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personally i do think you look far more better irl than photos. irl you have 3d movements and motions that accentuate your overall features from different angles and stuff yk? it makes you more defined. but a photo is just a 2d representation that doesn't offer much for the viewer to see.
I swear I look like a potato in each of my photos. The camera angles, lighting make such a difference. I’ve just given up and just focus on knowing that how I look like in real life is somewhat better. Chin up girl - we are all a work in progress especially when it comes to self acceptance❤️
I can understand and this is okay. I hope you get to a point where you feel comfortable in your own skin. Self care and self love really go a long way. Start taking care of your physical and mental health and watch how beautifully your body and mind responds. ❤️
My sister asked me this today since she got a new iPhone and took photos. She was like, “Why does the camera make me look so bad? Is this how I really look.? I said no because her features and face looked way more lively to me than the camera.
I hate iPhone’s camera, it automatically uses HDR with accentuates **every** damn detail and makes my skin look terrible, like every damn pore is visible. I tried turning it off in settings but it just comes back on.
It also automatically flips your pictures. We always see our mirror image so having our own perception of ourselves suddenly flipped on us can be a bit jarring.
God, I hope this is true. I just commented about how I didn’t mind how I looked on my old phone but when I got my new phone (iPhone 14) the pictures were in such HD I look awful in every one.
I have an iPhone 14 as well and the selfie camera literally accentuates every single pore I have and makes my skin look so dull. I cannot stand taking photos of myself on it
Me too 🥴 especially now that I'm 40. It's like I expect to see the younger me in the photos, but then I see someone that looks older and not how I picture myself/see myself in the mirror.
You ever see the most magnificent sunset, with all its radient colours and vibrancy, and then go to take a photo of it and it never looks as good as it does in real life?
It’s the same for people. You are the sunset.
You look better in real life, but also your family and friends think your photos look better than you think they do. We tend to see the beauty in others and don’t really pick up on imperfections
I think so. I like to think I’m a beautiful woman but I never like pictures of myself & the ones I do like tend to be candid pictures. I feel like when I pose idk what to do and I make myself look weird.
my daughter is the same. She's beautiful, but as soon as someone points a camera at her, she does this weird upside down smile and eyes half closed thing that she never does IRL.
I really hope you have never made a comment to her about it. My mom made a comment to me when I was around 6-7 years old that I “couldn’t smile properly” and 30 years later that has stuck with me and killed my confidence for taking photos.
I’m sorry that’s stuck with you so bad. My grandmother loved photography and she would always say “do your real smile” And I’d be like no I can’t do that smile when you ask! It used to bug me so much but I now realize she really did just love my natural smile, she was just trying to force candids😂
It's true. I used to take photos for a living and one of the key things to remember is the skill of the photographer.
Is the lighting bad? Have they posed you awkwardly or given no guidance on your best angles? Is it a staged photo or a candid shot? Are there shadows? Are there any other elements that could ruin the shot? (Blurry, incorrect colour filtering, incorrect subject distance, etc).
A lot of celebrities and models are good looking, yes, but they are also being snapped on red carpets and magazines by people who devote their lives to making them look hot. Most of us are snapped by people who mean well but don't know what they're doing.
My dad LOVES to take photos of everything, every occasion, but bless his heart he is the worst photographer. Literally spends all of half a second considering the photo before he just points and shoots. Our family photos look so rough 😭 I wish I could leave a disclaimer to future family that we really do look better than that
I feel the same. Saw a reel recently that gave a good perspective :)
You know when you see a beautiful sunset or a mountain range and you try to capture a photo of it but it never comes anywhere close to what it looked like in person. Same can be said about photos of you.
Yea that’s an old cliche saying I think most of us have already heard. But I think OP is talking about the difference between her friends looking normal (in a pic ofc ,nothing can be compared to irl) vs OP not looking like herself at all in pix. And the answer to that might just be that she’s straight up not photogenic. Her features just don’t reflect light in the way that’s flattering in photos. Being photogenic/ non photogenic is a very real thing. It’s why some gorgeous people can’t make it as models and why some models look average at best irl. I’m not very photogenic Imo but I knew a girl in HS who was so loved by the camera it was crazy! Irl she was very normal/average looking, but the second she took a picture she turned into a stunner. It was the weirdest phenomenon and no one could figure it out lol but I think she just had features that just so happened to reflect light in a flattering way and it made her appear more beautiful . OP is probably just the opposite of that.
Yeah, I feel like in photos my face looks very wide and flat. Like IRL, there’s a depth difference between my cheekbone and ear, but in most photos it looks like my face is just WIIIIIIDE.
Exactly. Your features probably look most flattering in 3D but in a pic you’re only getting 2D so the slopes of your face that flatter your face are getting lost in translation lol .
Because *you're* seeing *them*. Ask them how they feel about their own photos.
