Why people hate their pictures

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

I heard this somewhere a looong time ago, and it seems to be pretty much
true as far as I can tell. If you have people who complain about how
terrible they look on film, tell them this "secret" and a lot of times
they are more cooperative.

Anyway, the big secret: People are used to looking at themselves in a
mirror which reverses left and right, so the mental image people have of
their face is actually backwards from the way other people see them.
When you look at a photo, you're seeing yourself the same way that other
people see you, but "backwards" from the way you normally see yourself.
Since people's faces aren't symmetrical it just looks weird. Other
people who are used to seeing you that way think it looks fine. So, if
you take a picture of yourself, hold it up to your chest and look at it
in the mirror and you'll see yourself the way you're used to. With
digital cameras and portable printers, this is easier than ever to
demonstrate.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

Brion K. Lienhart wrote:
> I heard this somewhere a looong time ago, and it seems to be pretty
> much true as far as I can tell. If you have people who complain
> about
> how terrible they look on film, tell them this "secret" and a lot of
> times they are more cooperative.
>
> Anyway, the big secret: People are used to looking at themselves in
> a
> mirror which reverses left and right, so the mental image people
> have
> of their face is actually backwards from the way other people see
> them. When you look at a photo, you're seeing yourself the same way
> that other people see you, but "backwards" from the way you normally
> see yourself. Since people's faces aren't symmetrical it just looks
> weird. Other people who are used to seeing you that way think it
> looks fine. So, if you take a picture of yourself, hold it up to
> your
> chest and look at it in the mirror and you'll see yourself the way
> you're used to. With digital cameras and portable printers, this is
> easier than ever to demonstrate.

I can understand some sub-liminal stuff going on there. The asymmetry
you mention sometimes results in some pretty subtle differences. Some
of the tension may be determined by the belief that one half of the
person dominates the other half, and it must be at some level
unsettling to see your customarily subjugated side suddenly appear
dominant.

Here's another weird experience:
Get a directly face-on headshot and split it vertically, straight down
the middle.
Duplicate and flip each half horizontally, so the two halves can be
stuck together as one image.

You'll see two entirely different characters in most faces, usually
one serious or at least somber, the other apparently open, or at least
cheerful.

Do it for some of your favorite people. One person that it won't work
for is Michelle Pfeiffer: she has a notoriously symmetrical face.

--
Frank ess

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 12:46:37 -0700, "Brion K. Lienhart"
<brionl@lienhart.name> wrote:

>Anyway, the big secret: People are used to looking at themselves in a
>mirror which reverses left and right, so the mental image people have of
>their face is actually backwards from the way other people see them.

And apparently 50 lbs lighter than they really are as well. I have
never heard anyone say they look reversed...but I have heard them
comment about their real weight.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

"Brion K. Lienhart" <brionl@lienhart.name> wrote in message
newsY-dnTSL6JSD5ynfRVn-oA@comcast.com...
>I heard this somewhere a looong time ago, and it seems to be pretty much
>true as far as I can tell. If you have people who complain about how
>terrible they look on film, tell them this "secret" and a lot of times they
>are more cooperative.
>
> Anyway, the big secret: People are used to looking at themselves in a
> mirror which reverses left and right, so the mental image people have of
> their face is actually backwards from the way other people see them. When
> you look at a photo, you're seeing yourself the same way that other people
> see you, but "backwards" from the way you normally see yourself. Since
> people's faces aren't symmetrical it just looks weird. Other people who
> are used to seeing you that way think it looks fine. So, if you take a
> picture of yourself, hold it up to your chest and look at it in the mirror
> and you'll see yourself the way you're used to. With digital cameras and
> portable printers, this is easier than ever to demonstrate.

Chuffin' 'eck! That's a right good idea, I can see the logic and I hope it
works. One of my workmates (another photog) hates seeing pictures of herself
despite being really pretty. She will make an excellent test subject!
Nice one,

Craig.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

McLeod wrote:
> On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 12:46:37 -0700, "Brion K. Lienhart"
> <brionl@lienhart.name> wrote:
>
>
>>Anyway, the big secret: People are used to looking at themselves in a
>>mirror which reverses left and right, so the mental image people have of
>>their face is actually backwards from the way other people see them.
>
>
> And apparently 50 lbs lighter than they really are as well. I have
> never heard anyone say they look reversed...but I have heard them
> comment about their real weight.

Like the Friends episode with Monica & Rachel's prom video.
Monica: "Everyone knows cameras add ten pounds."
Chandler: "And how many cameras are you wearing?"

 

[Slack]

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

Brion K. Lienhart wrote:

> I heard this somewhere a looong time ago, and it seems to be pretty much
> true as far as I can tell. If you have people who complain about how
> terrible they look on film, tell them this "secret" and a lot of times
> they are more cooperative.
>
> Anyway, the big secret: People are used to looking at themselves in a
> mirror which reverses left and right, so the mental image people have of
> their face is actually backwards from the way other people see them.
> When you look at a photo, you're seeing yourself the same way that other
> people see you, but "backwards" from the way you normally see yourself.
> Since people's faces aren't symmetrical it just looks weird. Other
> people who are used to seeing you that way think it looks fine. So, if
> you take a picture of yourself, hold it up to your chest and look at it
> in the mirror and you'll see yourself the way you're used to. With
> digital cameras and portable printers, this is easier than ever to
> demonstrate.


_Some_ of us just don't like the mirrored or *natural* version of our mugs.

