Why do some people look ugly in photos?

[ChocoSheep]

Hey Yall

I have a big issues with cameras. Everytime I take a picture, my eyes look messed, my nose looks bent and so does my face! But when I look in the mirror I don't look like that. Why is this? And which 'face' to people see when the look at me? The one in photos or the one in the mirror?

 

[invisible]

It's not the cameras, it's the mirrors.

 

[Chiller]

Look on the bright side. At least you show up in your photos. I dont.

 

[Trenton Romulox]

Hey Yall

I have a big issues with cameras. Everytime I take a picture, my eyes look messed, my nose looks bent and so does my face! But when I look in the mirror I don't look like that. Why is this? And which 'face' to people see when the look at me? The one in photos or the one in the mirror?

Maybe you done just is uggry?

No, but seriously, I know what you're saying, actually. My left ear sticks out more than my right one, but it gets super exaggerated in photos. It doesn't look that weird in the mirror. But, as invisible said...maybe it really is the mirrors. Haha.

 

[ChocoSheep]

Thanks for da reply guys. I have looked in 100s of different mirrors and look the same. Its only in cameras I look really weird, like Trenton Romulox said, certain features and exaggerated. Its baffalling to say the least.

 

[kundalini]

Look on the bright side. At least you show up in your photos. I dont.

Is that true for all five of you?

Every shot I see of myself there is at least an extra five pounds........ just never in the right spots.

 

[fabric]

a couple of techniques can help. for a few moments before the picture, fill your cheeks full of air - really try to inflate them stretched like a trumpet player, then slowly exhale through your mouth. this relaxes the facial muscles and gets rid of jaw-tension.

another technique is inhale...put your head down onto your chest, closing your eyes and slowly exhale. when you left your head up, it gets rid of 'the stare'.

 

[RyanLilly]

There have actually been studies where people are choose between two pictures of themselves, one normal, and one a mirror image. The vast majority of participants choose the mirror image, because that's what they are used to seeing.

 

[ChocoSheep]

Thanks for the replies guys.fabric, I will give those a shot.

There have actually been studies where people are choose between two pictures of themselves, one normal, and one a mirror image. The vast majority of participants choose the mirror image, because that's what they are used to seeing.

Did they study why people look the way they do on camera and not on mirror? Is it something to do with the lens?

 

[Dmitri]

Thanks for the replies guys.fabric, I will give those a shot.

Did they study why people look the way they do on camera and not on mirror? Is it something to do with the lens?

I think what people are trying to politely say is that you may look closer to the camera image than the mirror image

 

[ChocoSheep]

lol - Oh well. I think the reason I find it confusing is because I have been called a stud (good looking) several times throughout the years, but Ive always had extremely terrible pictures. But then again, the lightening is usually very poor too (could that be a factor?) Here is an extract from an article in wikipedia which I find very interesting:

The term photogenic refers to a subject, generally human, that usually appears physically attractive or striking in photographs, regardless of their physical appearance in real life. Photogenic drawing, coined by William Fox Talbot, also describes the earliest method for recording camera images.

A person described as being photogenic may not necessarily look so photogenic in real life. Often, a person who appears attractive in real life may look less attractive in photograph. This phenomenon is caused by the three dimensional and two dimensional polarizing effect and could explain why a person looks "better" in two dimensions than in three or vice versa. Therefore, a person described as photogenic means he or she looks better in two dimensions.

An additional factor is the charisma a person might bear in real life due to the way they move, express, and behave themselves. While this will positively influence the subjective appearance of that person in real life, a still photograph usually fails to reproduce these attributes, possibly rendering a picture of the person less attractive than the real-life perception and contributing to classify that person as less photogenic.

 

[ChocoSheep]

Here is an updated version of the wiki article:

A photogenic subject (generally a person), is a subject that usually appears physically attractive or striking in photographs, regardless of their physical appearance in real life. Photogenic drawing, coined by William Fox Talbot, also describes the earliest method for recording camera images.
A person described as being photogenic may not necessarily be particularly attractive in real life.
There are a few different possible causes for this. First, it's important to understand the difference between looking at someone with two eyes as opposed to through a single camera lens. With two eyes, the human brain is able to see the three dimensional aspects of someone's face, even when viewed directly from the front, and it gives much more information than a camera can. With a camera, the subject is viewed through a single lens, and thus much of the three dimensional qualities of the face are lost, and the face may seem narrower, less full, or with different proportions, especially when viewed at a close proximity. An interesting effect can be seen if one compares a close up picture of someone's face to a picture taken from twenty feet away from the same angle (particularly while directly facing the camera). The face will appear different in each picture, and the farther shot will give a better representation of the person's true three dimensional appearance. A more detailed explanation of this concept can be found in the US patent document for the "imaginograph".[1]
Another explanation for the fact that attractive people are not always photogenic is that part of their attractiveness may be due to the charisma they bear in real life due to the way they move, express, and behave themselves. While this will positively influence the subjective appearance of that person in real life, a still photograph usually fails to reproduce these attributes, possibly rendering a picture of the person less attractive than the real-life perception and contributing to classify that person as less photogenic.

 

[Dmitri]

Could be lots of factors, including you being too critical of yourself. Or it could be that your personality (or the way you carry yourself) is such that it overcomes some physical flaws.

You'd be surprised what people find horrible about themselves that other people like. Look at Will Smiths huge, flappy ears - yet chics love him.

 

[JohnMF]

Apparently Brad Pitt is physically hideous when you see him off camera...

 

[Tiberius47]

probably because the camera is closer to you than your reflection is. The image looks different for the same reason that you look crappy if you put the camera really close and use a wide angle lens.