HER App Photo Ideas: 20 Creative Shots That Show Your Authentic Self
Why Authentic Photos Matter on HER
The HER app community values authenticity over perfection. Unlike mainstream dating apps where heavily edited, Instagram-perfect photos dominate, HER users respond better to real, unfiltered images that showcase genuine personality and queer identity. Research from HER shows that profiles with authentic, personality-driven photos get 65% more quality matches than those with generic glamour shots.
The LGBTQ+ community, especially queer women and non-binary individuals, have spent enough time hiding or curating ourselves for straight society. HER is a space where you can be completely yourself - and your photos should reflect that freedom. The best HER photos tell a story, signal shared values, create conversation starters, and attract people who appreciate your authentic self rather than a filtered facade.
20 Creative Photo Ideas for Your HER Profile
1. Pride Event Photo
Capture yourself at a Pride parade, festival, or march. This immediately signals your connection to the LGBTQ+ community and shows you're proud of your identity. Bonus points if you're holding a sign, wearing creative Pride gear, or caught mid-celebration with rainbow face paint or flags. These photos work as conversation starters about Pride experiences and demonstrate community involvement.
2. Coffee Shop Candid
A natural shot of you at your favorite cafe, ideally looking relaxed while reading, journaling, or people-watching. This creates a casual date vibe and shows your comfortable in everyday settings. It suggests you're approachable and gives potential matches a sense of what spending time with you might feel like. Include the coffee shop name in your caption to create local connection points.
3. Hiking or Outdoor Adventure
Show yourself in nature - on a trail, at the beach, in the mountains, or at a scenic overlook. These photos demonstrate you're active, adventurous, and value experiences over material things. Outdoor photos also tend to have excellent natural lighting, which flatters everyone. If outdoor activities are genuinely part of your lifestyle, these photos attract compatible matches who share that interest.
4. With Your Pet
Photos with dogs, cats, or other pets consistently perform well on HER. They show your nurturing side, provide an instant conversation starter, and signal what your potential partner might be getting into (some people specifically seek other pet owners). Capture genuine interaction with your pet rather than just posing together - playing, cuddling, or walking together shows authentic affection.
5. Queer Book or Media
Hold up or photograph yourself reading an LGBTQ+ book, watching a queer show, or displaying queer media you love. This creates immediate common ground with people who recognize the title and signals your engagement with queer culture. It's a subtle but powerful way to show what matters to you and what shapes your worldview.
6. Playing an Instrument or Creating Art
Show yourself engaged in creative pursuits - playing guitar, painting, pottery, photography, writing, or any artistic hobby. Creative photos demonstrate passion, skill, and depth beyond surface-level attraction. They also attract people who value creativity and can lead to conversations about your artistic process, favorite works, or creative community.
7. At a Protest or March
Photos from social justice events, climate marches, LGBTQ+ rights protests, or other activism demonstrate your values clearly. This attracts politically aligned matches and repels those with incompatible beliefs - which is exactly what you want. Just ensure the photo focuses on you rather than becoming generic crowd documentation.
8. Cooking or Baking
Capture yourself in the kitchen making your signature dish, baking, or enjoying the results. Food photos are universally relatable and often lead to conversations about favorite recipes, dietary preferences, or cooking traditions. Plus, they suggest domestic comfort and the possibility of cooking together on future dates.
9. At a Concert or Music Festival
Show yourself at a live music event, especially queer artists or LGBTQ-friendly spaces. Music taste is a powerful compatibility indicator, and concert photos demonstrate you're social, culturally engaged, and enjoy shared experiences. The energy of live music often translates well in photos, showing you in an excited, happy state.
10. Playing Sports or Exercising
Capture yourself playing soccer, basketball, ultimate frisbee, at the gym, doing yoga, or participating in any physical activity you genuinely enjoy. Sports photos show health-consciousness, team spirit, and competitive drive. They're especially effective in attracting other active individuals and can lead to shared activity dates.
