CBS Dating Profile Photography Feature: Shannon Kathleen Photography

On June 24, 2025, CBS News/WCCO joined me and client Alecia Anderson at Boom Island Park in Minneapolis for a CBS dating profile photography story about something that had quietly become a major part of my business: people hiring professional photographers specifically for their dating profiles.

The CBS segment followed Alecia during an actual session and explored why some adults decide they need more than cropped group photos, old vacations, or the occasional work headshot when they return to online dating. Alecia told CBS that when she first built her profile, she struggled to find photographs of herself that felt useful without cropping other people out. 

For me, seeing this part of my work covered by CBS was a little surreal. Dating-profile photography had grown from something deeply personal into a specialty I now photographed professionally—and suddenly there was a news crew standing beside us while we did it.

Behind the CBS Dating Profile Photography Feature

One thing I appreciated about the segment was that we did not need to manufacture a fake photography session for television.

Alecia and I met at Boom Island Park and worked much the way I would during any other dating-profile session. I gave her direction, adjusted positioning and light, worked through different expressions and framing, and kept moving rather than expecting her to arrive knowing how to pose.

CBS reported that Alecia had recently moved toward online dating after seeing friends find relationships that way. She also explained that she had struggled to find photographs that felt representative when building her own profile. 

That problem is much more common than people realize.

Adults can have thousands of photographs on their phones and still discover that very few work well for a dating profile. The useful images may be old, include other people, come from work, or simply fail to provide enough variety to build a complete visual introduction.

Professional dating photography is one way to solve that very specific problem.

How Dating Profile Photography Became Part of My Work

I did not begin my photography career intending to specialize in dating profiles.

I had already been a professional photographer for many years before this niche became a meaningful part of my business. CBS reported at the time that I had been photographing professionally for more than 15 years and had spent the previous two-and-a-half years focusing increasingly on dating-profile clients. 

The interest was personal before it became professional.

I returned to online dating in my 40s and experienced firsthand how strange it can feel to reduce an entire adult life to a few photographs and short pieces of text. Even though I was a photographer, I was also the person sitting on the other side of the app trying to decide whether the images I had actually represented me.

I eventually met my husband on Bumble at 42.

I do not credit my photographs with creating that relationship. The profile created an introduction; everything that mattered afterward happened between two people getting to know each other in real life.

What the experience gave me was perspective on the profile-building process itself.

What I Think About the CBS Story Differently Today

The CBS feature captured a real moment in the evolution of my business, and I’m grateful for it. It also reflects some of the language I was using at that stage of my work.

At the time, I talked more broadly about confidence, self-perception, and my own experience after a difficult relationship. Those experiences are part of my personal story, but my professional lane today is much more specific.

I focus on dating-profile photography, visual first impressions, photo strategy, photo selection and order, prompts, profile flow, and creating natural portraits that feel current and genuinely representative.

I am not a therapist, matchmaker, or dating coach.

That distinction does not diminish the personal meaning photography can have. It simply keeps the job of the photograph clear.

Why Alecia’s Situation Was So Relatable

One of the most useful parts of the CBS story was how ordinary Alecia’s original problem was.

She was not trying to manufacture a completely different version of herself. She needed photographs she could actually use.

CBS quoted her explaining that when she first created her dating profile, she was struggling to find pictures where she did not have to crop friends out and where she felt the images represented her. 

That is exactly the kind of practical problem dating-profile photography can solve.

You may need:

• one clear, current opening image
• a wider photograph that provides more physical context
• something more relaxed than your work headshot
• a lifestyle image
• different expressions
• a setting connected to your actual life
• enough variety that six photographs do not all communicate the same thing

The point is not that every photo needs to look professionally produced.

The point is having enough useful visual material to build the profile.

What a Dating Photography Session Actually Looks Like

The television segment gave viewers a short glimpse of the process, but most of the work happens in the smaller decisions.

I pay attention to camera distance, expression, movement, posture, light, framing, background, wardrobe, and the relationship between one photograph and the rest of the planned set.

You do not need to walk into the session knowing how to pose. I give direction throughout the process, and that direction changes depending on the person.

Some clients need more movement. Others need more conversation or more specific physical direction. Sometimes we need a few minutes before someone stops monitoring every expression and starts responding naturally.

The goal is not to make somebody perform for the camera.

It is to create enough structure that the photographs feel useful, current, and recognizable.

Professional Dating Photos Are Not the Same as Professional Headshots

This distinction has become a major part of the way I work.

A strong professional headshot can be excellent for LinkedIn, a company website, speaking engagements, or a business bio. But a dating profile has a different job.

Six polished portraits in business attire may show your face clearly while telling very little about the rest of your life.

Dating photographs can include more range: polished and casual, close and wider, still and active, indoor and outdoor, portrait and lifestyle. That variety gives the final profile more information to work with.

It is why I now think about the role of each photograph, not simply whether each individual image is attractive.

If you want to go deeper into that idea, read How to Choose Dating Profile Photos That Work Together.

The CBS Feature Was About More Than One Photography Session

The segment aired locally through CBS Minnesota/WCCO on June 24, 2025. It covered both Alecia’s decision to try professional dating-profile photography and the growth of this niche within my business. 

The story later became part of a broader group of media mentions around my work, including distribution and pickup through additional outlets documented on my Press & Media page. 

I still find that part a little surreal.

What began as a very specific photography problem—people needing current photographs they could actually use on dating profiles—was suddenly being discussed on television.

And it helped normalize something I had already been seeing from clients: hiring a photographer specifically for online dating was becoming less unusual.

What Dating Profile Photography Looks Like in My Business Today

A lot has changed since that CBS camera crew met us at Boom Island Park.

I am now based in Dallas–Fort Worth and photograph dating clients here year-round. I also continue to return to the Twin Cities for occasional Minnesota dates, with travel available by request.

The core photography philosophy has become even more deliberate.

My current Dating Photos That Work™ approach starts with the profile itself. Before creating new photographs, I want to know what you already have, what is missing, and what roles the new images actually need to fill.

Sometimes that means professional photography is clearly the next step.

Other times, someone already has enough strong material and needs better photo selection, order, or overall profile strategy rather than another session.

That is why I now offer both photography and the Match-Ready™ Profile Audit.

If You Already Have Good Photos, Start There

You do not need new photography simply because you are using a dating app.

If you already have several current, clear, varied photographs, we may be able to make a much stronger profile from what already exists.

The Match-Ready™ Profile Audit is designed for exactly that situation. I personally review the actual images, photo order, prompts, bio, profile flow, and overall first impression before recommending what I would strengthen.

If You Know the Photos Are the Missing Piece

Sometimes it is obvious that the existing photo library cannot do the job.

Your photographs may be outdated, overwhelmingly professional, filled with cropped group shots, or simply too repetitive to build a useful profile.

That is where a photography session makes sense.

My current dating sessions combine strategy before the camera with natural direction during the session so we can intentionally create different types of photographs rather than six versions of the same portrait.

FAQ: The CBS News Dating Photography Feature

What the CBS Feature Still Means to Me

The CBS/WCCO story captured a point when dating-profile photography had grown from a personal interest into a defining part of my professional work.

I still appreciate that the segment showed a real client, a real session, and a very ordinary problem: sometimes the photographs you already have simply do not represent the person you are trying to introduce online.

My thinking around the work has become more precise since then. I make fewer claims about what photographs can do and spend more time thinking about what they actually need to do.

• A dating photo does not create chemistry.
• It does not prove personality.
• It cannot guarantee a relationship.

But it can help create a clearer, more current visual introduction.

And that is still the work I care about.