Are you (un)photogenic?

[GinaPagnato]

I seriously can't understand this. I am so freaking unphotogenic, it's ridiculous! I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've seen a photo of me and thought I looked good. There was probably a time as a younger woman that I looked good, but as I've aged, it's amazing how bad I photograph. And what I mean is that my photos really don't look like me. OTHER PEOPLE have told me this: random strangers, family members, friends. They've said, "Yeah, you're really not photogenic at all." I'll take a photo of myself and then look in the mirror, and the difference is stark.

Other people I know actually look *better* in photos than in real life. Are you like this? What do you make of this? Seriously, I'm so befuddled!

 

[PrincessMommy]

I am unphotogentic.  I can kind of pull it off sometimes but definitely nothing candid.  I've also noticed that as I've aged it's gotten worse.  I really try to avoid the camera  My dad is probably one of the most photogenic persons I know.  Even when he's making faces he looks totally natural and great.  He cannot take a bad picture.   To the point where I felt that he really should have moved us to LA and pursued an movie acting career (he did local theater when I was little).  

 

 

[Garga]

A great many people are startled by how they look in pictures.  We don’t often get to see ourselves from the outside.  We only see ourselves straight on in a mirror.  And I’ve found that once people catch sight of themselves in the mirror, they make tiny adjustments to their faces to look better.  Instead of keeping the frowny concentration face on, they’ll tweak their lips a little to look better in the mirror.  It’s an odd thing.

I learned photography as a hobby and got pretty decent at it.  I’ve found that most (almost all) women are incredibly self-consious about how they look in pictures.  I’ve taken some very lovely pictures of women.  But when I show them their pictures, they get shy and uneasy and say, “Oh, look at my big nose!” or some such comment.  At first I felt frustrated by it, then I got a little mad about it, but now I feel compassion toward women about it.  And when I get my own flickers of self-consiousness, I try to tamp them down and remember that almost all women don’t like their pictures, and it’s not because we’re all ugly.  

It’s tough being a women in a society where we’re constantly bombarded with pictures of very beautiful women.  We don’t feel like we measure up when we see ourselves in a picture.

I’m not sure anyone is unphotogenic, but I do think people see angles and expressions of themselves in pictures that they aren’t used to.

And when I take a self-portrait of myself, with all my lighting and fancy lenses, I still take a good 20 shots until I feel like I look “good”.  The first 19 are always so bizarre looking and not like me at all.  But I know they’re not really bizarre; they just go against the internal image I have of myself.

And sometimes they tell an unhappy truth.  I don’t look as good, per society’s standards, as I did five years ago.  It’s been hard to admit that I’m aging and just don’t look the same.  A friend took some lovely professional shots of us last month and they were well done, and I know that she captured exactly how I look...but I don’t like the way my face shape has changed as I’ve gotten a little older.  It’s not that I’m unphotogenic; I just don’t like the changes I’m seeing as I age.

 

[regentrude]

What is different between the photo you and the mirror you? Are you posing for photos or doing anything specific? Does the photographer catch you unawares in an unflattering position? 

I  think you need to discount selfies; the angles are weird and your face can look distorted because you're too close.  I never look in a selfie the way I do if somebody takes my picture from a distance.

 

[Scarlett]

14 minutes ago, GinaPagnato said:

I seriously can't understand this. I am so freaking unphotogenic, it's ridiculous! I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've seen a photo of me and thought I looked good. There was probably a time as a younger woman that I looked good, but as I've aged, it's amazing how bad I photograph. And what I mean is that my photos really don't look like me. OTHER PEOPLE have told me this: random strangers, family members, friends. They've said, "Yeah, you're really not photogenic at all." I'll take a photo of myself and then look in the mirror, and the difference is stark.

Other people I know actually look *better* in photos than in real life. Are you like this? What do you make of this? Seriously, I'm so befuddled!

 

Ha, you just gave me a flash back to my now XMIL who told her son about me, 'she looks better in photos than she does in real life.'  Good times.  

