Whiny post on the subject of photos

You're on Page 1 of 2
Go to
  • Will I EVER like the way I look in a photo? Seeing pictures of myself is the most demotivating and depressing experience and never ceases to knock my confidence down a peg.

    The last time I took pictures was 25 pounds ago, so I thought maybe I might be able to see some changes if I took a new picture. There's no other way to describe it - they were GOD AWFUL. I look soooo much fatter than I do when I look in the mirror and my clothes hang funny on me (especially pants), though they looked fine in the mirror too.

    So I think about how people say the camera doesn't lie, which would mean it's my brain/eyes are telling the lie when I look in the mirror. Ugh. I'm not taking any more pictures until I get to goal and even then, I don't know that I want to - I'm afraid I'll just be disappointed. Grrr.

    I'll pass on the cheese to go with my whine - I'm at my calorie limit for the day.
  • I know what you mean about thinking that you look better until you get a picture! I feel the exact same way! It's like I'll be feeling amazing about how I look, go out, have a great time, then get the pics back and just be like UGH! Really?!?

    *sigh* I look forward to the day that its not like that... :/
  • Yes, I know what you mean too.

    But I wanted to share an interesting thought I had the other day - its not about me, its about my boyfriend. So, he is really really cute, big brown eyes, is a jogger, sweet smile - he looks great. In fact, I met him at a bar simply because my I told my tipsy friend ' hey, he's hot!' and she went over to him to introduce us.

    You get the idea. Anyway, I was searching of a picture of him to send to my friends and family back in the states. I must have looked through about 20 and just kept saying 'no, not this one, he is SO much cuter than this in person'.

    Well, I ended up settling on what I felt to be a mediocre photo of him. The point of the story is, he's hot, I know he's hot, and yet his photos don't do him justice- not at all. None of them showed how striking and beautiful his eyes really are, or how handsome he looks when he smiles. They kind of just made his nose look too big (his nose is not big in real life - but also not small) and his chin look narrow. In real life, I notice so many girls looking at him.... the check-out girl, the waitresses, etc.

    So, apply this to yourself next time you take a picture. Your best features are probably lost.

    Also, because my father is a photographer, I would like to say the type of camera being used and the light in the room make a huge difference. Regarding the light in the room, you know how so many pictures on Facebook are just two or three people (usually getting drunk at a party), they are locking arms, standing relatively close to the camera, chins up and huge smiles? That is, for example, a very easy pose to look good in. The strong flash from the camera instantly erases chubby cheeks, wrinkles, or double chins. There is a reason that college girls tend to have a MILLION of these boring photos in their facebook accounts- simply because its an EASY pose to look good in.

    The point is, there are SO many factors involved in taking a "good" photo. Don't get too discouraged - just figure out your best pose and step closer to the flash!
  • Yeah, I feel that way when I see pictures of myself too. I have all these small, cute clothes now, and while I'm not at my goal, I look in the mirror and think I look pretty put together, for the most part. I do my hair and makeup and think I'm actually kind of pretty. Until somebody takes a picture, and then I'm like, "Oh, right. Still fat and not that cute." It's very discouraging.
  • I totaly agree with bonnie! I think most people, even the thinest, take bad pics sometimes. Celebs who pay stylests and trainers to look amazing at all times and know there is a camera in the room, sometimes look weird. Remember when they were saying Jessica Simpson was struggeling with her weight cuz she was 130 instead of 112. It's was all about camera angles and mom jeans.

    I think it is also difficult to take a good pic of yourself. You might need someone helping you. Or you may need to stand in front of the mirror while taking the pic so you can see your pose as you snap the pic and adjust accordingly.

    Big Hug.
  • Caroline, is that a new photo of you in your avatar? If it is, you look great!

    Back to the topic, even though I think I look thin in photos I now think that I look much older in them than in real life. Do I really have that many lines in my face? Are they that obvious? Geez!
  • Quote: Caroline, is that a new photo of you in your avatar? If it is, you look great!

