Why do I look so bad in photographs but not in the mirror/real life?

I think we should see said pics

Oh, I look that bad... but it's just for an instant I make faces as I talk, and I laugh really big.

I used to model a bit. I should make those faces, but I don't. Meh

Your hair really looks like that, though! Sorry Everyone's does, pretty much.

When I was a little girl I was making a nasty face in just about every picture my father took. I hated having my picture taken. They'd say smile and I'd stick out my tongue.

I still don't like it much.

I totally know what you mean, I look great in person but when that camera is around forget it! Mind ya my hubby would disagree but I know my pictures are trouble.

Zefiris said:

Anyone else suffer from the whole 'looking a hell of a lot worse in photos than you do in real life' thing?

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Yes. It's definitely true about me. In fact, I think that is true of most people. For example, one of my friend's sister is a NASCAR Miss Sprint Cup. I'm New England Yankee through and through so I couldn't care less about NASCAR, but as I understand it, being Miss Sprint Cup is like being an NFL cheerleader. Anyhow, I saw a professional picture of her and my reaction was, "Meh, she's okay." I might have given her a five or a six, which is just a cut about what I consider to be "average attractive." Well last weekend we were at the pub and my friend brings his sister. The girl who looked like a five in her photo was more like an eight in person and I hadn't had anything to drink yet.

http://brusimm.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Miss-Sprint-Cup-2010-Close-up.jpg

My friend's sister is the one on the right. Now that I'm looking at the photo again, I can't say I find any of them to be especially attractive. objectively there's nothing wrong with them, but there's nothing there that would make me think I'd like to ask them out. Were I to meet them in person, though, I imagine my opinion would change.

Not for my hubby, he could be doing a mean face but the picture turned out great. I will find this one where he is acting like a kid and doing a weird face while sitting on Stanta's lap, we can all get a good laugh. But he still looks great, it sucks.

We usually appear better in the mirror in real time because we're alone and witness only what we want to see. A photograph reveals how we look to the rest of the world when frozen in time, which brings on a more critical view of ourselves.

A similar let down is how we sound when we speak. I dislike the sound of my voice immensely, but only when it's heard on a recording. While speaking it sounds okay because I'm not hearing the tones the way others do.

Gotta love internet standards

Half the time, yes. The other half, I look better than I think I actually do. And it's pure chance either way.

We are our own worst critic.

On another note, my boyfriend works in film. He says some people look great on camera, some don't. And it has nothing to do with how you look per say. It's just for some reason the camera loves certain people. He also says some people make for great photos but then look 'worse' in real life.

He said you'd be surprised at how weird people look off camera, the actors and so on you see on TV. The reason why a lot of folks are models or actors is that the camera 'loves' them. He also had a terrible time doing local commercials for the TV stations, and people wanted to put kids and friends on TV. Some people just weren't photogenic, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to offend.

For example, my older sister, every time someone takes a photo of her, she has red eyes. Doesn't matter where she's looking or what not, red eyes. She knows and she laughs about it every time.

Silver King said:

A similar let down is how we sound when we speak. I dislike the sound of my voice immensely, but only when it's heard on a recording. While speaking it sounds okay because I'm not hearing the tones the way others do.

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This is so true...I often have to hear my voice played back for my work and I cringe everytime...I sound much less "southern" in my head...hehe

For some reason, it always looks like I have a hair helmet.





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I still seem to picture myself as a woman in her early twenties, so every time I look in a mirror I wonder who the old chick is. As for pics, I'm usually the arm sticking out from over someone's shoulder or the blur that's diving under the table to escape the shutter, so it's not so bad.

ETA: Looking sharp, Neuro.

NeuroFizz said:

For some reason, it always looks like I have a hair helmet.





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This is exactly what I did to my old school bus pass when I was about 15. Amazingly, nobody ever questioned it.

Paper bags help me look just the same in photographs as I do in real life.

I wonder if this guy looks the same in real life as he does in photos?

(The link is work-safe.)

I ALWAYS look awful in photos, no question. I don't even have a wedding album I look that bad. But in real life, I think I'm okay.

Funny thing is, I have two sons; one looks STUNNING in photo's cutest kid on earth, but his brother, who is no less cute than he is, never looks good. He's just like me, the camera hates us.

I've always wanted to do one of those makeover portrait sessions, to see if it actually works. It'd be nice to have some good photo's of me...

If you think about it, looking in the mirror is actually quite unnatural. You're just standing there motionless, not interacting or anything. How often do you look like that during the day? I think most people are a little more animated. They're talking, they're moving around, they're doing stuff. The camera actually captures our true selves; the one that goes about its day, and not the one that sits there in front of a mirror. Sure it might not look 'good', but it certainly is more real.

Just my really bad two cents.

Sweetleaf said:

I've always wanted to do one of those makeover portrait sessions, to see if it actually works. It'd be nice to have some good photo's of me...

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I always look mean and grumpy in snapshots, but I had a talented portrait photographer take some photos a few years ago.There were no makeovers or makeup, only careful lighting and pose. He did a great job of showing the real me...at least the one I feel like. I'm far from a prize winner, but in the photos he took, I didn't look like something that made children run and scream.

I don't like most of those makeover portraits. They look too contrived. My wife had one done several years ago, and they made a beautiful woman look more like a plastic Barbie than a real person.

milly said:

This is so true...I often have to hear my voice played back for my work and I cringe everytime...I sound much less "southern" in my head...hehe

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boy can i relate. the sound of my voice just kills me. but what's even weirder is everyone tells me me and my sister sound exactly alike, but her voice doesn't bother me. so strange.

Good vs bad lighting is amazing for photographs. I hate my nose in so many photographs and had no clue whether it struck others that way. In professional photos it's not an issue. If the lighting throws certain shadows, I'm all brow ridge and big nose, even if I'm not laughing my horsey smile

Fortunately, when you know somebody, you mentally erase things caused by shadows and stuff, so they really do look better than a pic would show.

The fun ones are where you see a stunning model laughing her real laugh, or you see why she's always shown smirking instead of smiling big. They learn how to do their faces to hide things for photos, and that would be bizarrely contrived in real life.

Zefiris said:

Anyone else suffer from the whole 'looking a hell of a lot worse in photos than you do in real life' thing?

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Yes, I can't stand ANY picture of me, but my mirror image looks decent.