--
Slack

 

[Jer]

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

Brion K. Lienhart wrote:
> I heard this somewhere a looong time ago, and it seems to be pretty much
> true as far as I can tell. If you have people who complain about how
> terrible they look on film, tell them this "secret" and a lot of times
> they are more cooperative.
>
> Anyway, the big secret: People are used to looking at themselves in a
> mirror which reverses left and right, so the mental image people have of
> their face is actually backwards from the way other people see them.
> When you look at a photo, you're seeing yourself the same way that other
> people see you, but "backwards" from the way you normally see yourself.
> Since people's faces aren't symmetrical it just looks weird. Other
> people who are used to seeing you that way think it looks fine. So, if
> you take a picture of yourself, hold it up to your chest and look at it
> in the mirror and you'll see yourself the way you're used to. With
> digital cameras and portable printers, this is easier than ever to
> demonstrate.


Plausible deniability. Are you a politician?

--
jer
email reply - I am not a 'ten'

 

[Bob]

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 12:46:37 -0700, "Brion K. Lienhart" <brionl@lienhart.name>
wrote:

>I heard this somewhere a looong time ago, and it seems to be pretty much
>true as far as I can tell. If you have people who complain about how
>terrible they look on film, tell them this "secret" and a lot of times
>they are more cooperative.
>
>Anyway, the big secret: People are used to looking at themselves in a
>mirror which reverses left and right, so the mental image people have of
>their face is actually backwards from the way other people see them.
>When you look at a photo, you're seeing yourself the same way that other
>people see you, but "backwards" from the way you normally see yourself.
>Since people's faces aren't symmetrical it just looks weird. Other
>people who are used to seeing you that way think it looks fine. So, if
>you take a picture of yourself, hold it up to your chest and look at it
>in the mirror and you'll see yourself the way you're used to. With
>digital cameras and portable printers, this is easier than ever to
>demonstrate.

So that's why I'm so damned handsome in the mirror and so damned ugly in
photos!!!

It reminds me of when I was studying oil painting, I spent a month trying to
paint a portrait of my friends daughter, and I thought it was fairly good, until
I accidentally saw it in a mirror - it was horrible!! I got used to looking at
it and didn't realize it was way off - I then went into photography...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

"Brion K. Lienhart" <brionl@lienhart.name> wrote in message
newsY-dnTSL6JSD5ynfRVn-oA@comcast.com...
> I heard this somewhere a looong time ago, and it seems to be pretty much
> true as far as I can tell. If you have people who complain about how
> terrible they look on film, tell them this "secret" and a lot of times
> they are more cooperative.
>
> Anyway, the big secret: People are used to looking at themselves in a
> mirror which reverses left and right, so the mental image people have of
> their face is actually backwards from the way other people see them.
> When you look at a photo, you're seeing yourself the same way that other
> people see you, but "backwards" from the way you normally see yourself.
> Since people's faces aren't symmetrical it just looks weird. Other
> people who are used to seeing you that way think it looks fine. So, if
> you take a picture of yourself, hold it up to your chest and look at it
> in the mirror and you'll see yourself the way you're used to. With
> digital cameras and portable printers, this is easier than ever to
> demonstrate.

I think the answer is even simpler: Most people don't look like models or
actors even when they're all cleaned up and dressed to the nines.
Unfortunately, the average person has an unbelievably optimistic view of his
own personal appearance, so when he sees himself in a photo, his
Ferrari-class ego hits the brick wall of reality at 102 m.p.h.and the guy is
left shaken and dazed from the popping of the emotional airbag--instead of
Tom Cruise, he sees ugly-Tom-thrown-overboard-on-a-cruise, looking all pasty
and bloated from two weeks in the water and pock-marked from the nibbling
done by the gnoshing little fishies. And all of a sudden, he doesn't like
the picture. Imagine that.

A smart portrait photographer always uses very warm studio lights, a
distracting background, then does a Photoshop air-brush and fun-house-mirror
stretch on the proofs before making up a contact-sheet for the client.
Sure, it's a little dishonest, but it saves a bundle on Kleenex as far fewer
clients dissolve into tears after seeings themselves looking like a
sun-starved Chris Farley on a food binge, Ahmenhotep's mug shot, or the
bride of Frankenstein.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

"Brion K. Lienhart" <brionl@lienhart.name> wrote in message
newsY-dnTSL6JSD5ynfRVn-oA@comcast.com...
>I heard this somewhere a looong time ago, and it seems to be pretty much
>true as far as I can tell. If you have people who complain about how
>terrible they look on film, tell them this "secret" and a lot of times they
>are more cooperative.
>
> Anyway, the big secret: People are used to looking at themselves in a
> mirror which reverses left and right, so the mental image people have of
> their face is actually backwards from the way other people see them. When
> you look at a photo, you're seeing yourself the same way that other people
> see you, but "backwards" from the way you normally see yourself. Since
> people's faces aren't symmetrical it just looks weird. Other people who
> are used to seeing you that way think it looks fine. So, if you take a
> picture of yourself, hold it up to your chest and look at it in the mirror
> and you'll see yourself the way you're used to. With digital cameras and
> portable printers, this is easier than ever to demonstrate.

It's likely because of the high value placed on beauty as defined by the
cover of Vogue or GQ, or any of the other glossy magazines staring at you at
the grocery checkout, from every billboard, on every commercial and TV
program, and in every movie on the silver screen.

--
Regards,
Matt Clara
www.mattclara.com