What Size Should an eHarmony Profile Picture Be?

eharmony's photo guidelines say all photos must be in .jpg format, and that any size will do as long as the photo is big enough to appear clearly. It gives no pixel dimensions and no file-size limit. So the practical answer is a .jpg straight from your camera, sharp and large enough that your face is easy to see.

Two things are stated. The file must be a .jpg. And the photo has to be big enough to appear clearly.

That is all the rule says about size. If a number appears on a forum or in a blog post, eharmony has not published it. Treat a pixel figure that someone quotes as a guess.

Because the only size test is whether the photo looks clear, the best habit is to upload the original from your phone or camera. A screenshot of a photo, or a copy that was saved from a chat app, is often smaller and softer than the original. It can look fine on the small screen where you checked it, then go blurry when a woman opens it large.

Blur is also a reason eharmony gives for rejecting a photo, so a soft copy risks a rejection as well as a poor first impression.

If your photo is in a different file type, convert it to .jpg before you upload it, since .jpg is the format eharmony asks for.

eharmony reviews every photo before it appears on the site. Photos must be of you only. It says it may reject blurred photos and photos where you are not visible. It may also reject photos that show a child alone, a pet, an object or scenery. Personal information such as names, addresses or social media handles is another reason.

Read that list as a description of what makes a poor dating photo anyway. A woman cannot judge a man she cannot see. A photo of your dog, your car or a sunset tells her nothing about you, however much you like it.

eharmony says the first photo should be a close-up or head shot, not one taken at a distance. The first photo has one job, which is to show your face clearly and make her curious.

Use daylight, face the light and look relaxed. Avoid sunglasses and hats that hide your eyes. Check it at the size of a thumbnail on a phone, because that is how a woman will see it first. If you cannot tell it is you at that size, pick another.

You can use up to 12 photos, and every member must have at least one uploaded and approved. Twelve is a ceiling, not a target. My rule is to cut any photo that is clearly worse than the others, because a weak one drags down the strong ones around it.

Five or six clear photos that each show something different will do more for you than twelve that repeat each other. One close-up, one full-length shot, and a few of you doing something real is a good set.

Go to Edit Profile from the dropdown by your picture. Click the plus sign or Edit Photos, then choose Select Photo or drag and drop a file.

After you upload, wait for the review. Because eharmony reviews all photos before they appear, a new photo does not show up at once. Do not conclude that the upload failed.

Most men who ask about size have a deeper question: why is my photo not working? A correctly sized file with a poor photo inside it still fails.

The cause is usually the photo itself. It is dark, taken from below, cropped from a group, or shows a man who looks stiff. Ask someone who has never met you what they guess about you from the set. If the guess is off, retake the photos before you adjust the file.

A friend with a phone and an hour of daylight outdoors will give you more than any file setting. The aim is photos that look like you on a good day, saved as a .jpg that is clear when she opens it.