There is always lots to read when it comes to photo standards ; we will do our best to keep it succinct. 

Quick note: 

We understand the struggle of images. We have been practitioners ourselves, we have heard all kinds of feedback from site visitors, we have paid attention to the range of desires/beliefs that practitioners have around their individual images, and we have seen thousands of profile submissions with great and terrible images, and everything in between. The creation of our photo policy has been a thoughtful and very deliberate process, and one that we are sure will keep evolving as we discover new scenarios and make more mistakes.
So…

Why do profiles have images?

Your photos are there to give the impression of: who you are as a practitioner, what you offer, the tone of your work, and the level of safety and professionalism you provide. 

Why do we have rules and guidelines?

We want Sacred Eros’s images to represent our ethos, which is to showcase to the world: wellness, sexuality, and sensuality practitioners who offer education and long lasting effects. Whether it is through talk, touch, or something else.

It is important to us that we show all sides of the practice, not just the sexy.
It may very well be that a practitioner has a sexy, kinky, erotic element to themselves and their practice, but they also need to show knowledge, wisdom, and the ability to improve their clients lives.

If you do not have this discernment and depth to your practice, it might be that Sacred Eros is not the platform for you.

Photo Standards Rules

• Minimum 3 images (banner +2).
• No selfies (or images that look like selfies).
• No low quality, or poorly shot images.
• No nipples.
• No “escorting” style images (subjective, we know).
• Up to half the images can be “sexy”, “body based advertising”, “lingerie adverts”, “intended to spark erotic desire in the viewer”.
• The rest need to show you as a competent and capable professional beyond erotic appeal.
• No heavy filters, AI-generated images, or excessive Photoshop
• You must have consent to use images where other people are present.
• If your body is not part of your service, do not use it to advertise. Do not show sexy (false advertising) images.

If you want to hide your face:

• Use composition, hair, shadows, scarves, hats, or camera angles instead of cropping or blurring.
• If you hide your face in the banner, do not advertise body parts instead (no boob, ass, or genital shots).
• Hiding your face in the profile images: to balance it out, all the images must be exceptional quality. (Crappy images with a practitioner hiding their face simply put give off a bad impression). 

Whether or not an image follows these rules is down to our subjective opinion.
Do not take it personally if we request more/different images… or do, it’s up to you.

Photo Standards Guidelines

• Images do not need to be corporate or formal. Warmth, groundedness, personality, and authenticity are encouraged.
• Hire a (competent) professional.
• Include elements of your practice: tools, environment, or clients.
• An amazing photo of you might not be an amazing photo for your profile, consider if it fits.
• When doing a shoot, give your attention to the following:
  • Framing,
  • Composition,
  • Lighting,
  • Resolution,
  • Sharpness,
  • Noise,
  • Exposure,
  • Focus and depth of field,
  • Attention to detail (even a technically flawless image can feel weak if it lacks a compelling focal point or contains distractions like unwanted objects, clutter, or harsh edges).
    
    If you do not know what some of these mean, ChatGPT explains them well.

The Story

Your images as a collective tell a story, whether or not you are aware of it. We highly recommend considering what story you want your images to tell your (potential) clients.
What qualities do you want to communicate? Imagine you are a client, what qualities would you like to see in a practitioner?
You have gone through all the steps above; puttig time, effort, and even money into the images that represent your practice. You think they are amazing, they might be, however you might be  biased. Take an extra quality control step, find someone who you beleive will be honest with you and ask them what impression they get from looking at your images. Does their answer match up with your intention?

Bonus Tips:

• Pay extra attention to the banner image, it is the first impression a client gets of you, and it is what makes you stand out (or not) on the results page.
• Banner image tip: make the image bigger (higher reaolution) than you think, with more background around you. Different screens crop the banner in different ways.
• Use images where you look comfortable, in your element, and like the badass practitioner you are.

If something is unclear in our Photo Standards, or you want to suggest an addition or change, get in touch, as we are always looking to improve.

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