11. Traveling or Exploring
Show yourself at memorable travel destinations, exploring your city, or discovering new places. Travel photos demonstrate curiosity, adventurousness, and cultural openness. They're excellent conversation starters about destinations, travel stories, and future trip plans. Just avoid the cliché tourist poses - capture yourself genuinely engaged with the location.
12. In Your Favorite Outfit
Wear something that makes you feel incredibly yourself - whether that's a power suit, sundress, athletic wear, alternative fashion, or anything that expresses your personal style. Fashion is self-expression in the queer community, and your clothing choices communicate volumes about your identity, aesthetics, and how you move through the world.
13. With Friends at a Gathering
One group photo showing you with friends demonstrates social connection and that you're not isolated. Make sure you're clearly identifiable and the focus, not lost in a crowd. Group photos signal that you have a social circle and can maintain relationships - both reassuring qualities in a potential partner.
14. Volunteering or Community Service
Show yourself giving back - at an LGBTQ+ youth center, animal shelter, food bank, or any cause you support. Volunteer photos demonstrate compassion, community engagement, and values beyond self-interest. They attract similarly minded people who prioritize social responsibility.
15. Laughing Genuinely
Capture a moment of authentic laughter - not posed, but a real reaction to something funny. Genuine joy is magnetic and makes you immediately more approachable and attractive. These photos are often candid shots from events or time with friends, where someone caught you mid-laugh. They show your personality in ways static smiles never can.
16. With Queer Accessories or Symbols
Wear or display queer symbols - a rainbow bracelet, lesbian flag colors, pronoun pins, queer artist merchandise, or LGBTQ+ organization gear. These visual signals help you find your people and demonstrate pride in your identity. They're especially helpful for femme or less visibly queer individuals to signal to the community.
17. Doing Your Hobby
Whatever you're passionate about - rock climbing, knitting, gardening, gaming, reading, photography - show yourself engaged in it. Hobby photos demonstrate you have a life and interests beyond dating, which is attractive. They also serve as conversation starters and help you find people with compatible interests.
18. Cozy at Home
A comfortable photo of you in your space - reading on the couch, with morning coffee, enjoying your balcony, or surrounded by plants. Home photos create intimacy and give potential matches a sense of your personal environment. They suggest comfort with yourself and create a relatable, accessible vibe.
19. At a Queer Venue or Space
Photograph yourself at a lesbian bar, queer bookstore, LGBTQ+ community center, or other affirming space. This demonstrates you actively participate in queer community and know where to find queer spaces - valuable information for someone new to an area or just coming out.
20. Showing Your Authentic Self
The best photo is one where you feel completely yourself - whatever that looks like for you. Whether it's in your element at work, expressing yourself through drag, enjoying a solitary moment in nature, or any other genuine expression of who you are. Authenticity always outperforms performative perfection on HER.
Photo Technical Tips for HER
Lighting Matters
Natural light is your friend. Shoot during golden hour (early morning or late afternoon) for the most flattering light. Avoid harsh overhead lighting that creates unflattering shadows. If shooting indoors, position yourself near windows. The HER algorithm doesn't favor professional photography over phone photos, but it does favor well-lit, clear images.
Background Considerations
Your background should add context without distracting from you. Cluttered, messy backgrounds detract from your photo. Interesting backgrounds that tell a story (queer bookstore shelves, Pride event scenes, nature vistas) add value. Neutral backgrounds work when the focus should be entirely on you or your expression.
Photo Quality Standards
Use your phone's highest resolution setting. Ensure photos are in focus - blurry images suggest low effort. Avoid heavy filters that distort your appearance. Light color correction is fine, but maintain authenticity. Grainy, pixelated, or over-compressed photos perform poorly.
Variety is Key
HER allows 6 photos - use them strategically to show different aspects of yourself. Include a mix of close-ups that show your face clearly, full-body shots that show your build and style, action shots that demonstrate interests, and social photos that show you with others. Variety tells a complete story about who you are.
