There can be a certain kind of torture to online dating. In an endless sea of coffee dates it’s easy to feel uninspired. As an online dating photographer in San Francisco I hear a lot of stories and people come to me for help. The idea of my work is quite simple really: better online dating photos = more dates. This makes sense and is definitely an important piece of the puzzle in finding love online. But what happens when your profile (including that fabulously written online dating bio) and photos are perfect, and you actually start setting up dates? Where should you go? What should you do? How do you get to know a bunch of different people without defaulting to the standard, uninspired ideas? I mean, I like coffee just as much as the next person, but there has to be another way.
There are many articles online about having fun with dating. I like this one by Gala Darling where she lists 50 creative date ideas. Very inspiring!
Another fun resource for first date ideas is this great article I found from Daily Candy.
My top 5 from Gala Darling’s List:
Photobooth Hunt– Trawl your city for old-school photo booths & take as many strips as you can. Take props, maybe a silly wig or two, & see how bizarre you can make them. P.S. Photobooth.net is your go-to source for major photo booth info!
Pretend to be Tourists– Go & do the stuff you’ve never done because, well, you’ve always lived here.
*(I suggest taking a ferry to Sausalito for the afternoon, or walking across golden gate bridge. It will really feel like you went on a trip together.)
Five-course Dinner… at Different Places– Have an appetizer at one place, soup somewhere else, a main here, a dessert there, & coffee at your favorite cafe.
The Really Long One-way Walk No rules except that you just have to walk for a really long time in one direction & not turn around. When you’re really exhausted or you hit the ocean, it’s time to go back. Catch a taxi or a bus or something to ease the pain.
The Case Of The Mystery Band Grab a copy of your local newspaper or magazine, close your eyes, run your finger over the “live music” section & choose a band neither of you have ever heard of to go & see. It could be amazing; it could be completely hellish — you won’t know until you go!
