Thursday Your Turn
I saw a report today that said half of all people in the world do not like looking at photos of themselves. I think people like looking at photos of themselves as long as the photo looks good. The problem is that most of us do not think we look good so we hate the photos. It is a vicious cycle. So, the question I have is do you like photos of yourself? Do you avoid the camera at all costs or are you always happy with how you look in them?
I haven't liked a photo of myself in 20 years, sadly.
ReplyDeleteI used to avoid them all the time. Then I took my eldest daughter to visit my parents one time and we got to looking at photo albums. At one point my then 7 year old said "Momma, I wish there were more of you. I want to know what you looked like." Thats when I realized it was selfish of me to not submit to some photos. I still hate being in them but I do it for ALL my children now in case something happens to me or maybe they have kids themselves.
ReplyDeletei used to be very photogenic when i was young and hot...now i am 32 carrying around an extra 40 pounds, and the camera loves to remind me of it. i can usually forget i'm getting tubby until i see a photographic evidence! camera's are bad!
ReplyDeletealso, i have an older sister who OBSESSIVELY takes self portraits, so at least i know not everyone in my family hates her picture!
Suffice to say I untag myself in about 3/4 of the photos that friends tag me in on fb.
ReplyDeleteI still have photos of me hanging in my house from high school / college or with people I barely know just because they are excellent photos of me. Nothing like a good photo, and they are rare rare rare.
ReplyDeleteat RQ...my sister LOVES to take unflattering pics of me and tag me on facebook. those tags are removed in a timely fashion;)
ReplyDeleteI hate my photos most of the time as well. It is probably because I am 46 and damn old! ;)
ReplyDelete@BigMama- I'm with you. My Mom, however, refuses to have her picture taken, is downright adamant about it- I used that argument with her- "what about your great-great grandchildren? What if they wanted to see what you look like?" She said: "I won't know them and I don't care. That's their problem, not mine."
ReplyDeleteI surprised myself when recently saw a photo of a 25 year old me, that face is now on my daughter. I was pretty, not cute or beautiful - just pretty. I never thought I was until I saw my face in my daughter's.
ReplyDeletelol Chrissy Buns. My friends and I have a gentlewomens' agreement that if one of us absolutely despises a photo with one of us, that photo shall be removed from facebook altogether.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big fan of photos (especially when I am heavier) but I don't see that avoiding them is really possible.
ReplyDeleteI do have photos of me that I like (where I'm thinner) and photos I detest (fat, bad hair, frowning, etc.)
You know what I really hate? Candid photos. I never seem to look good in candids.
I hate photos of me. I don't untag myself unless it's really awful, since I figure that my FB friends know the real me. But I don't take alot of photos either. IRL, I think my BF and I are about equally good looking. But in photos, he always looks good and I look schlubby, darnit.
ReplyDeleteA good friend recently taught me a few tips for posing for photos that I have been practicing.
Hell no.. especially since I have eczema and the only thing I can see is the redness in my face and it’s not even that bad. Btw.. I’m also the only one who sees it. Still, I hate photo’s of myself and I get pretty nervous when there is a videocamera around.
ReplyDelete@Vikingwench - wow! I am gobsmacked at that one! ironically, I have a friend who's mom would probably say the same thing. Just sneak up on her and take them. Tell her that unless she submits, she will have a bunch of fucked up pictures and future generations will think she's nuts. ;) black mail....yeah!
ReplyDeleteI'm of two minds.
ReplyDeleteThere are pics of me I'm happy with and there are pics of me I wish were burned.
As for self portraits, I can't do that to save my life - I don't like the "self aware" look I get when trying to get a picture framed and shot. Some people can pull that off, I just can't.
Have never liked the way I photograph...every now and then a decent one sneaks in but on the whole, nope don't like them.
ReplyDeleteI am always critical of myself, but occasionally, I will take a good photo. I don't avoid the camera, usually.
ReplyDelete@Miss X - I hate candids too! This photo from our local newspaper managed to get a couple of me at a downtown festival last month & published them. I was mortified. I looked insane.
I'm surprised that the study thinks half of all people in the world actually like looking at photos of themselves; that's higher than I would have expected. I guess there are just more people with the last name Kardashian than I realized.
ReplyDeleteI used to run from the camera in the past because I was so big and then I would get depressed when I saw all of the family photos from different events and feel like I wasn't even there. I've now lost 170 lbs. so snap away! = )
ReplyDeleteLet's just say there are more pictures of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster than me.
ReplyDeleteI'm brutally fug and try to avoid being in front of the camera as much as possible.
depends. if it's a good one, fine. I look fat to myself a lot of the time, and would love to never see those again. And I would like creative control over what people tag me in online, too! That can be positively painful. I hate to be a baby and go in and remove the tags, but boy, would I like to.
