Dating Coach Eddie Hernandez Shares Tips for Perfecting Your Dating App Profile

The Short Version: After years scouring dating apps and sites for an ideal match, singles may start to feel a little jaded or burned out with online dating. Fortunately dating expert Eddie Hernandez is here to help. As a professional photographer working for clients all over the world, Eddie knows a thing or two about the dating landscape — and how singles can find success navigating it. His tips for setting up a dating app profile can help you put your best self forward and form the type of connection you desire.

If you’re single and open to a partner, you’re probably no stranger to the online dating world. Meeting someone special nowadays usually involves swiping through countless local singles (or some not-so-singles) and catering your profile photos and bio to your ideal match. This can be an exhausting process over time, and doesn’t always yield the desired results. 

Despite the fact that most popular dating apps have been around for a decade or more, expert advice is scant when it comes to crafting the perfect dating app profile. While you may think you’ve chosen the perfect selfies and written out a pretty clever, attention-grabbing bio, there may still be times where your matches or messages run dry. If you’re having dating profile frustrations, you’re not alone — and dating coach and photographer Eddie Hernandez can help.

Aside from his considerable talent as a professional photographer, Eddie has made a name for himself across the globe as a dating coach and expert for single men and women. While he’s based in San Francisco, he has impacted the love lives of countless people from NYC to Sydney, and offers an approach to dating driven by a combination of experience and data. 

Over the years, Eddie has heard countless stories of dates gone wrong and online dating frustrations from his clients. His coaching experience gives him a unique perspective on how men and women should present themselves to the world. 

Setting up an attractive dating app profile is an important step to make a good first impression and succeed in online dating. It’s a high-pressure situation. After all, you only have a few seconds to catch another user’s attention before they swipe away.

Eddie suggests making your bio and profile details stand out with a few online dating hacks. “The best profiles are typically ones that are very specific… Rather than saying you like traveling, what kind of travel do you like? Are you a resort person? Do you like to go to small villages? Do you prefer big cities?” Eddie explained. “There are ways to be more illustrative in your profile. And usually, that’s fun.”

Eddie said he believes that going into further detail about your hobbies and interests can show off your unique personality — and therefore what you have to offer as a potential partner. Saying that you really like tacos and beach days doesn’t reveal much about oneself, but elaborating on that is where you can begin to show effort, add conversation starters, and hook potential dates.

Adding in a simple line like, “I know the best spot in town for tacos, you’ll have to message me to find out” can be a playful and engaging way to entice another person to swipe right. 

Many dating apps, including Hinge and Bumble, offer pre-made prompts that can also be used to your advantage – as long as you’re strategic about it. Just be sure you’re picking the right prompts to make your personality shine. 

Eddie recommended choosing prompts that will highlight your unique personality and interests. “You have to avoid picking questions that you see in other people’s profiles and focus on those that are more open ended. [Choose prompts that] go into some detail, rather than ones that are just ‘this or that’ answers, which don’t reveal too much.” 

Instead of just saying that you like music, Eddie suggests mentioning specific albums you love or concerts you’ve attended. Those types of specific insights will take you far in the online dating game.

You know what they say: A picture is worth a thousand words. Writing a creative and unique dating app bio is important, sure, but the main highlight of any dating app profile are the photos you choose. The photos offer the quickest and most effective way to make an initial impression and catch the eye of other users, and Eddie has some great tips for choosing dating profile pictures.

It might be tempting to slap on a filter, edit out some blemishes, or even slim away a few pounds in dating profile photos. Countless photo editing tools that can help individuals turn a blah selfie into a certified model shot, but do those edited pics really represent your actual appearance? Eddie encourages online daters to err on the side of honesty with their profile photos. 

“You want to have photos that are consistent with your appearance,” he said. “When you show up [on a date], will you have different colored hair? Have you put on some weight or added piercings? People want to know who’s going to show up on a first date, not try to guess which is the most recent photo… generally, the photos should look how you look now.”

Beyond representing yourself accurately, your profile photos should also give other users a good idea of your personality, social life, and unique aspects of your life. 

“Bios are very limited, so you can complement that with what’s in your photos. They’re not only about what you look like, but also to provide talking points,” Hernandez explained. “So, where are you hanging out? What are you doing? What is your body language? What do you like to do in your free time? These are all things that people look for in your photos.” 

If you’ve recently traveled to a cool location or tried a new outdoor activity, choosing pictures that show your life experiences in action can spark up great conversations. Your matches might even find something in common with you, and you could take advantage of those commonalities by offering to chat more about them over dinner or drinks. 

Of course, each element in your dating profile is crucial to your success in finding good matches. But choosing the right app is an important first step. If you are looking for casual dating, then you might want to consider a hookup site like Adult Friend Finder. Alternatively, if you want a long-term connection, apps like Hinge or Match would be more suitable options.

Eddie recommends doing your research to figure out how each dating app works, and whether those features are suitable for finding the kind of relationship you want. The factors involved in this process might be the gender ratio on the app, how matches are made, or the kind of lifestyle that most users live. 

Above all, Eddie wants online daters to know that taking it slow and keeping up hope can help make the swiping experience better — and more fruitful. “There’s a lot to it, it’s not like ordering food from a delivery app. There’s a lot of strategy, a lot of luck, time, patience, and a lot of context needed to kind of have to have success.”