with mutiple wardrobe changes, a chauffeur to transport us to and from the shoot locations, retouching of your purchased images by a top retoucher, review of your images by my expert online dating panel to identify the ones that will perform the best, and an hour-long virtual photo viewing to select your final images. You also have the option to work with a professional online dating profile writer and add on additional outfits and locations.

After all is said and done, online dating clients spend between $3,700 and $10,000 for their session and the photo products they select. Almost every client goes into the session thinking they’ll only purchase a couple of images and then are surprised by how many photos they just can’t live without from their session. Please know that there is no hard sell—I only want you to purchase the images you love and that will serve you best.

Once you’ve scheduled a date for your online dating session, you’ll also schedule a date for your virtual image reveal session—this typically takes place 7 to 10 days after your online dating session at my studio and is my favorite part of the whole process! I do this for a couple of reasons:

1) It makes the best use of your time and money. For example, if left to your own devices, you might select a closeup vertical shot for your Tinder profile photo. As Tinder forces you into a square crop for upload, using that shot would mean no one would see your carefully selected outfit, location, or even the top of your head for that matter. You would likely have to come back to purchase another image. I can use my expertise in online dating sites to help guide you to select the images which will work best for your intended purposes.

2) It can be overwhelming to look at so many photos of yourself and try to navigate making the right selection on your own when there are many variations, some more pronounced and others more subtle, in body language, expression, energy, etc. among the images. There are actually studies that show that a different part of your brain is activated when you look at a photo of yourself versus a photo of someone else, so in many ways, you’re the least qualified person to select in which image you look your best. For this reason, I have a panel of experts review your final images in advance of your image reveal session and I share their favorites with you as I guide you through my tried and true system that makes it easier for clients to decide between images, showing similar images side by side for easy selection.

You’ll receive the digital images you purchase 10 days after the image reveal session. Print orders usually take about three weeks to arrive from my professional print lab.

I like to take care of my paperwork upfront, so I’ll send you a contract and invoice once we work out the details and date of your session (this also allows me to secure a hair and makeup artist for your session). Once signed and paid, your session is officially reserved. As you’ll see in my contract, you can reschedule without penalty if notice is given at least 14 days prior to the session date, but the rescheduled session will need to take place within six months of the original session date.

In the event you cancel or don’t show up for your session, the session retainer fee is forfeited.

Due to the custom nature of this work, I cannot provide any refunds. However in the unlikely event that you are completely dissatisfied with your images, I offer a reshoot at a discounted rate. No client has ever had to take me up on this offer.