ReplyDelete@NewLife - you go girl! or boy! not sure which :)
ReplyDeleteI am about 99% sure I will either get crucified for this, or at least several eye rolls, but I love pictures of myself. And I am such a ham. The trick is knowing what angles work for you.
ReplyDeleteMy ex-husband has an Aunt who absolutely refused to have any photos taken of her. When her husband died earlier this year, in the memoriam, there was not one picture of her with her husband, except for their wedding photo. I thought that was so sad. They were married for like 43 years.
Hate them, here in my "later" years. We don't even have a photo from our own (5 years ago) wedding in our house!
ReplyDeleteI have buggy-looking eyes, IMO. Used to not, and I don't have Graves or thyroid issues...just bug-eyed and oogly!
I used to look good, though...
Ugh I hate most pictures of myself. I can never get comfortable around a camera and I have had some real winners over the years. Contrast that with my sister in law who never ever takesa a bad picture and always has a damned camera in our faces and the pics up of FB before you can blink an eye.
ReplyDeleteI have seriously thought of hiring a professional photographer to do a session with me to get some decent pics and maybe give me some tips about being more comfortable in front of the camera.
Handy tip for anyone who is interested...if you care about the people you are taking a picture of, then stick with pics from the shoulders up as much as possible. Those seem to turn out much better and your friends will love you for it. Don't be one of those people who gets a kick out of finding the worst pics of your friends you can find and tagging them just so you look good, LOL. Just sayin!
hate & avoid
ReplyDeleteI am fine with pictures of myself, I may not be the most photogenic person but since I'm usually behind the camera I enjoy seeing myself in front every now and then if no other reason than to document my presence.
ReplyDeleteHate 98% of them. One of the lowest times I experienced was hiring a superb photographer to take sexy pics of me for my hubby while I was skinny and young. This photog can make anyone beautiful. Sadly very few of me turned out decent, its a ugly feeling that if THIS guy can't make it happen, there's just no helping me! Lol.
ReplyDeleteIt actually freaks me out when I see pictures of myself; I don’t know, I just find it really abrupt and shocking when I’m minding my own business and my face pops up out of nowhere on FB. Albums don't bother me.
ReplyDeleteAs for putting pictures up on FB, I live by this: I don’t put up pictures that are unflattering—it’s mean—and I don’t tag people at all. I figure if they like the picture they can tag themselves, although I do have one friend who goes through my photos and tags everyone she knows. It's annoying because she'll tag the inappropriate ones, etc. that are funny, but not something you want your family/other friends seeing.
I hate having my photo taken and I can't stand people who think it's their duty to try and get a photo. Respect other people's wishes!
ReplyDeleteI avoid having my photo taken at all costs. In fact recently I was asked if I had any photos of myself other than the 2 I have on Facebook and I don't. At least not any recent ones. I look like Bert from Sesame Street in photos. Why subject myself to having to see that?
ReplyDeleteI have always hated photos of myself. I always try to be the photographer so I can be looking through the lens at someone else. Good photos of me are very rare. I think I have that condition where I think I am monstrous looking.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I look good in most photos and hate having my pic taken. This is especially bad since my gf is extremely photogenic and loves to have couple pictures.
ReplyDeleteI always think I look fat or vacant or my potbelly is showing or something.
However,I may be too self critical because my bday was two days ago and the pics were posted on FB. There was one everyone commented on that I looked fabulous and happy - I thought I looked demented. And my daughter, who is not given to compliments, actually posted that she thought I looked beautiful in the pictures - first time she has ever said that.
So, maybe it's just me.
@bramblewitch - it would appear, after reading this thread, that everyone on here has the same condition. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteAnyone that wants to take a pic of me gets my standard answer. "I can't, I'm in the witness protection program." It works for me :D
ReplyDeleteI don't like looking at photos of myself either. I hate it actually. I'll feel like shit all day and night if I see one. Everything shows up in a photo - every blemish, every imperfection. If someone wants to take a picture of me fine - just don't show it to me. I won't even let my GF give me photos of events we attend. I'd just crop my ass out and look at her. ;)
ReplyDeleteJohnny Depp said in an interview last year he can't watch himself onscreen. So pretty people do have the same condition as well, it seems.
ReplyDeleteI love taking pictures and being in pictures. I'm 36 and still look pretty whether I'm big or little. I think what is the most hilarious is our fashions in older pictures. That's fun to remember the crazy stuff you though was so cool to wear. I always feel beautiful enough for a picture. "Say Cheese!" is one of my ringtones!!!!lol
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Paris Hilton isn't one of the people that hates the camera. I'll imagine she has them installed all over her house like those cameras on "Big Brother" snapping and recording her everywhere she walks. Then at the end of the night she watches them all while saying "I'm so hot.I'm so hot" over and over again.
ReplyDelete@Cindy
ReplyDeleteWitness Protection Program, love that ;>.