So yeah, I am probably photogenic.  LOL

[regentrude]

I find that the photographs that I like of myself are pictures taken while I am doing what I love. Perhaps I look better when I am enjoying myself, or I associate the picture with the fun activity, and the outdoor lighting definitely helps - there is barely a hiking picture where I think I look hideous. Candid shots at parties, however, where one is eating, or conversing, lead to all kinds of unflattering positions and facial expressions.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I am not photogenic. For  one thing, my face glows red in a way that it doesn’t in real life. 

[Scarlett]

And sometimes people just can't 'relax' for a photo.  They look stiff, their head is too far back, the smile too uneasy.  

Practice in the mirror.  Smile and see how you look best and then do that for a photo.

[Garga]

7 minutes ago, regentrude said:

I find that the photographs that I like of myself are pictures taken while I am doing what I love. Perhaps I look better when I am enjoying myself, or I associate the picture with the fun activity, and the outdoor lighting definitely helps - there is barely a hiking picture where I think I look hideous. Candid shots at parties, however, where one is eating, or conversing, lead to all kinds of unflattering positions and facial expressions.

 

Photographers know that it’s hard to pull off candids.  Most candids make people look just dreadful, especially if they’re in the middle of talking or eating.  There are articles/lessons about how to make singers look good when you take their pictures while they’re performing.  Some vowel sounds make you look better than others (can’t remember which), so you try to snap the picture when the singer is singing “EEEEE” rather than when they’re singing “AAAAA.”  (Or vice versa, can’t remember.)

 

9 minutes ago, regentrude said:

What is different between the photo you and the mirror you? Are you posing for photos or doing anything specific? Does the photographer catch you unawares in an unflattering position? 

I  think you need to discount selfies; the angles are weird and your face can look distorted because you're too close.  I never look in a selfie the way I do if somebody takes my picture from a distance.

 

 

Selfies are tricky and not true. The lens on a phone camera isn’t the most flattering length for close photography. I read recently that more people are requesting nose jobs than in the past. They think it might be because camera phones slightly warp the center of the picture when you’re too close to the camera (like only arm’s length away), so your nose looks a little bigger than it is.  People see their selfies and think they have big noses, when they don’t.

[Garga]

10 minutes ago, StellaM said:

Photos are weird, because they catch you in just one moment, and normally we humans are in motion. 

I think photos exaggerate asymmetry also - the people who are most photogenic have a high degree of facial symmetry. Too bad for us imperfect people!

I find light makes a huge difference - all my outdoor photos are better than my indoor photos. 

Many people who look good in photos also know a few tricks - how to stand, the right turn, the lift of the chin etc. 

I don't have quite the same experience as you, as some of my photos are quite nice, but for sure others are horrendous and I look like a troll that lives under a bridge. Thank God for digital cameras where you can delete!

 

Yes! To all of this!  I have a gorgeous friend who is vibrant and bold.  But in her pictures, she doesn’t look as breathtaking as she does in real life.  It’s because part of her amazing beauty, is in her motions.  

Lighting can completely change your face.  Outdoors, but on a cloudy day is incredibly flattering.  Outdoors in the sun can be bad.  And indoors with a normal little camera can be dreadful.

I know a little trick about how to position my face and it can make a world of difference in a picture.  

Every now and them I’m on instagram and accidentally swipe a certain way that makes my camera pop up and I see myself on the screen when I don’t expect it.  I look so bad when that happens (looking down, chin all scrunched, frowny face) that I end up laughing at myself.  It’s scary!  

[GinaPagnato]

Yes, I suppose I should practice in the mirror, but it's not exactly something I think about unless I'm about to get my picture taken, lol!

My friend told me that it's all about cheekbones. Apparently, if you have well-defined cheekbones the definition of the face makes you look better. I have a thin face, but not prominent cheekbones. Sigh...maybe I should make a plastic surgery appointment for that, lol!

[Garga]

Ok.  So I made myself keep the exact expression I have on my face as I’m reading this thread.  I didn’t allow myself to prepare for the picture.  And while maintaining the expression that I have, not knowing what it looks like, I opened the camera and took a picture of myself.  

And then, super fast, I straighted my shoudlers and jutted my chin out a bit, and lifted the camera and tried again. And again. And again.  And again, six times. Finally I got one that I’m not embarrased to share. Here they are.

