My Theory Why People dont like their Photos

Hi Folks,

Many Many times in my life I heard people saying "i dont like pictures of myself", they say they look awful and horrible whilst for me they look great...Fisrt I thought they were fishing for compliments but then hell no..I do too see myself different in Photos..so Why is that...

My Theory is that since you are born you see yourself reflected in the mirror, everyday so you got yourself imaged in your brain they way you see it in the mirror, then a photo reverse it so since we are not simmetrical any tiny difference you see result a huge a major defect to you.

A theory is not valid without proof..and there i got it..i realized that on HI-5, my space, facebook etc , people who look great like to take photos of them looking at the mirror..did you notice that?...so this proofs that you are comfortable with the person reflected in the mirror not the one on the photo

This may not be the case for nearly simmetrical persons which like themselves on the mirror and on the photos since they are quiet the same

Do you feel the same?
Do you like yourself on the mirror and dislike the photos?
Do you see more and more people postinmg picture of the mirror on the Web?

Maybe we can discuss this and feel al little bit better everytime they say "Say Cheese"

Heineken

I think in general people tend to be more critical of their own physical appearance than they are of others, but then make the mistake of believing that other people are just as critical of them. So if I don't think a specific feature I have is very attractive, I'm going to believe that everyone else sees that feature on me as being unattractive even if they don't. I won't realize that I'm being harder on myself than anyone else is, and even if told otherwise I probably won't believe the person telling me that feature isn't unattractive.

As for pictures compared to our reflections in the mirror, most of us are used to seeing ourselves with our image reversed. A picture isn't going to look right to many people because we see it and think "I don't really look like that". It's not the image of ourselves we are used to. So even if someone thinks they are good-looking when looking in the mirror, seeing that image reversed they are going to notice all the subtle differences between what the picture and the mirror show. It makes those differences seem much larger and worse than what they really are, and just makes our faces look wrong compared to what we are used to.

reply to post by heineken


People are their own worst critic.

second line

I generally make an effort to look awful in pictures, no alarms, no surprises...

Remember the early days of Myspace? Loads of photoshop idiots wanting to be your friend all with that same photo of the camera held above them, pouting, trying to look skinny?

I can't pass a mirror without looking, but I'm more like a monkey, fascinated by it not quite understanding something.

I usualy hate the way i look in a photo, then again that has a lot to do with what kind of shape i'm in.

I'm just about to take a "before" picture for motivation, i'm about to embark on a health blitz. I know i'll look terrible, but i kow what i look like in the after pics and i think i look ok.

At the end of the day, i wasn't exactly born with good looks, so i'm not really that fussed.

I look like i fell out of the ugly tree and hit every banch on the way down.

CX.

reply to post by heineken


Good post.

I think the same can be said for hearing your voice for the first time. We hear it from the perspective we're in, but when it's recorded and heard from a different position and played back, it sounds different. I don't know if this is because your voice sounds different a meter away from you than it does to our own ears, but usually it sounds nothing like how we thought it did.

As well as being a psychological thing, I think cameras can sometimes bring out the worst in you. For some reason, some cameras like the webcam in my notebook make my nose look red, and makes bags under my eyes really visible, even though I don't have red patches on my face in real life.

My point and shoot camera isn't too bad but it still brings out a slight uneven skin tone I don't usually have.

This could be because our human eyes aren't as sensitive as a camera lense. Just like how UFOs are often photographed without the photographer seeing it in real life.

Or it could just depend on the quality of the lense

What nixie_nox said is true, we are our worst critics. Some people are more self conscious than others though.

[edit on 14/7/09 by dmorgan]

Photographs steal people's souls, thats why they don't like having their picture taken , hasn't anyone told you lot that?



Besides I look terrible in my photographs but I look good in other peoples? , You should see me when it was the Mother-in-laws birthday party, there was a nice picture of her and her daughter ( my wife ) and slap bang in the middle ( unknown to them I'd walked past behind them with a really stupid grin on my face) oh the hillarity when they finally saw me on there.

[edit on 14/7/09 by DataWraith]

Originally posted by dmorgan
reply to post by heineken

 

Good post.

I think the same can be said for hearing your voice for the first time. We hear it from the perspective we're in, but when it's recorded and heard from a different position and played back, it sounds different. I don't know if this is because your voice sounds different a meter away from you than it does to our own ears, but usually it sounds nothing like how we thought it did.

As well as being a psychological thing, I think cameras can sometimes bring out the worst in you. For some reason, some cameras like the webcam in my notebook make my nose look red, and makes bags under my eyes really visible, even though I don't have red patches on my face in real life.

My point and shoot camera isn't too bad but it still brings out a slight uneven skin tone I don't usually have.