To be 100% honest, I have avoided the camera all my life. I now regret it because I have very very few pictures of our whole family or even myself with either of our now grown children. I now force myself to sit still and smile when there is a camera around. Still hate the picture but at least I won't regret this stage with my family when I am old(er) I never thought of myself as pretty and had 3 brothers who, while we are very close now, used to call me all kinds of names when I was young and that has stayed with me for all these years.
ReplyDeleteI am not photogenic at all - it's my moonface. I hate seeing photos of myself and dread having my picture taken. I feel very awkward in front of a camera - I think I might have ruined some of my brother's wedding photos by looking like a grumpy corpse.
ReplyDeleteI model from time to time & I'm still self conscious about pictures. I may think its bad, but others don't. Its a 50/50 thing.
ReplyDeleteThe reason most people cringe when looking at their photos is the mirror effect. You are used to seeing your mirror image, so when you look at yourself in a photograph, any asymmetry in your face is effectively doubled. If you have a photograph, hold it up to the mirror and look at it that way. If you have an electronic copy, most photo editors let you "flip" the image vertically. TRY IT! You all can thank me later. :)
ReplyDeleteI do love photos and I am fat. I just think it is lovely to capture moments. I now do dorky self portraits with my husband. When we were on holidays I snapped a couple - at a bar, in a cable car - they are funny and spontaneous. Photos are memory joggers. I take great photos of other people too. I always delete unflattering ones.
ReplyDeleteSalon deWinchester....I think I love you. I always wondered why mypic looks so different compared to how I thought I looked in the mirror a moment before it was taken. I thought it was all in my head....
ReplyDeleteI dislike about half the photos I'm in, but I make myself take them because I want them for the future. And they can be a blessing in disguise! I didn't realize I had gained 15 pounds when I lived in France in college until I saw photos of myself from when I was skinny against the travel ones. ICK. Wake up call FOR SURE. :)
ReplyDeleteI photograph really well. So do my kids. To the point where people ask if it's me in the photos, or if my kids pix have been retouched. Last year the school pix were especially horrible for everyone....but my kids. Lol, my youngest looked like a movie star among the fugly. Even she said, "I wish I really looked like that". Word.
ReplyDeleteI've never minded being photographed and am at ease in front of a camera.
ReplyDeleteI'm also comfortable deleting/setting fire to any pics of me in which I look like total hell. ;-)
I can only remember a handful of pictures over the years that I enjoyed looking at; the rest, not. But one thing I will say: looking at pictures from long ago, like teenage years, I'll bet most of us (myself included) think, "Gee, I wasn't nearly as ugly/fat/dumpy-looking/awkward as I thought I was then."
ReplyDeleteI hate my picture taaken. HATE in all caps hate. I am not as bad as my Nana who would expose film, cut or scratch out her face but I'd rather not have my picture taken.
ReplyDeleteI have very few pictures of my Nana & the only one she ever liked of herself is when she was a baby. When she got older she asked us what she could leave us in her will. My sisters wanted "stuff". I asked for her baby picture. It sits proudly on my wall.
I hate pictures of me. As long as I don't see pictures or look in the mirror, I'm still 19 and pretty and slender.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was slim, I didn't mind. NOw that I'm overweight. There is NOT a good picture of me.
ReplyDeleteThis is kind of funny in a twisted sort of way: I keep a small framed photo of my late sister on my desk at work. She was extremely pretty and it's my favorite pic of her. A couple of times people have exclaimed, "Wow, what a GREAT picture of Mango!!"
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm not a fraction as gorgeous as she was but there is a familial resemblance, so I can understand the misconception but on the other hand I always think, "What kind of tool would keep a framed portrait of themselves on their desk??"
When I see pics of myself, I think, "Shit, do I really look that pasty/chunky/etc. in real life?" I'd rather believe I'm just not photogenic. It's too depressing otherwise.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason pics suck is that they capture one instant in time, and you can stare at every excruciating detail and pick them apart. In real life, we're not walking around all the time with half-closed eyes and double-chins.
Thus, I try to stay as unphotographed as possible. Of course, at a Bruce Campbell book signing, I will relent.
Reading the rest of the posts made me sad. :(
ReplyDeleteFor those of you that talk about Facebook tags...set your privacy settings so that all tagged pictures are only visible by *you*. I had to do that last year when I kept getting absolutely dreadful pictures of me posted by clueless/devious friends.
I think we should all be a little kinder to ourselves. Everyone is beautiful. Damn it.
ReplyDelete@ ms snarky - AMEN!
ReplyDeleteI have been known to threaten cameras lives and photographers lives if they even attempt to photograph me. I hate it .. and frankly I feel like it is a violation of my privacy. Hate it hate it hate it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not perfect, but I like myself.
ReplyDeleteOne day my ass/boobies will be on the floor, and my face will be sagging, so I'm going to enjoy how I look now before I fall apart.
I'm out of shape and I know it but if you want to take a picture...go for it. I could care less!
ReplyDelete