For those who think they aren't photogenic...

Discussion in 'Serious Chat' started by travz21, Feb 16, 2012.

  1. #1
    travz21

    travz21 Muscle Museum LPA Super Member

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    ...or that their face looks different/weird/crooked in pictures or on video, I hope this thread is helpful.


    I didn't used to think this of myself, but the older I've gotten, the more problems I have with the way my face looks on camera. I'm confident with the way I look in the mirror, but then when I see pictures of myself I'm shocked at how weird I look. It's really disturbing. I began to question if this was really how the world saw me and it made me doubt my attractiveness.


    So I did a little bit of thinking and research, and things are not really what they seem.

    You get so accustomed to looking at yourself in reverse (in a mirror), that seeing yourself the way the rest of the world does is a little jarring. It's not that your face is crooked (well, actually, everyone's face is a little crooked; no one is perfectly symmetrical), it's just that you're so used to seeing the subtle asymmetry from the opposite direction (your reverse perspective in the mirror). To everyone else, your face looks completely fine. You just think you look weird because it's completely opposite of what you're used to.

    I think I'm noticing it more as I get older because I'm simply getting more used to my "mirror face". Depending how much you look at yourself in the mirror, you might experience this in different intensities. But it's important to understand that people don't see you this way.


    Here's a great example I found online:

    [​IMG]

    As you can see, this is a good looking dude. Between pics 1 and 2, you can see the differences, but he still looks fine. Though, if you showed him his anti-"mirror face", he's going to say how weird he looks. When you look at the next 3 pictures, you see that every single feature he has isn't symmetrical. When he sees his picture from a complete opposite perspective (flipped), these features are going to be disturbingly glaring to him, but we will still think everything looks normal.


    So I guess the thing to take away from this is stop worrying how people see you. They will always see you much better than you see yourself.
     
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  2. #2
    Derek

    Derek LPAssociation.com Administrator LPA Administrator

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    Very interesting. Nice article!
     
  3. #3
    Minus

    Minus ohai LPA Addicted VIP

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    Nice try, ugly people.

    With that said, it's true. I, for example, fix my hair a certain way and am so accustomed to seeing it in the mirror that it just looks WRONG in pictures.
     
  4. #4
    Erica

    Erica Meh LPA Über VIP

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    Lol my glasses always look crooked (well they do to me) because of my asymmetrism
     
  5. #5
    Jordan

    Jordan Secret Robot

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    My hair used to go one way in the mirror, and I got so annoyed that other people saw it backwards that I got a hair cut and made it go the other way instead. Now I want people to see it how it is now ;_;

    protip: get a symmetrical hair cut.
     
  6. #6
    19nacho19

    19nacho19 Banned

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    LOL :huh: And you really thought that the people sees you like you see yourself in the mirror?, impossible cuz when you look at yourself it's like you go very deep into your face or the place of the body you look into, and when the people sees you they can't go that deep if they don't stare on you for a long time, and maybe they don't even get it in that way, maybe I'm sure or maybe not, that's what I think :p
     
  7. #7
    Tim

    Tim My perversion power is accumulating LPA Super Member

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    No, I'm pretty sure cameras are just evil. I mean, c'mon . . . I look better than that.
     
  8. #8
    PhotoWorks Interactive

    PhotoWorks Interactive New Member

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    Nice post.
    According to me a good photographer with his interactive work can help people to get rid of the photogenic problems.
     
  9. #9
    Kate Miller

    Kate Miller Member

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    Thank you for being polite. 'Wow, you're photogenic,' when what you really meant was 'Wow, you're really ugly in person.'
     
  10. #10
    aminmohmed11

    aminmohmed11 New Member

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    I've met several people who look worse in pics than in real life. They might have some asymmetry on their face or maybe some proportion slightly off that, when in motion, isn't as noticeable. Also, people in real life make slight facial adjustments when talking, laughing, squinting, etc. that might make the face look better than what a picture could show. This might be something to take into consideration when rating people.
     
  11. #11
    Modern Guitar God

    Modern Guitar God Nets 2021 LPA Super VIP

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    I’m an ugly person and it is one of the reasons people refuse to interact with or respect me. I accepted it later in my adult life, even if it was painful.
     

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