read the sidebar: you're a good guy, so I'll copy it for you
Pictures DO
From our very own /u/mattheikkila's OKCuTips: "Your first photo should either show how attractive you can be, or be interesting enough to compel those you’re interested in to click on it when it’s a little 60x60 pixel thumbnail. Picking an odd, silly, weird, or goofy picture is probably not the best choice. I personally will click on a profile only if there is a reasonable chance that they’re attractive, and I do this for 3 reasons: 1 is to save time, 2 is because it’s a dating site and I’m only going to consider someone I find attractive, and 3 is because I don’t want to unnecessarily give the message that I may be interested (by showing up in their visitor list) if I’m definitely not. Usually a face shot with good lighting, no bathroom shots, or self shots if you can help it. Also, you can help it. Do you have one friend? Do you or they have a camera or a camera phone?
Your second and third photos should be flattering, and one of the three should be a full body shot, because there’s no point in dealing with the embarrassment of finding out one of you even accidentally misrepresented what you look like in person."
Your first picture is the most important piece of the profile puzzle. It's the first thing people see when searching profiles, and can be the make-or-break decision in less than five seconds of someone knowing of your existence. So, DO pick your absolute best picture! It must have great lighting, great composure, high resolution, and most importantly your best features being the most prominent eye-catcher in the picture. Also, when cropping, make sure to capture that essence because your thumbnail is your representative on the site.
DO have a few pictures alone, and a few with other people. Having lots of one and very few of the other will give bad impressions of either being too anti-social and difficult to mesh with your match's friends, or too clung to your friends and activities to have time for a partner.
Do show variety. Different places, different times, different moods, different atmospheres, different poses and different facial expressions will do more to show how multi-faceted of a person you are than any amount of words you type out describing it.
DON'T
Don't overload on the selfies. Cell phone pictures taken by yourself are tiring and hardly do justice to your features. Use a higher quality camera when possible.
Don't use bad lighting and unflattering locations. The worst place to take a picture is a bathroom. However, it's the most common. Why? That's where the mirror is. This tends to go hand-in-hand with the self-shots because it's easier to pose when you can see your subject, which is you. Get outside when possible during the golden hours of the day. DON'T BE UGLY BY ACCIDENT!
Don't take your clothes off. If you're looking for a more substantial connection than sex, then attract users non-sexually. Shirtless pictures, underwear/swimsuits, and very revealing clothing will set a person's perspective of you, and they will then mainly see you as that type of person. Additionally, these pictures may deter other users looking for substance from messaging you because they see you as only looking for a shallow connection.