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[Shaanyboi]

I always look like dogshit in photos... I mean I look bad in general too, but especially in photos.

 

[velociraptor]

I've only just realised that my nose isn't straight when looking at photos taken of me. It's broken - I vividly remember colliding with someone many many years ago in a soccer match. Want this shit fixed.

Speaking of photos, I make WORSE faces when there is a camera. I dunno how to smile. I need a mirror to smile. lol.

 

[Monocle]

Camera lenses can definitely distort your face a lot.

its all about the angles

Just as amazing as the first time I saw this. That final face, lol.

 

[Neidii]

Relevant

Me irl

 

[Always-honest]

Yeah same here. I hate myself on photos.
I think i'm okay in the mirror.


Also, goddamn those idiots who can't take a photo fast enough.

 

[dripdripsplash]

I feel exactly like you, though I'm pretty sure by now it's all about lighting and shit, because I've had pictures where I look great on them and alot where I look like shit. It's also just about getting used to see your own face on a camera.

Begin using snapchat!

 

[iMAGINATION]

real version, I think. Or how others see you. or whatever.

pictures fucking suck. I can see myself in the mirror and think, ok, not bad. then I take a picture and this happens

A tip for selfies, try looking at the camera instead of the screen. Eye contact makes a difference.

To OP: I had the same problem, just keep taking pictures of yourself and eventually you'll get used to it. You'll have days where you think "Damn I look Good" and other days where you think you look like shit. Keep taking pictures anyway, you'll eventually get to the point where you think you look good everyday. Experiment with different lighting and angles to find the right angle that will complement your beauty.

I believe in you OP!

 

[ajim]

its all about the angles

I love her.

Who is she and is there more?

 

[Dark_castle]

real version, I think. Or how others see you. or whatever.

pictures fucking suck. I can see myself in the mirror and think, ok, not bad. then I take a picture and this happens

Oh c'mon you don't look bad. But get yourself a new pair of glasses.

 

[anonymous_abc]

Me when trying to smile in a photo:

When smiling for a picture, you have to try and laugh really heartily from the stomach upwards, that relaxes your muscles and gives you a more legitimately authentic smile.

 

[akira28]

I'm beautiful.

Beautiful, dammit.

 

[anonymous_abc]

I'm beautiful.

Beautiful, dammit.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

Order the milk steak bro.

If you're going to be walking around in public, cover your damn knees!

 

[Tyreese Victoria]

Relevant

People keep telling me I look good in photos, I don't agree but whatever makes other happy.

I edited this because I thought it was funnier

 

[potam]

A tip for selfies, try looking at the camera instead of the screen. Eye contact makes a difference.

To OP: I had the same problem, just keep taking pictures of yourself and eventually you'll get used to it. You'll have days where you think "Damn I look Good" and other days where you think you look like shit. Keep taking pictures anyway, you'll eventually get to the point where you think you look good everyday. Experiment with different lighting and angles to find the right angle that will complement your beauty.

I believe in you OP!

you do realize that's a joke pic, right?

edit: my selfie game strong af

 

[danowat]

I always get told I look way worse in photos than I do in the flesh.

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not..........

 

[Icyflamez96]

I actually love how I look in certain lightning but dislike how I look in most other lightning. It makes me mad.

 

[Zakalwe]

My girlfriend recently told me the photos I choose to represent myself are amongst her least favourite. She picked out a bunch that she really likes and would choose herself.

I woild never have picked the ones she chose, considering them extremely unflattering. Looking at them through her eyes I see they're not at all, and actually capture things about me she loves. The ones I chose were me trying to mould myself into what I hoped I could be.

It's funny how the ego works.

 

[magnetic]

I usually think I look kinda okay in those bathroom mirrors that have light bulbs running along all four edges that remove all unflattering shadows.

Everything else I consider unfair conditions and thus disqualified.

For some odd reason, I usually like myself in videos, though. Maybe I'm like the 3DS - looking kinda shitty in screenshots, but passable in motion.

My girlfriend recently told me the photos I choose to represent myself are amongst her least favourite. She picked out a bunch that she really likes and would choose herself.

I woild never have picked the ones she chose, considering them extremely unflattering. Looking at them through her eyes I see they're not at all, and actually capture things about me she loves. The ones I chose were me trying to mould myself into what I hoped I could be.