The point: sometimes you just need to pose the right way. And take bunches of pictures.  And accept your flaws. Not that you have any, of course. : )

 

ETA:  it’s been a week, so I’m removing my pictures from this thread now..  

 

 

 

[alisoncooks]

I always feel unphotogenic. Mainly because every picture has my eyes closed or I'm (unflatteringly) in the middle of saying something. 

[GinaPagnato]

Garga, you look lovely! See...you have cheekbones!

The absolute worst for me are the government photos, like license or passport photos where you're not supposed to smile. My face looks so droopy in those, but if I'm not smiling in real life, I don't look droopy. I know this because I may catch myself in a mirror while not smiling, and I don't shudder in horror the way I do when I see a photo of myself. 

I have a family member who looks AMAZING in photos. I think she's a lovely woman irl, but she looks stunning in pics. She definitely knows how to pose (I'm sure she's practiced it), and she has cheekbones. I think it all comes back to the blasted cheekbones! I need to work on my blush application to define my cheekbones...

[SKL]

I am very unphotogenic.  Maybe 1% of the time, IF I don't know you're gonna take my photo, I come out OK.

For one thing, I have bad posture.  Then there's the crazy hair and the long nose.  The teeth aren't so great either.  Add in my current unattractive paunch (which is going bye-bye if it kills me!) and you have a sad subject for a photo.

It probably doesn't help that I don't wear make-up and I'm shaped more like a guy than a girl in some ways.

Just don't take my photo and everyone will be happier!

[GinaPagnato]

38 minutes ago, regentrude said:

What is different between the photo you and the mirror you? Are you posing for photos or doing anything specific? Does the photographer catch you unawares in an unflattering position? 

I  think you need to discount selfies; the angles are weird and your face can look distorted because you're too close.  I never look in a selfie the way I do if somebody takes my picture from a distance.

 

Oh my gosh, selfies are the worst for me! Unreal how bad I always look in a selfie. No, I was thinking of actual posed photographs. The only time those don't look horrible is if the camera is at a distance. And even if I pose in a way that looks good irl, when I have a photo taken IN THE SAME POSE, I look bad! 

I think this is on my mind more now because I just had to renew government ID and it was rough to see the pic afterwards.

[regentrude]

4 minutes ago, GinaPagnato said:

Oh my gosh, selfies are the worst for me! Unreal how bad I always look in a selfie. No, I was thinking of actual posed photographs. The only time those don't look horrible is if the camera is at a distance. And even if I pose in a way that looks good irl, when I have a photo taken IN THE SAME POSE, I look bad! 

I think this is on my mind more now because I just had to renew government ID and it was rough to see the pic afterwards.

Oh the ID pic is always horrible because they require a "neutral facial expression". I always look grumpy. People look SO much better when they smile!

[SKL]

Photos don't show depth, so that could be part of it.  I know when I travel, I feel like I'm taking images of amazing wonders, then when I go to share, none of them come close to doing justice to what I saw with my eyes.  Portraits probably have similar limitations.

[SKL]

Ha ha, you don't want to see my passport photo.  It's scary!  I did hear that you are in fact allowed to smile though?  Next time I am going to try to look a little less murderous.  ?

[Lady Florida.]

Yes, and it's not just me who thinks so. People who know and love me agree I look better in person than in photos. People who know me but are themselves photogenic think I'm not photogenic. 

[Garga]

Drivers’ license!  The last time I had my picture taken there, the guy said to smile.  I was afraid I’d look goofy if I smiled, because I tend to oversmile with my eyes too big, like a crazy woman.  He shrugged and took the picture while I tried to look serious.  He showed it to me and I looked like I was on my deathbed. He said, “Wanna try again? And smile? I go through this with everyone.  People just need to smile.”  

I smiled (and tried not to have bug eyes.). I still think it’s a goofy picture, but at least Death wasn’t beckoning over my shoulder in the smiling one.  

