Short answer: choose a small set of recent, well-lit, non-explicit photos that you own or have written permission to use: one strong main photo, a portrait, a full-length photo and a few that show your style. Check how each one crops on a phone, and check every background for anything that could identify where you live. Photos do more for your website than any design.
Visitors decide in seconds, mostly on a phone, mostly from your photos. This guide covers what works on screen, the rights you need, and the hidden details that can give you away.
What makes a good website photo
Light
Natural daylight from a window is the most flattering light there is, and it's free. Face the window rather than having it behind you. Avoid overhead room lights, which cast shadows under the eyes, and the phone flash, which flattens everything.
Sharpness
A slightly blurred photo looks fine in a small thumbnail and poor when someone opens it full screen. Use the back camera rather than the selfie camera if you can, clean the lens, and hold still or use a timer.
Recent
Your photos should look like you today. Out-of-date photos lead to disappointment, which is the opposite of what your website is for.
Consistent
Photos from the same shoot or with a similar feel make a site look polished. A mix of professional shots, mirror selfies and heavily filtered photos looks less considered, even if each one is good on its own.
Non-explicit
Portfolio-style photos only. Most website and hosting providers don't allow explicit images, and Bijou Page sites are non-explicit. Elegant, suggestive and confident works better on a website anyway.
Which photos you need
Fewer, better photos beat a long gallery of similar ones. A good set includes:
- The main photo. The first thing visitors see. Clear, confident, flattering, with space around you so it can be cropped for different screens.
- A portrait, head and shoulders, with your face or your look clearly shown.
- A full-length photo that shows your figure and style.
- Two or three style photos: an evening look, something relaxed, a detail you love.
- Variety in each shot: different outfits, settings and poses, so every photo adds something.
How photos look on phones
The same photo is shown differently on a phone and a laptop. A wide landscape photo may be cropped to a tall, narrow shape on a phone, and if the crop happens through your face, the photo is wasted.
- Leave space around yourself when you take the photo, so there's room to crop.
- Portrait-shaped photos usually work best on phones.
- Check every photo on your own phone once it's on your site.
On a Bijou Page site you tap your face on each photo when you upload it, and that point stays in view however the photo is cropped. Photos are also resized automatically, so you don't need to edit file sizes yourself.
Photo rights and permission
You must be the person in the photos
Use photos of you only. Using someone else's photos is impersonation, and on Bijou Page you confirm you're the person shown.
Photographers own the copyright
In the UK, the photographer usually owns the copyright in a photo, even if you paid for the shoot and you're the subject. That means you need their permission to use the photos on your website. Ask for it in writing: a short email saying you may use the photos on your website and social profiles is enough to keep.
Other people in the photo
If anyone else appears in a photo, even in the background, crop them out or choose a different photo. Don't publish other people without their clear agreement.
Photos from elsewhere
Don't use photos taken from social media, other websites, or AI-generated images that are made to look like you. If you're asked to prove you have the rights, you need to be able to.
The hidden details that can give you away
Location data
Photos taken on a phone can contain hidden data, including the GPS location where they were taken. You can turn off location tagging in your camera settings. When you upload to a Bijou Page site, photos are saved again without location or camera data, but other sites and apps may not do the same.
Backgrounds
Before you use any photo, look at the background as a stranger would:
- Views from windows, local landmarks and street signs
- Distinctive features of your home, such as artwork, a fireplace or a unique view
- Reflections in mirrors, windows, glasses and shiny surfaces
- Letters, parcels, screens, or anything with writing on it
Hotel rooms, a photographer's studio, plain walls and neutral backdrops are the safest choices.
Photos used elsewhere
Reverse image search lets anyone find where else a photo appears online. If a photo, or a very similar one from the same shoot, has ever been on your personal social media, the two can be connected. Use photos that have only been used for work. There's more in our privacy guide.
Descriptions for every photo
Give each photo a short description, such as "In a red dress at dinner". People using screen readers hear it instead of seeing the photo, and search engines read it too. Keep it simple and non-explicit, and never include your legal name. Bijou Page has a description box for every photo.
A quick photo checklist
- Recent, sharp and well lit
- Non-explicit
- You own them, or have written permission from the photographer
- No one else in the frame
- No identifying backgrounds or reflections
- Never used on your personal accounts
- Your face (or chosen focus) stays in view on a phone
- A short description for each one
For everything else your site should include, see the escort website checklist. To see how photos look in each design, open a demo site and use the design switcher.