It's funny how the ego works.

Yeah, the idea that we can objectively judge our appearance goes out the window right from the start. Not only does everyone have a different taste, but we all have this ideal version of ourselves that might not even align one bit with what other people like about us. That's why I think it's best to just relax and let it go.

Staring at selfies for hours on end definitely won't help, unless you're very photogenic.

 

[danowat]

It's funny how the ego works.

It is weird, I have a big body confidence issue, but I don't really mind pictures of me while I am in competition, and basically wearing not a lot, but my face is (mostly) covered.

 

[Clydefrog]

 

[Stairouais]

I look exactly like that.
Like, Really.

 

[Clydefrog]

I look exactly like that.
Like, Really.

Sir, can I help you w-

 

[Dr. Buni]

people perceive themselves as more attractive than they actually are

No, I really don't.

 

[strafer]

I hate photos.

From age 15 to today there exist zero pictures of me.

I hate taking photos.

 

[True Savior]

I hate photos.

From age 15 to today there exist zero pictures of me.

I hate taking photos.

Show yourself to gaf

 

[SomTervo]

Also I think that in mirrors you have a 1:1 image of what you look like, in real-time.

You can adjust it, so you look the way you want to.

But photos capture an instant from your thousands of seconds of movement every day. You look different most seconds, probably. You can't sculpt your face/head to look how you want it to, like in a mirror. You don't intuitively position yourself to look great.

Photos are candid and a temporally subjective object.

I edited this because I thought it was funnier

Definitely funnier.

 

[freenudemacusers]

Don't forget, next month is real picture avatars!

 

[John Kowalski]

man i hate real picture avatars

 

[blame space]

real pic January is canceled

 

[freenudemacusers]

man i hate real picture avatars

Nobody will be rude if you're ugly.

 

[Lovely Salsa]

Nobody will be rude if you're ugly.

no, people will just stop replying to you

 

[John Kowalski]

i stop replying to people with real avatars anyway tbh

 

[Stairouais]

Sir, can I help you w-

NO

 

[umop_3pisdn]

Not necessarily, photos can flatten your features because they're two dimensional images (thus "the camera adds ten pounds"). I know a lot of people that don't look great in photos but look really good irl.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

Is there a dating site specifically for people with crippling social anxiety yet? Seems like an opportunity. SolKane could just use his OP as a profile.

 

[Cipher Peon]

How could I forget to mention???
Smile! "Bad" photos that you look happy in are 100000% better than "Bad" photos that you look unhappy in/awkward in. People like happy people and the overall goal is to make yourself happy, no? Might as well fake it till ya make it and start learning the best angles and lighting to make your smile pop!

I'm going for a punk emo thing, so I try frowning in pictures and it's impossible. Both to make it look as edgy as I want and because I'm so damn happy, it's hard to frown (I did take a frowny picture this morning that I love though)

Even if it's killing you to be in a picture, don't show it and you're taking an awesome step forward!

Some people are photogenic and some are not. I know of one that always look good in pictures, even better than in real life and I know of people that look much worse in pictures than in real life.

Then it depends on the day. Example I take a few pictures of myself in location A and I'll look terrible and unrecognizable. But the day after I take the same pics in the same location and I actually look good.

After years of selfies, I've come to the conclusion that being photogenic is a skill. You gotta work for it and you can look awesome in pictures!

 

[SomTervo]

How could I forget to mention???
Smile! "Bad" photos that you look happy in are 100000% better than "Bad" photos that you look unhappy in/awkward in. People like happy people and the overall goal is to make yourself happy, no? Might as well fake it till ya make it and start learning the best angles and lighting to make your smile pop!

This is wise.

Spoiler

But fuck selfies. Candid photos are the only cool photos.

 

[ChouGoku]

I've only just realised that my nose isn't straight when looking at photos taken of me. It's broken - I vividly remember colliding with someone many many years ago in a soccer match. Want this shit fixed.

Speaking of photos, I make WORSE faces when there is a camera. I dunno how to smile. I need a mirror to smile. lol.

This is me because I've had a serial killer photo smile for years. I feel like I only look right in a pic if I make a funny face. I only just learned how to smile in pictures and its not even consistent

 

[Shaanyboi]

Wow... this is me to a fucking tee. I mean look at my goddamn self-portrait in my avatar.

