AHH! I just saw a recent picture of myself...
 

Okay...so why is it that I never look remotely the way I think I do?!

I was attending an event with some friends last week and I wore what I thought was something that looked very nice on me. Lots of photos were taken and ultimately only one photo of me ended up online. HIDEOUS. It doesn't help that it was from the worst angle EVER (from the side, from the waist up...) I'm just in shock that I actually look like that. I mean, it's not that I'm unaware that I need to lose weight or that I don't realize how much I weight etc etc. I just didn't think I looked that horrible.

Anyone else have issues with photos vs. how you look in the mirror? Ugh..I guess more motivation to lose weight?

I have been camera shy all my life. Even in my skinny days! I was just at my granddaughter's wedding this past weekend. Not sure I want to see those pics.

I am not a fan of looking at myself in pictures. Because mirrors are safe, when I look in the mirror I only see what I want to see. I see the me that I think I am. But pictures, man, they don't lie. They show me all the stuff I refuse to see in the mirror.

I've once read an article that it's actually because we are used to our image in the mirror that we dislike photos of ourselves so much. (sorry, no link, I just read this years ago somewhere) Because no-one is exactly symetrical, so when you see photos of yourself, to you, they are slightly distorted, not what you are used to, and our brain dislikes everything it is not used to.
Plus, in the mirror you can always shift to a pose you like. ;)

Posing actually helped me a lot. Before our wedding, DH and I got a book about posing for photos, and went out snapping pictures of ourselves in different poses to exercise. It felt silly, and vain, and totally unnatural, but it helped tremendously. Even now, when I notice someone pointing their camera at me, I try to get into one of these poses, and I know I'll look much better in the picture!

You know... just because digital cameras are more affordable and don't use film or require processing to share them around online... doesn't mean everyone is a great photographer. *shrug*

A.

I just saw a recent photo of myself too and boy was it a wake up call. I use it for inspiration for weight loss now though. I keep that photo plus a photo of me at my goal weight around in my purse and on my mirror to motivate me.

Sometimes I pause and look at the other people in pictures... Look at them real good and think about how they look to you in person vs. in a picture. I have a friend who is struggling with a lot right now. Rumor has it she was down to 98 lbs and no longer getting her period last year (she looks MUCH better now). It hurt me to look at her she was so thin... but when I looked at a picture of her from that day, she just didn't look as scarey in the picture as she did in person.

I have also noticed different pictures of my hubby... sometimes they reflect how I see him and other times he looks cubbier in pictures.

I have pictures from my sons first birthday in January... Unfortunately, it wasn't until afterwards that I realized how FAT the shirt I wore made me look... it is too busy and too busty for me... I better get rid of it!!

I can totally relate. I remember at my highest weight I was kidding myself thinking I looked good. I would take 1-2 hours getting my hair and outfit together. Everyone would be like "wow you look so nice.. blah blah blaH"

I later see the pictures and I'm like "who is that!?"
My "skinny outfits" were a joke.

It's good to see so many people feel the same way. After complaining all night to both my best friend and the boyfriend, I've come to the conclusion that it was the wrong top in the wrong angle. Even they told me it was a horrible picture of me. Slightly relieved, but still upset that I could look like that from any angle.

There's a reason I'm the one behind the camera...LOL!

I was always the one with the camera. I don't have alot of pics of me cause even when I was thin I hated them. I actually have more now with the grandbabies...yes I am 100 pounds heavier than I was 20 years ago and am trying to lose weight, but I focus on the smiles now...both mine and the family that loves me no matter what size I am.

I'm trying to get over my fear of being in pictures. I've come to the point where I want some reference to where I've been in life without obsessing about I good/bad I look. I just try to remember that I look at pictures to see the memories or what went on, not to critique people. So with that in mind, I hope for the same in return and try not to shrug away from the photo.

Cameras can lie!

I totally believe that a camera can't truly capture what a person looks like in motion. There are things a camera can never get. One of my friends is the most attractive when he is speaking - his eyes light up and his smile takes over his features, and he is just overall really engaging. However, a picture of him always captures a dullness that I don't think exists in him. It's so strange.

I think everyone looks better in person than in pictures, even those who photograph well.

Also, clothes tend to look really different when photographed, sometimes.