    Back to the topic, even though I think I look thin in photos I now think that I look much older in them than in real life. Do I really have that many lines in my face? Are they that obvious? Geez!
    Thank you! That picture was taken in October, right before I hit this major stall that's been plaguing me ever since. I look happy in that picture, which is why I don't hate it. Not so crazy about how fat my arms still look in it, but I cut that part out.

    That is the only good thing about fat: it fills in our wrinkles. I am staring down a lot more lines than I used to myself, and I still have plenty of fat in my face that could go. I might be right there with you if I ever reach my goal.
  • Gosh, CC, I remember you posted a picture a while back, and I remember thinking that you already looked like you were at goal. With your height, I'll be you look even thinner than you think you do!

    To be honest, I have just the opposite feeling. Recently when I've seen pix of myself, I've been stunned at how "normal" I look.... but I know that because I'm tall and most of my weight is around the middle, I look pretty good standing up and face on-- but woe is me if someone catches me sitting down, or in profile.

    I'm sure you look a lot better than you think you do!
  • Add me to the list that just doesn't want to see pictures of myself, they just drag me down. I had decided similar to Bonnie's thought process that what makes me pretty is my vitality that just doesn't come through the camera so that I don't get totally depressed about how I look to myself in photographs.

    The beau took a ton of pictures of me this weekend as we now live 600 miles apart and I told him the only one I want him to forward to me is the one we had someone take of the 2 of us. But I know that one is not going to be kind to my body image, as the beau is a bean pole.
  • I'm a recovering camera-phobic. I hated seeing pictures of myself. Even though I've lost 125+ lbs it's still really difficult for me to look at pictures (it's soooo easy to look at all my flaws rather than see my progress). I started taking progress pictures in December and as hard as it is to look at the pictures I have forced myself to look at them (e.g. my desktop wall paper is my most recent progress picture). After my initial "wow I'm sooo fat" thoughts, I found my pictures aren't that bad and I look at lot better than I originally thought. Even though you hate your pictures now, keep taking them and eventually you'll get to the point where you don't hate them (hopefully, lol).
  • If I look at pics of myself from 12 years ago, I think I look awesome. I was 190 and obviously much younger. I HATED pictures of myself then...hating that I was "fat". It is sad that I wasn't happy then with my looks...my 42 year old self looks back on the 30 year old self and think I was a cutie!!

    Maybe if I get back to 190, I'll remember this lesson? Who knows. I think it's really something mentally at work there. I think we need to work on the grey matter between our ears more than the extra pounds and inches to like the way we look. Just a thought.
  • I take a lot of pics in front of the computer, for comparison purposes only LOL but you're right ~ sometimes the truth is horrifying. But it's one thing to look at your body, your face is another. A snap doesn't capture our animation and laughter and all the things that people see when they look at us. Our BUTTS on the other hand...sigh...
  • Thank you all! It's comforting to know I'm not the only person that feels this way.

    Bonnnie, your post was very helpful, thank you!

    Ubergirl, I actually looked fatter in these pictures than the last ones when comparing them side by side. I don't know what to think about that other than picture comparisons are not a good way to motivate myself to keep going...
  • CC you have lots of company out here. Infact, it was seeing a rare picture of myself that got me started losing weight this time. There is one thing I would not underestimate: so much depends on the angle, lighting and how good the photographer is.
  • I have always hated photos of myself, at any weight, even thin. I just am not very photogenic, and even the good photos look to me like "generic blonde chick." Bleh. I am uninteresting to look at, to me.

    However, the objective truth is that I'm pretty, and I am perceived as pretty by other people, even if I don't take great photos. My sister is very pretty (thinner than me, but not skinny), and people constantly tell me how much we look like each other--and we do, in face and body. (My dad used to joke that my sister and I must have been born parthenogenetically, because we look so much alike, and so much like our mom--nothing like him at all.) So why can't I see that I am pretty myself?

    I think photos often don't capture people at their best, because people aren't flat 2D images. Even my kids, who are beautiful, don't look as great in photos as they do in real, living movement.

    I also do not like to listen to my own voice on recordings. However, I enjoy my mom's voice, and my sister's voice, and I know that I sound almost exactly like them. How dumb is that?

    I guess my whole point is that photos, and your own perception of how you look, are not even close to the whole story.