PiratePirate Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 hi there i've always been camera shy because i think i look sooo unbelievably terrible in photos. on the other hand when i'm at home and i look in the mirror i see a good looking guy and it really makes me wonder if thats really what i look like. what should i really trust, the camera or the mirror? i would really love some advice on having my picture taken and being photogenic, cause i hate looking bad while everyone else looks so great... thank you! Link to comment
Msnak Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 Guys go to places like Glamour Shots and other places for nice photos to be taken. Wal-Mart and Auntie Myrtle will take photos of you that aren't professional and may have bad lighting or whatever. Link to comment
easyguy Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 When you look at yourself in the mirror, you are seeing yourself through your eyes. You've seen yourself in the mirror so many times, that you are used to it. A camera is like the eyes of another person, how they would see you, not how you would see yourself. cause i hate looking bad while everyone else looks so great... Sorry bud, you can't change that unless you do something like modeling, and even then, the average joe can't look stunning. It helps to have professional lighting and whatnot (just icing on the cake), but you are who you are, and you have to learn to love yourself regardless of your looks and what you look like on camera. Besides, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? Link to comment
PiratePirate Posted September 3, 2005 Author Share Posted September 3, 2005 You've seen yourself in the mirror so many times, that you are used to it. actually i have had astigmatism (near sighted) for a good many years of my life. its only been about a year/ very recently that i got my glasses and contacts... i dont lie to myself, if i looked terrible i would still know i looked terrible no matter how many times i saw myself... Link to comment
SimoneTiger Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 Cameras don't lie. I don't know how you perceive the meaning of the word "photogenic," but it's mostly about looks, not some magical property that makes you look great on prints. easyguy is right, and chances are others see you as that guy in the pictures, not the guy you are used to at home in the mirror. What don't you like about yourself in photos? If it is more than just your expression, there is no easy way to make yourself look better. Maybe you need to do something about your appearance--weight loss, better haircut, some plastic surgery if you can afford it... Link to comment
DragonGirl724 Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 *dont take full frontal shots, take 3/4 shots. 3/4 shots make for the best angles. *dont pose. posed photos make you look stiff & dead. *smile like you always smile, i find that laughing before taking a photograph shows off my GENUINE smile....not some 'say cheese' smile which looks not only painted on, but also looks painful. *show teeth not gums. *be yourself in your pictures. you'll not only appreciate them better but you will see how you truly present yourself on the average day. -DG724 Link to comment
easyguy Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 *show teeth....but not too much of them Unless your Louis Armstrong! Link to comment
DragonGirl724 Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 *show teeth not gums Unless your Louis Armstrong! or Mr. Ed. -DG724 Link to comment
northernlights Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 Cameras don't lie. I don't know how you perceive the meaning of the word "photogenic," but it's mostly about looks, not some magical property that makes you look great on prints. easyguy is right, and chances are others see you as that guy in the pictures, not the guy you are used to at home in the mirror. Hmm I don't know about that. I have photos with friends in them who look way better (or way worse) than they do in real life. For instance, I have a quite good looking friend who looks like the ugliest man alive in a photo, while I have another who is pretty good looking but looks like a sculpted beauty in front of the camera. There definitely IS a photogenic-type of person (and un-photogenic-type) in my opinion. Like previous suggestions, the 3/4 angle is very flattering on anyone. I find it looks better on girls than on guys though... Show your teeth when you smile. Unless you have god awful teeth, an open smile looks MUCH better than a closed-mouth, "I'm too cool to show my teeth" smile on the camera. Don't be afraid of the camera. I know it's hard if you think you don't look good in photos, but being afraid of the camera makes you put on a weird, fake-smiley expression when a photo is taken. You don't want that. You want to be natural. Think of something funny. Have someone make a joke. A picture taken when everyone is laughing naturally b/c of a joke is the most beautiful picture...EVEN if your eyes are closed when it's being taken. Link to comment
DragonGirl724 Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 and thats advice coming from a very photogenic person. good advice northernlights. i agree you have to be natural in pictures otherwise it looks too posed. ps: and yes, cameras dont always tell it like it is. weird angles, bad lighting, blurry lenses & God aweful photographers & cameras are sure fire ways of having a bad picture taken of you. -DG724 Link to comment
PiratePirate Posted September 3, 2005 Author Share Posted September 3, 2005 thanks for the responses! , hm... thats true, full frontal shot aren't so good, it makes faces look two dimensional, and i agree that tilting your face at an angle makes for way better shots. i do have a good prom picture with a angled face, but that was just one in a ten, so i guess i will try that. i think i will try out the natural smile, thinking of something funny... btw i heard silently mouthing the word "thursday" works. anyone know if its true? oh yeah... does anyone actually like their school pictures? Link to comment
DragonGirl724 Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 i was going to say school pictures are the absolute worst! dude nobody looks good in those. they are the most awkward, unnatural posed positions the body can be in. nobody in their right mind should prop people into those rediculous painfully stiff poses. STUDENTS REBEL; GO TO A STUDIO & GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN PROFESSIONALLY! -DG724 Link to comment
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