EDIT:

 

[Sami+]

man i hate real picture avatars

 

[Messofanego]

i stop replying to people with real avatars anyway tbh

That's not what you said to me last night.

 

[Stallion Dan]

Unless it's shallow women you're after OP, just stick any image on there. My mate has an image of him pulling a face with his tongue out as his only picture and still has success.

 

[ZackieChan]

Unless it's shallow women you're after OP, just stick any image on there. My mate has an image of him pulling a face with his tongue out as his only picture and still has success.

Great advice.

Oh wait, that's awful advice.

 

[ShemhazaiX]

Unless it's shallow women you're after OP, just stick any image on there. My mate has an image of him pulling a face with his tongue out as his only picture and still has success.

Pretty much this. Met girl of my dreams recently through a dating site and all I had were selfies.

 

[M3d10n]

Here's my theory. Unless your face is perfectly symmetrical, you will notice differences when you compare your mirror self to photos.

You're very used to seeing your mirror self, and when you see a photo you notice all the asymmetries.

Other people are used to looking at you non inverted, so in photos you will look normal to them.

This. The subtle differences trigger the uncanny valley effect, causing a feeling of strangeness and aversion. It's even worse when you rarely see yourself in photos like the OP.

OP, flip the pictures you show up in and see if you opinion of them change.

 

[ZackieChan]

Pretty much this. Met girl of my dreams recently through a dating site and all I had were selfies.

That's different than "any old photo."

 

[Manmademan]

Yes, this is one of those threads, although I didn't include the preface "Am I the only who..." in the title.

I'm trying to get serious about my online dating profile, and I realize you need to include photos. The rules are that you need at least two, one that shows you and a group shot. This group shot is important, I understand, to demonstrate that you belong to a peer group and that you engage in social activities. Sometimes a third photo will show you doing some kind of "unique" activity that captures your personality, e.g. skydiving or riding a dune buggy.

My problem is that I really can't standing seeing myself in photos. I avoid them as much as possible. In fact, I actively avoid anyone I see wielding a camera or a phone temporarily acting in the capacity of a camera. This goes to such lengths where, if I'm at an event (rare I admit) and I see some guy thinking he's the next Cobra Snake or something, I abruptly dismiss myself from whatever I'm doing and walk quickly away. Even the idea of getting my photo taken gives me a tinge of anxiety.

The issue for me is that I can't reconcile the image of myself I see in photos with the image of myself that exists in my mind, which is generally formed of reflections made by mirrors. My mirror image, I think, is not altogether terrible looking and is sometimes attractive. I find myself checking the mirror whenever there's one available, and the conscious impression of myself must be mostly those angles that you can only see in a mirror image -- flat, forward facing and reversed, neutral expression. Yet in photos I can't even recognize myself, or should I say, I can't recognize the mirror self that I am used to seeing every day. There's something in the photos that I don't normally see, maybe it's an abnormal expression or even a quality of the lighting, but I just have problems accepting that the image looks like me, and ultimately, that the photographic capture of me is what other people see. I think this is the biggest hurdle for me, because if the photographic image is truly how I look, then there's an entire world of perception that contradicts my own. And that is a difficult thing to confront because of course it makes me conscious of the subjectivity of my perception. But I think this is getting the root of why I avoid photos, and also because I look weird in them.

Does anyone else have similar feelings? How have you dealt with or overcome them? Can you have a successful online dating profile that does not have any photos of yourself? What's a unique activity to demonstrate social value?

There's actually an explanation for this. The image you see in the mirror isn't "correct." mirrors are showing a "flipped" image of you. Other people and cameras are capturing how you actually look, not the "flipped" mirror image that you're used to and for some people this really weirds them out.

Radiolab did a podcast on this one at http://www.radiolab.org/story/122613-mirror-mirror/

 

[Transhuman]

I am using the inside camera lens and operating on zero sleep in blistering humidity while inebriated at midnight waiting outside a strip club. Considering the circumstances, this photo is fucking majestic.

 

[oti]

Here's a New Years Resolution for you. Take a salfie. Every. Single. Day. Delete them immediately if you want but take it and look at it at least once. That should help you getting used to pictures at least.

Or not. I'm not a doctor.