[Katy]

Yeah, I've done enough photography as a hobby that I've figured a lot of this stuff out.   When I was young I had a complete stranger say I was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.  Until he took a picture of me with his phone.  Then he frowned and deleted the photo!  It was one of the more embarrassing moments of my life.

Generally in real life some of the prettiest women have soft, delicate features.  But that type of bone structure doesn't tend to photograph well.  Instead, people with sharp features - pointy noses, cheekbones, and chins tend to look better in photos than in real life. This is also why people tend to like photos of themselves when they are too thin (in the face, the body is something else) - being too thin gives you sharper features. In real life sharp features might make you look like a sick bird instead of pretty, but it always photographs well.  This is also why when you look at headshots of professional models (the New York kind, not the catalog kind) they tend to look generic and not that attractive.  But when you see them styled, with great makeup and twisted bodies to create curves when there are none, and photoshop to enhance they make some of the most beautiful photographs you've ever seen.  But they never

If you want to take the most flattering photos you need to be in shade but have bright indirect light bouncing on your face.  The easiest way to find this for selfies in real life is frequently in the car, facing North, with the car aimed at something bright bouncing light back at you - think a white fence or building or an old faded to silver cedar fence. If you pay attention to professional photographers, whether they use natural light or strobes, this is the light they are creating. Another option is to take photos with a great prime lens light through a south facing window with sheers to make the light less direct.

If you're like me and not as skinny as you used to be and you want a full body shot, you might look at Pinterest posing instructions from Sue Bryce.  She's really great at posing curvy women to look sexy instead of frumpy.  It's all about creating triangles.

[Garga]

9 minutes ago, Katy said:

Yeah, I've done enough photography as a hobby that I've figured a lot of this stuff out.   When I was young I had a complete stranger say I was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.  Until he took a picture of me with his phone.  Then he frowned and deleted the photo!  It was one of the more embarrassing moments of my life.

Generally in real life some of the prettiest women have soft, delicate features.  But that type of bone structure doesn't tend to photograph well.  Instead, people with sharp features - pointy noses, cheekbones, and chins tend to look better in photos than in real life. This is also why people tend to like photos of themselves when they are too thin (in the face, the body is something else) - being too thin gives you sharper features. In real life sharp features might make you look like a sick bird instead of pretty, but it always photographs well.  This is also why when you look at headshots of professional models (the New York kind, not the catalog kind) they tend to look generic and not that attractive.  But when you see them styled, with great makeup and twisted bodies to create curves when there are none, and photoshop to enhance they make some of the most beautiful photographs you've ever seen.  But they never

If you want to take the most flattering photos you need to be in shade but have bright indirect light bouncing on your face.  The easiest way to find this for selfies in real life is frequently in the car, facing North, with the car aimed at something bright bouncing light back at you - think a white fence or building or an old faded to silver cedar fence. If you pay attention to professional photographers, whether they use natural light or strobes, this is the light they are creating. Another option is to take photos with a great prime lens light through a south facing window with sheers to make the light less direct.

If you're like me and not as skinny as you used to be and you want a full body shot, you might look at Pinterest posing instructions from Sue Bryce.  She's really great at posing curvy women to look sexy instead of frumpy.  It's all about creating triangles.

All of this is true—especially about what looks good in person vs in a photo.

Photographers like cloudy days and reflectors for a reason.  And Sue Bryce is good for posing regular women.

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Garga said:

 

Photographers know that it’s hard to pull off candids.  Most candids make people look just dreadful, especially if they’re in the middle of talking or eating.  There are articles/lessons about how to make singers look good when you take their pictures while they’re performing.  Some vowel sounds make you look better than others (can’t remember which), so you try to snap the picture when the singer is singing “EEEEE” rather than when they’re singing “AAAAA.”  (Or vice versa, can’t remember.)

 

 

Selfies are tricky and not true. The lens on a phone camera isn’t the most flattering length for close photography. I read recently that more people are requesting nose jobs than in the past. They think it might be because camera phones slightly warp the center of the picture when you’re too close to the camera (like only arm’s length away), so your nose looks a little bigger than it is.  People see their selfies and think they have big noses, when they don’t.

