Ugly pictures

Weight loss generally begins because a person looks in the mirror and doesn't like what he or she sees...what about when you look in the mirror, think you look ok (maybe even good), and then see a picture taken on that same exact night and think OMG I look awful! Does that mean you have an extremely distorted view of yourself or is it just a bad angle (or maybe even multiple bad angles)?

Thoughts?

When you look in the mirror you see what you want to see. 

When you look at a picture you are able to see yourself the way others see you...or it could just be a bad picture.

Meh, I don't know.

I personally think I look better in pictures than in the mirror. Maybe I'm just more photogenic than decent looking? haha.

that happens to me...I go out thinking I look pretty good...see a picture and want to hide for years...

I think I see myself as thinner then I am. 

I think we train ourselves to approach a mirror so we see ourselves from the best angle.  Photos aren't so forgiving.  :-/

You are moving in a mirror. You are caught still in a photograph. Some of us look better when we are moving. Some of us look better when we are moving so fast we are a blur :)

Another thought - we are especially critical of photographs because we know other people are going to see that exact same picture (that was often snapped without our knowledge or even permission!).

In the mirror, it is usually when we are "primed" for viewing, and it is usually to check for things like toothpaste on your shirt.  Usually it is earlier in your day, so a better posture is often present.  And I agree with amethystgirl, you are moving, you can see yourself from the best possible angle!

Original Post by amethystgirl:

You are moving in a mirror. You are caught still in a photograph. Some of us look better when we are moving. Some of us look better when we are moving so fast we are a blur :)

Hmm, maybe I need to work on moving faster.  :)

I think the last answer is close.

When I move away from the mirror or in real close what i see changes. When I leave its gone. 

A photograph is a long term record that can be passed around and seen by others, even strangers.  So we scrutinize it much harder.

I dodged cameras pretty hard for the last five years.  Now those pictures that do exist will serve as reminders. 

Also since I'm close to where I want to be (in size) now my whole perspective on mirrors is different.

Original Post by amethystgirl:

You are moving in a mirror. You are caught still in a photograph. Some of us look better when we are moving. Some of us look better when we are moving so fast we are a blur :)

This.  I am a dynamic person.  It's part of my charm.    And it just doesn't get captured in a still photograph.  I long ago accepted that my complete non-photogenicness does not mean I am not attractive IRL.

Lysistrata your philosophy is awesome, and I am going to adopt it. And maybe, as this weight comes off, I will like my pictures again. I can totally identify with everything that everyone has said. I think this is especially hard for me now because I used to be much more photogenic than I am now (a double chin will do that to you)

Thanks for your thoughts!

Original Post by amethystgirl:

You are moving in a mirror. You are caught still in a photograph. Some of us look better when we are moving. Some of us look better when we are moving so fast we are a blur :)

 THIS! is why I run...so many miles. Unfortunately, when I stand still, all the fat comes into perfect focus. :( Guess I'll keep running from the cameras!

I think some people just aren't photogenic. The camera flattens everything out, so if you don't have many sharp angles you end up looking chubby. And people who look weirdly skinny in person often end up looking great in photos...

Anyway this happens to me all the time and it can really do a number on your self-esteem if you let it. So just remember that photos aren't everything, and try and love yourself!

thats funny because I think I look a lot better in photos [not all of them, of course]
When I look in the mirror I get worried that it will shatter.
bleh, my reflection in the mirror is repulsive

Some days I look in the mirror and think  "damn, you look good for an old broad"!    The next day I may think  "who the hell is that"?!  

yeah... I'd rather not be in any pictures  :(

I think I look better in the mirror than I do in pictures.  

I'll stand in front of the mirror and think, "WOW moody, yer lookin' kinda good today"  then moments later I'll have a picture taken and my 'thought process' completely changes to, "HOLY Shiiitface-batman!!... how come nobody told me how freakin ugly I am?!?!"

photographs do me NO justice whatsoever!!!   probably why I don't post my 'real' pictures anywhere  :/

...even people who I've known a long time have told me that I look different in pictures than I do in real life.  <----that's enough proof for me, lol

*throws pictures of self into fireplace*

I want to know why photographers (especially the family kind) always do their best to undo your best effort to present the best of yourself when you are posed.

You present your "good" side and they tell you to turn so that your weird side (the one with the mole and the arm that wont quite straighten out) to the camera.

I have an odd face.  Photos make me look odder.  I have an upper lip that is too short so that if I try to give a toothy Hollywood smile it looks more like a grimace on my face.  I know my smile is best when my mouth is closed.  I really look like I have a smile then. 

But NOOOO....the family photographer is always yelling at me to smile BIGGER.  In every photo i look like I have just smelled something bad - or just killed the photographer.  I look homicidal.  I become Jack Nicholson in the Shining.

I find if I'm trying too hard to look nice in pictures -- giving a fake smile, etc., then it ends up being a bad photo because it's fake. If I'm sticking out my tongue and waving my arms around, I don't look bad because I look idiotic. This is why in most of my pictures I look like a goon. I like it.

I think some people just aren't photogenic. The camera immortalizes a zit that's going to be gone in three days, the bags under your eyes because you stayed up too late last night watching crappy TV. People who see you every day know you look good, pictures are unforgiving.

I never refuse to have my picture taken, though. I'm vain that way.

Original Post by happyfish22:

The camera immortalizes a zit that's going to be gone in three days, the bags under your eyes because you stayed up too late last night watching crappy TV. People who see you every day know you look good, pictures are unforgiving.

That's when I bust out my trusty friend photoshop!

It's easier to think you're thinner than you actually are. Pictures are a wake up call. That's how it was for me. Don't try to make up excuses for it - just accept it, move on, and do something about it. 

lol this post made me smile, I love it. I'm an amateur photographer. What I've learned about portrait photography- no ones pictures come out good (to them). You can be doing a shoot and have twenty-five photographs, and around 3-7 of them are approved by your model. Angles are everything when photographing people! Don't be worried about snap-and-go photographs, most likely your friends and family are the people who will have them to keep, and they love you/know you. Your personality gets captured in that photo when they look at it. Of course there are those photos that are just, well, bad. Half closed eyes, dopey look, but it happens to us all! Even the gorgeous get their fair share of 'holy **** I look horrible there,' ever picked up Star magazine waiting in the checkout line?