It's funny, I have been very worked up over a picture of myself that was not very flattering. But then I see myself in the mirror and I think I look pretty good. Do pictures really lie?

My husband said he doesn't think the pic really looks the way I look either. But when I see photos of other people, they look like they look...

I think there is a definite flattening effect for pictures, especially with a flash, that can make someone look wider than they really appear in real life. But I also agree with the essay that Denise posted -- part of the problem is I have a totally different picture in my head that might not reflect reality either.

I read this "Drop the Fork" essay today.

"You Ought to be in Pictures"

Jen
I just downloaded our trip pictures into our computer last night and was appalled at a couple of the pictures of myself. My arms looked HUGE. I kept looking at the picture and then my arms in the mirror - it was ridiculous.

I finally let it go with being just a bad picture, at a bad angle, etc...

Try not to read too much into that photo and listen to your hubby ; )

quote:

Originally posted by TriGirl:
But when I see photos of other people, they look like they look...

If they are showing you photos… they have culled thru the photos are showing you the best ones. If it is pictures you have taken, you probably mentally edit in your mind, “THAT is a terrible picture of so&so… Oh, THIS is a great picture of so&so…” And most photos of so&so are neither GREAT nor AWFUL… and just look the way so&so looks.

Personally, I think that motion pictures or video "captures" people the best or gives the "truest" picture of how we really look.

And ok… true confessions… I hope this comes out the right way.

When we went to see KD in March… we took LOTS of pictures but only about 3 or 4 could be posted. I deleted about 25 photos. (Thank goodness for digital cameras!) EVERY ONE of us in San Francisco (including KD!) had photos where we just didn’t look like our “normal” selves.

KD is very personable and animated on TV and is beautiful, energetic and vivacious in both real life and on TV. But many photos of KD in action were not print worthy. It is very difficult to capture a photo of KD (or anyone) in an animated moment (talking, laughing, tasting food, even in the process of smiling) and have that picture come out great. We probably all think of KD as very photogenic... Many of the “snap shots” of a moment frozen in time… just didn’t do KD justice. And we all know KD is beautiful!

That was true for ALL of us… we all had photos like that. They were the kind of photos that made you think, “OMG! Do I really look like that?!?!?!” The answer is “No!”. We are in SF and cooking with KD and dh is taking photos of these happy, animated people and the camera did a freeze frame where someone laughed and turned their head in some way and opened wide and all you can see are molars and tonsils and a view up somebody’s nose all the way to their sinuses. Or some photos… a person’s gut or chin or nose looked 6 times larger than real life. But the still camera didn’t do a great job of capturing a happy, beautiful person laughing and having a great time.

On the other hand… I’ve had some photos where I’ve thought… OMG! I have to do SOMETHING! When I look in the mirror, I generally pull in my stomach and my posture is good and stand with my body, head, etc. at my most flattering angle. I don’t exactly present a true picture of myself in the mirror either. I think that I deluded myself in the mirror for a few years… that I was heavy… but “solid” or “fit”. In photos, I look more “fat” and “flabby” and “un-fit” - which was actually more accurate.

Both photos and the mirror are just moments frozen in time… and a lot goes into how we view it… and I wouldn’t get all worked up about one or two bad photos. If Jesse says it doesn’t look like you… take him at his word.

Wish I knew how to be more photogenic. My husband looks good in every picture. He has a very thin face, though, so maybe that helps. I have a round face and if I carry even a little extra weight I tend toward a double chin.

I used to think that being a vampire was not so bad...you don't cast a reflection in a mirror and you can't look at yourself. But you know a mirror isn't so bad, because you can step away from it.

But a picture, OMG! It's there forever. It was a picture or rather two of me that made me start this journey. One was about 17 years ago when I was 7 months preg with my son, and the other was about 2.5 years ago when I was at my heaviest.....they both looked the same! UGH, I couldn't stand me any longer. that was it! I
made up my mind that the second half of life was going to be better than the first.

I still hate to have my pic taken, but I'll take the mirror.

Pictures can capture us at our most unflattering angles and at our worst moments. In real life we are in constant motion, even while we look in the mirror. One snap shot at a bad angle my be an accurate image of that one angle at that one split second, but it doesn't mean that it is how people perceive us or how we should perceive ourselves.

Kathy

I am 35 y.o., I think there might be one picture of me in all those years that I actually like. I too look in the mirror and think, not too bad, but then I see a picture and YUK. My friend looks great in every picture, she could be just waking up, hair a mess and she still looks great. I just think some people photograph well, others don't. I don't, doesn't matter what I wear, how my hair looks, tan, not tan. I dread pictures.
Don't sweat it, I think there are a lot of us who dont like pics of ourselves, I just dont look at them.
Jill

Digital photos are best - a little blur added with Photoshop is a Good Thing.

Images (both in the mirror and photos) depend so heavily on lighting that I think it can go either way! I say go with the ones that make you feel good and let the bad ones go. How my clothes fit is the biggest indicator for me of actual size.

I can actually like pictures of myself now. Before I lost weight, I could barely stand to look at pictures of myself and some of them (esp. in bathing suit or shorts) would depress me. Now, I can actually enjoy about 85% of the pictures that are taken of me and that is a huge step forward in terms of self-image.

The only picture I've seen of myself since I lost weight that made me shudder is a digital pic that was taken during my workplace health fair last spring. I was working the healthy foods table, and my head was down while stirring my pasta salad. The picture captured every last speck of droopy skin and turkey neck possible. I was HORRIFIED when I saw the picture...it was part of a photo collage of the event that was sent out to all employees. It would have been bad enough if only the photographer and I had been privy to that photo, but knowing that all my coworkers and customers saw that, I wanted to dig a hole and hide in it.

On the whole, though, I think that what I see in the mirror and what I see in pictures of myself are relatively close now. Before, I was in denial about how big I'd gotten, so I was always shocked to see how big my face was in pictures because I didn't see that in the mirror.

this is one of the things I struggle with.

Sometimes I'll look at myself in a mirror and go "wow", while other times its like "urgh".

Some pics I think look nice, but others look hideous. but its so subjective...part of it is self-image for me...

I know just what you mean. It is hard to know what image to trust, then again it is all perception, right? I was noticing that the gym mirrors at the Y by the treadmills are horrible, and I always look huge when I'm running (in the mirror), but right after I thought that, I wondered if the other mirrors that I LIKE were the ones that were wrong. Hm! Maybe its just one of those variables in life that keep us in the moment. I look so different to myself (when I look down at my body) than the mirror says I do - and I just kind of morph the two to get a general concept of it. I want to feel good more than I want to look good, but only by a small margin

Lynne