When I was growing up, my mom would always take the worst possible picture of me or my siblings on ocassions like Christmas. I guess her thinking was, “I want to remember this happy time with people laughing, eating, talking and opening presents.” But then she would warn nobody and snap off roll after roll of me in mid-chew with one eye half closed, or my sister talking to me saying a sound like, “ewww,” which looks positively terrible stop-motion, or my aunt with her eyes squinched up and her mouth hugely open because she was laughing, or...And this was in the world of film plus terribly insufficient cameras which forced you to use the horrible on-board flash...

 

[Guest]

34 minutes ago, Garga said:

Drivers’ license!  The last time I had my picture taken there, the guy said to smile.  I was afraid I’d look goofy if I smiled, because I tend to oversmile with my eyes too big, like a crazy woman.  He shrugged and took the picture while I tried to look serious.  He showed it to me and I looked like I was on my deathbed. He said, “Wanna try again? And smile? I go through this with everyone.  People just need to smile.”  

I smiled (and tried not to have bug eyes.). I still think it’s a goofy picture, but at least Death wasn’t beckoning over my shoulder in the smiling one.  

When I had my photo done for my passport, they told me I must make a “neutral face” for this purpose. Eww, how I hate that picture. I look so mean. I guess that is how I look the rest of the time when my face is neutral. Oi. 

[Kassia]

3 minutes ago, Quill said:

When I had my photo done for my passport, they told me I must make a “neutral face” for this purpose. Eww, how I hate that picture. I look so mean. I guess that is how I look the rest of the time when my face is neutral. Oi. 

 

My passport picture is hideous.  I seriously want to cry when I see it.  But my driver's license photo is fabulous.  Two times in a row for my DL.  Thank goodness I use my DL more than my passport.

[Scarlett]

RBF definitely me.  

[Garga]

14 minutes ago, Quill said:

When I had my photo done for my passport, they told me I must make a “neutral face” for this purpose. Eww, how I hate that picture. I look so mean. I guess that is how I look the rest of the time when my face is neutral. Oi. 

 

When I take senior portraits of boys, they don’t always want to smile.  They want to look serious in a few shots.  But then they end up looking angry and miserable, because even 17 year old kids have scary neutral faces.  It just gets worse and worse as the decades pile on.  I tell them that they’ll have to still pull up the corners of their mouths a tiny bit to counteract looking angry. 

 

 

And seriously, when my face is neutral, I look like that first picture I posted above.  It’s pretty bad!  I laughed a lot when I saw it and told my boys, “Now I know why you sometimes peek into the room when I’m online and then back away.  That’s scary!”  Oh well! 

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Garga said:

 

When I take senior portraits of boys, they don’t always want to smile.  They want to look serious in a few shots.  But then they end up looking angry and miserable, because even 17 year old kids have scary neutral faces.  It just gets worse and worse as the decades pile on.  I tell them that they’ll have to still pull up the corners of their mouths a tiny bit to counteract looking angry. 

 

 

And seriously, when my face is neutral, I look like that first picture I posted above.  It’s pretty bad!  I laughed a lot when I saw it and told my boys, “Now I know why you sometimes peek into the room when I’m online and then back away.  That’s scary!”  Oh well! 

Yup! When I did senior photos of my son, this was what he wanted - all “tough.” But the one I like, he’s just got the little trace of a smile. 

I also tell him he needs to show off those teeth I spent thousands of dollars on! 

[Guest]

Here’s my two comparisons: me looking just how I looked when I was reading this thread, then me with adjustments to look better:

 

[Garga]

1 hour ago, GinaPagnato said:

Garga, you look lovely! See...you have cheekbones!

The absolute worst for me are the government photos, like license or passport photos where you're not supposed to smile. My face looks so droopy in those, but if I'm not smiling in real life, I don't look droopy. I know this because I may catch myself in a mirror while not smiling, and I don't shudder in horror the way I do when I see a photo of myself. 

I have a family member who looks AMAZING in photos. I think she's a lovely woman irl, but she looks stunning in pics. She definitely knows how to pose (I'm sure she's practiced it), and she has cheekbones. I think it all comes back to the blasted cheekbones! I need to work on my blush application to define my cheekbones...

