I rarely look good in photos, and I don't know if it's self-consciousness

[easyguy]

It's almost an automatic response to say "Oh, you're just being hard on yourself" when talking to someone who says they don't like what they look like in photos. Which tends to be the case. But I don't know about me. Maybe I fall into that category, not sure.

 

I naturally have a neutral to a somewhat frowning face, so when my photo is taken in that state, I see myself as being down, depressed, or angry. Which I am usually not. I'm just being neutral, being myself. And when I smile, it looks forced; I'm not exactly the biggest smiler for some reason. That probably stems from being reclusive and shy for so many years. I'm more outgoing now than I used to be, but to be open to meeting new people, you have to appear approachable.

 

Do some people look good in photos and some don't? Or is it all mental?

[itsallgrand]

Being photogenic and looking good in person are two completely different things.

 

Some people have a great face for 2 dimensions, and also may know how to pose correctly. Wide set eyes don't look so hot in rl, but look great on film!

 

Each of us has a side we look better from in pictures. Find out which side that is, and you'll take better photos.

 

Some gorgeous people just look bad in pics.

 

Another thing: we all look a little funny to ourselves in pictures, bc we are used to seeing the 'flip' version of ourselves in the mirror.

 

I have a 'pout' too when I am not smiling. I guess the only way to remedy that on cam is to smile more often.

[Lily04]

Hi,

 

I ALWAYS thought I looked bad in photos. It'd get to the point where I wouldn't even want photos taken or have any of me, as I hated how I looked in all. I thought I looked much better in person, however. I think a lot of it is due to lighting, angle, etc. as well, as I look a lot better in some pics than others.

 

BUT I also noticed that fairly recently I started to like how I looked in pics better. And I also lost weight... so now I don't mind taking pics so much. I think a large part of it can be mental for some people as when I had a more positive self-image of myself I didn't hate how I looked in pics so much. If theres something about yourself you don't like, why not make some positive steps towards changing it? You may just like your reflection better.. I'd also suggest experimenting with photography. I find I like webcam pics a lot more than regular ones because I'm in control of taking the shots, positioning the light/colour etc. and I know I can take my time to look good (i.e. I'm an utter perfectionist so I like being in control, haha.)

 

Take care, HTH,

 

Lily

[Lily04]

oh yeah, also I just wanted to comment that I notice I look great from side-pics (i.e. especially the left side of my face). Don't know why. Straight face shots are OK, but I just personally tend to prefer side shots. maybe because I look more mysterious? lol. if there's a certain angle you prefer & feel better about yourself in, then try to position yourself like that. I think a lot of us do..I notice lots of movie stars often try to "put their best face forward" so to speak so some will tend to smile a certain way or show their left/right side more often... agents take note of that. =)

[easyguy]

Yeah, I too a perfectionist when it comes to taking photos. A couple times when I was trying to take a good photo of myself, I would take shot after shot trying to get the right angle and the right facial expression. I don't know what it is, but I just get into the habit of doing that, looking for that right angle. I don't really like being posed in photos, but I also don't like my photo being taken like it's catching me off guard. I tend to look best from the front and sort of to the side, but not a complete side angle.

 

I use a small digital camera for photos. I've had my photo taken in a studio before, but it was for school (senior yearbook photo(s)). I had one photo out of all of them that I looked best in.

[sumguy]

As the weird guy who carries a camera around, snaps shots without warning and purposely ruins poseing, I have a slightly different point of view:

 

Everyone looks good in photographs when they're snapped randomly, because they capture real emotion and a real situation. When it comes to posing, some people look good because they know how to pose, and some people look less good because they make a strange face, or they feel they smile unnaturally, or they become self-conscious.

 

I bet you'd look great in photos, just a photo of you genuinly laughing or having fun, not one where you're trying to imitate these emotions.

[Unmotivated]

I can definitely relate here. I like how I look in the mirror, but I can almost never take a picture of myself that I like. It's mind-boggling.

[SNOWGLITTER]

hey easyguy,

only about 5% of the world's population is actually photogenic so i wouldn't worry about it too much, but if you think you don't smile enough and would like people to see you as more approachable, then smiling could be beneficial. frowning causes wrinkles so there's another advantage to smiling! just practice it and before you know it, you could be the champion smiler!! hehe