What Photos to Avoid on HER
Overly Sexualized Images
While attraction is part of dating, HER's community guidelines discourage overly sexual photos. Cleavage-focused shots, suggestive poses, lingerie photos, and anything that seems designed purely for sexual attention often backfire. They attract the wrong attention and can get your profile flagged. Save intimate photos for after you've matched and established connection.
Photos With Exes
Even if you've cropped them out, photos where you've obviously removed someone send a message. Don't include pictures with former partners, romantic-looking photos where you're clearly coupled with someone else, or images that prominently feature wedding rings or couple jewelry. These create immediate questions and doubts.
Group Photos Where You're Unidentifiable
One group photo is fine, but make sure you're clearly visible and identifiable. Photos where you're one of many similar-looking people, where you're in the background, or where the photo is so crowded you need a caption to point yourself out frustrate viewers. If people have to guess which person is you, the photo fails.
Only Selfies
A profile composed entirely of bathroom mirror selfies or car selfies suggests isolation or lack of social connection. It implies no one cares enough about you to take your photo. Mix in photos taken by others, timer shots, or creative self-portraits that show more effort than arm's-length selfies.
Heavily Filtered Unrealistic Images
Face-altering filters that change your features significantly, heavy beauty filters that smooth away all texture, and edited photos that don't resemble how you actually look create false expectations. When you meet in person, the disconnect creates awkwardness and damaged trust. Natural is always better than filtered.
Creating Photos Specifically for HER
The Photo Session Approach
Set aside time specifically to create HER profile content. Ask a friend to be your photographer, use a tripod with a timer, or hire a photographer familiar with queer aesthetics. Plan 3-4 outfit changes and 3-4 different locations. This single session can provide 20-30 photos to choose from, giving you options and variety.
The Ongoing Collection Method
Instead of a dedicated photoshoot, collect photos over weeks or months as you live your life. Ask friends to take photos at events, set up your phone to capture moments during activities, and screenshot video calls when you look good. This creates a more authentic, lived-in feel to your photo collection.
Using AI Enhancement Thoughtfully
Tools like AURA can help improve existing photos without changing how you actually look. AI can enhance lighting in underexposed photos, clean up distracting backgrounds, improve image quality without filters, and suggest which photos from your collection will perform best. The key is enhancement that maintains authenticity rather than creating false representations.
Photo Captions That Enhance Your Images
Every photo on HER can include a caption. Use them wisely to provide context, create conversation hooks, show personality through humor, ask questions to encourage engagement, and share the story behind the photo. For example, your Pride photo might read: "Pride 2024 in SF - my 5th year marching! Who else was there?" This provides context, demonstrates history with Pride, and invites conversation.
Updating Your Photos Strategically
When to Refresh
Update your HER photos when your appearance changes significantly (new haircut, style evolution, weight change), seasonally to show current context (winter activities vs. summer adventures), after major life events (graduation, career change, moving cities), or when you have new photos that better represent you. Stale photos that don't match current reality damage trust.
The Rolling Update Strategy
Instead of replacing all photos at once, swap one photo every few weeks. This keeps your profile fresh in the algorithm without confusing people who've already seen you. Replace your weakest-performing photo with a new option, test it for engagement, and keep rotating until you have an optimal set.
Conclusion: Your Photo Action Plan
To create a compelling HER photo profile that attracts compatible matches, audit your current photos and identify gaps in the 20 categories above. Plan a photo session or collection period to fill those gaps. Prioritize photos that show authentic queer identity and community connection. Include variety in settings, outfits, and photo types across your 6 slots. Use captions to add context and create conversation hooks. Ask LGBTQ+ friends for honest feedback on which photos feel most authentically you. Update regularly as your life and appearance evolve. Remember, the goal isn't to look perfect - it's to look like yourself on your best day, in contexts that matter to you, displaying the identity and values that make you unique. When your photos authentically represent who you are, you attract people who appreciate your real self - and those are the connections worth making.