 

Yeah, I do have cheekbones, but I’m also totally posing in the 2nd picture. You can’t tell, because that’s how photography works.  I’m holding my shoulders back and I’m jutting out my chin more than is normal and I’m being very careful with the camera angle.  Looks silly IRL, but looks natural in the picture.  

[Garga]

14 minutes ago, Quill said:

Yup! When I did senior photos of my son, this was what he wanted - all “tough.” But the one I like, he’s just got the little trace of a smile. 

I also tell him he needs to show off those teeth I spent thousands of dollars on! 

 I fake take serious pictures.   I don’t let them see the pictures when I take them.  I’ll say,   “Ok, now serious.  [click] Excellent.  Give me a tiny hint of a smile.  [click] Very nice.  And now a big smile for mom. [click] Good!”  Then, I discard all the “serious” shots and keep the hint of a smile shots.  They never even know.  : )

[Tsuga]

2 hours ago, regentrude said:

What is different between the photo you and the mirror you? Are you posing for photos or doing anything specific? Does the photographer catch you unawares in an unflattering position?

I smile for the mirror but in real life I have RBF. That's the difference. I have a potentially photogenic face but my personality is not photogenic.

[Selkie]

1 hour ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I am not photogenic. For  one thing, my face glows red in a way that it doesn’t in real life. 

Don't listen to Jean, because I happen to have seen a photo of her and she is photogenic. No glowing red face, either! 

[Scarlett]

11 minutes ago, Quill said:

Here’s my two comparisons: me looking just how I looked when I was reading this thread, then me with adjustments to look better:

 

A smile changes everything.  

[Scarlett]

1 hour ago, Garga said:

Ok.  So I made myself keep the exact expression I have on my face as I’m reading this thread.  I didn’t allow myself to prepare for the picture.  And while maintaining the expression that I have, not knowing what it looks like, I opened the camera and took a picture of myself.  

And then, super fast, I straighted my shoudlers and jutted my chin out a bit, and lifted the camera and tried again. And again. And again.  And again, six times. Finally I got one that I’m not embarrased to share. Here they are.

The point: sometimes you just need to pose the right way. And take bunches of pictures.  And accept your flaws. Not that you have any, of course. : )

 

 

 

You look lovely. A hint of a smile. 

[Kassia]

18 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

That is so true.  I discovered awhile back that a genuine, enormous smile makes a massive difference in how a picture looks, even if I do have a double chin going.

 

But I look terrible with a big smile.  I have bags under my eyes that look worse when I smile - the bigger I smile, the bigger the bags are.  My eyes pretty much disappear under the ugly bags.  I am so self-conscious about it.  

[historically accurate]

I come from a long line of unphotogenic people, so not suprisingly, I am severely unphotogenic. My FOO cannot take a group photo without someone talking, sneezing, turning away, grimacing, closing their eyes, etc. My wedding photos were a blast - 9 million or so of my side of the family trying to get everyone to look somewhat sane and about 3 of DH's family (which included the 2 toddlers and 1 infant). I also have some seriously round cheeks and I lose my eyes when I smile, but I look like a killer if I look "serious" in photos. And selfies? Let's not even talk about selfies...

 

[GinaPagnato]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

RBF definitely me.  

 I just had to go look this up.

I don't think I have RBF. Maybe Resting Stressed Face??

[GinaPagnato]

Weird but true: I have a relative whose face looks completely white in pictures. Like...white. Like a ghost. It's the strangest thing, and we always laugh about it afterwards, but it's so weird. She thinks it has something to do with her make-up/foundation. Can that get fluorescent with flash photography?

[Wheres Toto]

If I really work at it, wear makeup and try a lot, I can usually get a half way decent picture.   But otherwise, I'm extremely unphotogenic.  

Last time I had my drivers license redone, the person taking it actually asked me if I wanted them to redo it because it was so bad.  I didn't bother, it wasn't going to get any better.

I think selfies with the camera looking at you are oriented the opposite of looking in the mirror, so they really look off.  Flip them around and they usually look a little better (or at least more like you).

