[In-depth] Creating REALISTIC Dating Profile Pics with AI

Bare with us, this is a bit of a long tutorial, but in general, this will only take about 10-20 minutes to get your first few photos.

Why You Need Killer Photos for Online Dating

Let's face it: online dating is 90% about the pics. (Okay, maybe 95%.) If you're anything like me—or most nerdy dudes I know—posing for a photoshoot sounds about as fun as getting your teeth cleaned.

But thanks to AI, you can skip the awkwardness of getting your friends to take photos of you holding a big fish and snap (well, generate) some seriously good-looking profile shots without booking a photographer.

And since Midjourney came onto the scene a couple years ago, AI images have actually come a long way in the realism department.

Below, I'll walk you through how AI can create photos that don't scream "AI" (ironic, eh).

Why Use AI for Dating Photos?

No Photographers, No Problem: Who needs to spend $$$ on a pro with a fancy camera when you've got AI? It's cheaper, faster, and has zero awkward small talk.
Fix Tiny Imperfections: Yes, AI can smooth out that random pimple you got this morning.
Generate Entirely New Pics: Don't have vacation shots or formal attire pics? AI can whip those up for you—just feed it a few existing photos.

Step 1: Sign Up at Influencer Studio

If you're a total overachiever, you could piece together your own AI setup with fancy GPUs and coding magic, but for the average person, just use a web-based app like Influencer Studio.

For under 10 bucks, you'll get a batch of cool-looking pics of yourself—no coding required.

Step 2: Create a LoRA of Yourself

What Is LoRA?

LoRA (Low-Rank Adaptation) sounds super techy, but think of it like a personal AI of yourself. You feed it a handful of your photos, and it learns how to clone you with AI.

Open or create a new workspace in Influencer Studio.
On the left-hand side, look for the "Train a character model" option.

Boom, you're on your way to building your personal AI clone.

Step 3: Gather & Prep Your Reference Images

The AI's only as good as the fuel you give it—so choose wisely.

Tips:

Go for clear, high-res images (2000px or bigger is ideal).
Capture different angles (front, side, three-quarter). It's basically your chance to show the AI your best angles, no ring light needed.
Use natural lighting if possible. Nobody likes that grainy, dark corner vibe.
Throw in both casual and dressy looks—because sometimes you're Netflix sweatpants chic, and other times you're fancy wedding guest mode.

For this tutorial we used pictures of our social media influencer buddy, Henry (pictured below).

Here are the photos we used for training:

Step 4: Train Your LoRA Model

Training the model costs a bit of compute power (and a few bucks in credits), so just make sure you've got enough credit in your Influencer Studio account. Thankfully, you only need to do this once.

Optional Trigger Word:

If you don't add one, the AI automatically tries to generate you whenever it sees a prompt for "man" (or "woman").
If you do add one (like your name), you can tell the AI exactly when to bring you into the picture.

Step 5: Generate Your AI Dating Photos

Once your LoRA model is good to go, you can start conjuring new pics.

Prompt ideas

Cafe Pic: "A stylish young man/woman in their mid-20s to early 30s, sitting at an outdoor café, sipping coffee and smiling warmly. High-resolution digital photo, taken with a digital camera. Soft natural lighting, slightly blurred cityscape in the background. Photorealistic, cinematic composition, natural skin texture."
Golden Hour Beach Photo: "A confident, attractive person standing by a lake or beach during golden hour. Warm sunlight highlights their features, and their eyes have a slight sparkle. Photorealistic DSLR-style shot, taken with a digital camera. Visible background, natural skin texture, soft lighting creating a dreamy yet sharp effect."
Mysterious & Elegant: "A well-dressed man/woman standing in a dimly lit urban alley with neon lights reflecting on their face. Moody, cinematic lighting, photorealistic, 85mm f/1.4 lens effect. Shallow depth of field, blurred city background with red and blue neon tones. Confident expression with a hint of mystery."
Athletic Gear: "A fit and energetic young adult jogging through a scenic park, wearing modern athletic gear. Shot with a telephoto lens for sharp focus on the subject while maintaining slight background motion blur. Natural daylight, slight sweat glistening on skin, realistic muscle tone, and a determined but friendly expression."
In the Bookstore: "A charming person browsing books in a cozy bookstore, wearing stylish glasses and a soft wool sweater. Photorealistic DSLR-style shot with a 35mm lens, warm ambient lighting, wooden bookshelves in the softly blurred background. Slight smile as they glance up from a book, natural relaxed posture."
Holding a pet: "A warm and affectionate individual sitting in a park, playing with a golden retriever puppy. High-quality digital photograph, taken with a 50mm f/1.8 lens, shallow depth of field, natural daylight. The person is smiling brightly, their hand playfully petting the dog, creating a candid and wholesome atmosphere."
Adventurous: "A young traveler standing at the edge of a scenic mountain viewpoint, wind gently blowing through their hair. Photorealistic shot, captured with a 24mm wide-angle lens, slightly backlit by the sun. Natural textures in their hiking clothes, detailed landscape with atmospheric depth, serene expression as they take in the view."
Sophisticated & Classy: "A well-groomed man/woman in an elegant black dress or tailored suit, standing at a rooftop bar with a stunning cityscape behind them. Photorealistic, cinematic lighting, soft bokeh from city lights, shot with an 85mm f/1.4 lens. The subject is slightly angled, holding a cocktail, with a confident yet inviting gaze."
Cozy Home Vibes: "A cute and approachable person sitting on a couch with a cup of tea, wrapped in a soft wool blanket. Warm golden ambient lighting from a nearby lamp, photorealistic details, shot with a 50mm f/1.8 lens. They have a relaxed smile, slightly tousled hair, and a cozy, inviting atmosphere around them."
Festival Fun: "A joyful young adult at a music festival, wearing stylish but relaxed festival attire. Photorealistic night scene, colorful stage lights reflecting on their face, slightly blurred background of dancing people. Captured with a 35mm lens for a balanced depth of field, slight motion blur on moving elements. Natural skin texture, wide smile, high-energy atmosphere."