This could be because our human eyes aren't as sensitive as a camera lense. Just like how UFOs are often photographed without the photographer seeing it in real life.

Or it could just depend on the quality of the lense

What nixie_nox said is true, we are our worst critics. Some people are more self conscious than others.

[edit on 14/7/09 by dmorgan]

good point you mentioned the voice..i still remember me listening to my voice the first time..like.."Who's that one!!" and when asking my sister but why your voice is the same and mine is different when recorded..and of course she replied that her's sounded different and mine the same

But as I expected till now we had a good percentage not liking their photos...how about when you take your picture in the mirror?

So... if I bring all my photo's into Photoshop and flip them horizontally it should remedy the problem?

IRM

reply to post by heineken


I hate pictures of myself! Espessially pictures taken by other people. I only look good in pictures taken from my right hand side. Maybe we have a higher self esteem, but see our true colours in pictures. Dont you just hate posing for a picture..?

You are correct in that your reflection in the mirror is the one you are most comfortable with. I hate pictures of myself, but it has nothing to do with being critical or anything its just my image I hate. In my mind, that is from the inside looking out I perceive me differently then that of what people see from the outside looking in.

I am a firm believer in past lives stuff and feel I am uncomfortable in my skin because its not a normal look for me. There are times of even fascination of how parts look or move. I know this sounds kookie but I am being honest here. LOL

Originally posted by InfaRedMan
So... if I bring all my photo's into Photoshop and flip them horizontally it should remedy the problem?

IRM

Ever noticed MSN Messenger has the option to reverse the Webcam?

Reversing the photo will help..But..you must have not yet seen the photo..since remember its all in the brain

thats not a bad theory and I have noticed that people do take pictures of themselves in the mirror but I think thats more to do with capturing more of what they are wearing from top to bottom as opposed to just their face...

reply to post by dmorgan


I think it has something to do with where our voices come from inside us, so we partialy hear it from within and through our skull - I covered this in an audio lesson once, but wasn't paying enough attention.

It's amusing to watch an animal confronted with it's own reflection, I think there's too much monkey in me from the way I react.

Originally posted by jinx880101
reply to post by heineken

 

I hate pictures of myself! Espessially pictures taken by other people. I only look good in pictures taken from my right hand side. Maybe we have a higher self esteem, but see our true colours in pictures. Dont you just hate posing for a picture..?

of course i do hate posing for photos..why do you think i've been thinking this all over

but you know what...i see my sister (not only me) a very attractive woman..you know what she told me once..."How come you always look good in photos"..What DA H***..I always see her lookking good in every photo and she hates them

So i beleive you too look good...

also

Self - Confidence plays a huge role even when taking pictures..so if you go with a bad attitude you will look with a bad attitude...

There are many factors also which impacts the end result..like your are 3D in reality not 2D, lightning, not being photogenic but still be hot as hell, many factors..but i beleive this mirror thingy is the most one of all

Why I don't like my photos ....


I don't mind the older ones from when I was younger .. thinner ... prettier ....

But the new ones show my body as it is changing (getting painful) and getting harder to live in. I have to deal with that every day ... I don't want to be reminded of it by having to see a picture of it.

THAT is why I don't like my photos.

I cannot stand people taking pictures of me,it's even worse since everyone has phone camera's etc.I can safely say i have not had one photo taken in about 4 years..and i dont plan on getting one for another 4.Don't know why but as soon as i see a camera pointing at me alarm bells go off and i evacuate the area

I like my photos, I like myself, I don't care what anybody says about me. Does that make me vain or does that mean I am a human being living on this earth amongst billons of others?

I went to a concert yesterday there were thousands of people at the venue, lots of people all dolled up to the nines, I thought to myself I wonder how long these people spent getting ready? and for what reason ?

When the concert started the lights dimmed, it started to rain heavy and everyone was drenched and soaked to the bone.

Quite a waste of time really for those 'beautiful' people.

IMO Beauty is within not on the front page of a magazine.

I removed all but one mirror from my house for about a year some time back. The one mirror was for shaving and it was put away in a drawer until needed.

It was a phase of experimenting on myself
No kitchen table surgeries on my brain or anything .....

Just making adjustments to relatively small aspects of my life . Quite a fun exciting time actually, i learned alot about myself .

As for our voices sounding different on recordings etc , there is a vibration of our jawbone when we speak which effects what we hear. This is not represented in a recording.

Well for me I like pictures of myself. I am quite photogenic, well that's what photographers have told me. The only time I take pics of myself in the mirror is when I dont have anyone to take them for me and its usually with my iphone. I do know people who hate their pictures taken no matter how good it looks.