 

[Garga]

6 minutes ago, GinaPagnato said:

Weird but true: I have a relative whose face looks completely white in pictures. Like...white. Like a ghost. It's the strangest thing, and we always laugh about it afterwards, but it's so weird. She thinks it has something to do with her make-up/foundation. Can that get fluorescent with flash photography?

Yes!  http://www.beautifulwithbrains.com/help-why-does-my-face-turn-white-in-photos/

[Momto6inIN]

This is fun! On the thread where Kinsa got everybody started on posting pictures, I commented that I was unphotogenic and allergic to selfies : ) So here goes nothing ...

This is what I typically look like in pictures followed by what I look like after trying you all's tips!

And my son is cracking up because I'm taking selfies in the recliner and posting them on WTM : )

 

[Garga]

On 5/9/2018 at 8:35 PM, Arctic Mama said:

That is so true.  I discovered awhile back that a genuine, enormous smile makes a massive difference in how a picture looks, even if I do have a double chin going.

 

A hand under the chin can help hide areas you want hidden, if you’re able to do it casually enough that it doesn’t look staged.  Here, I’m “resting” my face on my hand.  But I’m not really.  If I really rested my face on my hand, then my face would be smooshed.  I’m actually only lightly touching my face.

ETA:  it’s been a week, so I’m removing my pictures from this thread now..  

 

[Garga]

8 minutes ago, Where's Toto? said:

If I really work at it, wear makeup and try a lot, I can usually get a half way decent picture.   But otherwise, I'm extremely unphotogenic.  

Last time I had my drivers license redone, the person taking it actually asked me if I wanted them to redo it because it was so bad.  I didn't bother, it wasn't going to get any better.

I think selfies with the camera looking at you are oriented the opposite of looking in the mirror, so they really look off.  Flip them around and they usually look a little better (or at least more like you).

 

 

You look so friendly and open!  I love this picture!

[Garga]

8 minutes ago, Momto5inIN said:

This is fun! On the thread where Kinsa got everybody started on posting pictures, I commented that I was unphotogenic and allergic to selfies : ) So here goes nothing ...

This is what I typically look like in pictures followed by what I look like after trying you all's tips!

And my son is cracking up because I'm taking selfies in the recliner and posting them on WTM : )

 

 It worked! I like the 2nd one.  It looks really natural and pleasant.  : ). You just have to pose a little to get yourself in the most flattering position, and that’s what you did.  Good job!

[Jean in Newcastle]

1 hour ago, Selkie said:

Don't listen to Jean, because I happen to have seen a photo of her and she is photogenic. No glowing red face, either! 

There’s a reason why I use this picture, and only this picture, for showing people. 

[Scarlett]

32 minutes ago, Garga said:

 It worked! I like the 2nd one.  It looks really natural and pleasant.  : ). You just have to pose a little to get yourself in the most flattering position, and that’s what you did.  Good job!

I agree.  She has a very pleasant face.  I actually like the first one too!

[Lady Florida.]

1 hour ago, Kassia said:

 

But I look terrible with a big smile.  I have bags under my eyes that look worse when I smile - the bigger I smile, the bigger the bags are.  My eyes pretty much disappear under the ugly bags.  I am so self-conscious about it.  

i have a crooked smile. I know we're all a bit asymmetrical but it's not noticeable until I smile. I don't have any nerve issues that cause it. It just becomes more noticeable when I smile. And I hate how it looks in photos so I rarely smile for them. 

1 hour ago, Garga said:

 

A hand under the chin can help hide areas you want hidden, if you’re able to do it casually enough that it doesn’t look staged.  Here, I’m “resting” my face on my hand.  But I’m not really.  If I really rested my face on my hand, then my face would be smooshed.  I’m actually only lightly touching my face.

 

 

My sisters in law and I had some good laughs about this years ago. We  all practiced resting our hands under our chins in order to hide our signs of age. 

[Liz CA]

5 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Ha, you just gave me a flash back to my now XMIL who told her son about me, 'she looks better in photos than she does in real life.'  Good times.  

So yeah, I am probably photogenic.  LOL

 

Well, you look very photogenic in your Avatar...:)