Overall for online dating you want to use these 4-5 main categories of photos.

1 - Travel (beach, sailing, etc)

2 - Formal attire like a suit

3 - Sport / athletic / hobby

4 - Casual (like a cafe)

5 - Possibly dog / animal, if you can get one that looks realistic

Feel free to tweak the details: add your own outfits, settings, or that moody lighting you love. Just keep it real enough that people don't think you're a secret anime character.

Here's some of the results we got for Henry, un-post processed.

Step 6: Slight Editing and Tweaks

For a couple of these shots we're going to do a few things to make it better.

Namely, take a look at this generation.

It looks okay, but it's a bit dark and the t-shirt has a weird AI logo on it.

We're going to use the one-click realism feature, which enhances the face and makes it look more realistic.

So now the image looks way sharper, and lastly we'll just remove the logo from his chest using the "inpaint" feature.

Step 7: Don't make it look AI

The biggest key to good AI dating photos is to not let people know it's AI. But here's the thing, AI photos generally look too "perfect" - they look too touched up.

So if you make your photo look more "low quality" that actually makes your photos look real.

So in the example above, notice how we're not going to use some beauty filter to make his skin is perfect. He has a ruddy complexion in the photos and we want to keep that to make the photos look more real.

Also we should avoid too many pics where the lighting is too perfect.

For example:

A photo like this now screams "AI" even though before AI even came along this would've been a perfect beautiful photo. But because it's online dating, not Maxim magazine, this photo now seems too AI because she's just too perfect. Depth of field is too professional, the lighting is too amazing, and overall she just looks like a supermodel.

We've come a long way, but using a pic that's too "perfect" is going to make your profile look too AI in this day and age.

Pro Tips:

Avoid using pics with perfect lighting or "glamour" lighting - these make the shots look too much like AI
Keep your natural features. Embrace the nose, the jawline, the freckles—whatever makes you you.
Use real backgrounds or at least realistic ones. Think beach, city streets—wherever you'd actually hang out.
Don't overdo the airbrushing. A little smoothing = okay, but removing your entire personality makes your photo look way too fake and Snapchat-filtered. 🤣
If you can, show your pictures to a friend (or a few) and see if they call out any suspiciously robot-like vibes.

Like for the image below, we added a little bit of sharpening and adding a few more details using the one-click realism feature, but overall kept it similar to the original photo.

Step 7: Upload & Test on Dating Apps

Now it's time to unleash your new AI-powered looks on the unsuspecting world of dating apps. (Mwahaha.)

Mix It Up: Combine AI-generated pics with some legit real ones so people know there's an actual human behind the profile.
Stay Consistent: Don't post one pic that looks like Ryan Gosling and another like Ryan Reynolds, unless you're actually a shapeshifter.
Phone-a-Friend: Before you hit "upload," let your buds weigh in. Feedback is key.
Experiment: Try different poses, outfits, backgrounds. See which ones make your matches swoon.

Final Thoughts

AI isn't here to replace the real you—it's just giving you a little boost (like that perfect Instagram filter, but leveled up). Train a LoRA model, pick your prompts, and refine those pics until they strike that sweet balance between "OMG is that really you?" and "Wait, that's too good."

It's all about enhancing your vibe, not faking an entirely different person. So keep it real, have fun, and let the matches roll in. Happy swiping!