If they don't put a lot of effort into the art of posing and lighting their photos, they'll be just as unhappy with their photos as you are with yours.
Same. I know my angles so whenever I take a photo of myself, it comes out pretty nice, but if someone else takes it, I look really ugly 😅 I also don’t smile in my pictures, but I smile a lot in person, so I wonder if I’m one of those people that look better in photos lol
I think it's pretty simple. I look good in good lighting and angles and I look bad in bad lighting and angles.
So it's safe to say I really look average and if I put effort into it, I look good but if I slack off, I look bad. Most of us are like that.
Some people are just very photogenic. I once read something by a photographer who explained that models aren’t necessarily the most beautiful people but they are photogenic. There may be people who are pretty but just don’t photograph well. The other issue is focal length which is especially an issue with selfies. [Focal length can totally distort someone face](https://www.danvojtech.cz/blog/2016/07/amazing-how-focal-length-affect-shape-of-the-face/)
My friends tried to set me up with this guy who looked good in his social media photos, but when we met up in person, I was like…this guy is like the dopier version of the guy in the photos, is this really the same person? It was. His body language, speech pattern, and general movements ruined what looks he had - photos simply had the ability to hold him “in place” haha
We, as humans, generally do not see ourselves the way others see us. It's not exactly the same, but there was a study done about a similar phenomenon. Long story, short- took a bunch of people showed them 5 images of themselves. 1 pic was the real image, then 2 digitally altered to look less attractive and 2 that made them more attractive. They were supposed to pick out the unaltered image. Majority of people chose the less attractive versions.
Whenever someone talks about how bad they look in photos I immediately think of this study. Maybe one of you lovely people have a link. I've tried to find it again and I'm coming up empty. But I swear I saw it on Reddit
I would say yes. Think about people who are uncomfortable on camera. You tend to be very hyper aware of yourself at that moment. You are way less natural than if you are just hanging out with your friends. I've seen people who look downright uncomfortable in photos.
A lot actually goes into great photographs. Good lighting, good camera. Angles, positioning. Looking natural. Photoshop/editing.
I have asked my boyfriend this. Like, I am I really walking around out there looking like a Fraggle with hepatitis?? He assured me that I’m beautiful (I’m not but it was sweet of him to say it) and that it was, in fact, just a remarkably bad picture.
I’m just relieved someone got it! The bf didn’t know what Fraggle are but when I showed him a picture of one he started laughing in a way that let me know I’d hit the nail on the head. Between the lighting in my office and whatever the hell is going on with the selfie-camera on my phone, the universe is conspiring to make me look like an underground creature. Specifically, [these guys.](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/66611/17-fun-facts-about-fraggle-rock)
Yes daw. Dahil you need to be 1.5 yard away from your camera phone to be able to get a "accurate shot of your looks.
Akala ko dati ang wide ng lips ko.
I have never been someone who photographs well - I am always blinking or pulling a strange face or doing the weird bugged out eyes or not looking at the camera or something to throw it off. In fact, the first time I met my friend's mum, the first thing she said to me was "you're so much prettier than in your pictures!" So I'm hoping the answer is yes, at least in my case.
You get a lot more of an idea of someone when you see them in real life. Photos don’t properly convey things like someone giggling, telling a funny joke, sharing an intimate moment with someone or dancing etc, which in my view, only stand to make people more attractive.
I’ve never photographed well. I look much better in person, and oddly, filmed. I suppose I look better in 3D?
I know someone that has had a lot of fillers and cosmetic work done. I suppose you would call it an instagram face. She looks stunning in photos but scary and cartoonish irl.
There are a few things happening here:
One is that some people are more photogenic than others for reasons I'm not well-informed on (though I have thoughts) but someone else might be.
Another is that we are used to how we look in the mirror. We aren't symmetrical, so what we see in the mirror is not how we look to other people. We see that flipped image as weird/bad because it isn't what we think we look like.
Yet another thing is how we magnify our own flaws (e.g. that little pimple on your forehead is not as red or giant or gross as you think). So in my case, I see only that one side of my lip is higher than the other, one eye is droopier, and my nose curves in the direction of the 'bad' side.
Does anyone have a clue what I'm on about when I tell them this? No, because they don't see it.
Hire a semi-professional photographer. Have them take all types of pictures, shy looking down picture, smiling happy, smiling with a grin, sexy smile.
Imagine you are sexy & beautiful
& the person behind the camera thinks so too.
Have them only send you the good shots.
Now you have an attractive picture of yourself.
Look at that picture before you have another photo taken. Always imagine the cameraman is wildly in love or lust after you.
And that is how I went from potato to butterfly in pics!
PSA: camera lenses do not capture images the way the human eye perceives them, thus why people often feel like they look good in the mirror but hate how they look in a picture [Explainer here.](https://aaronhertzmann.com/2024/06/10/perspective-distortions.html) Tl;dr: you look good.
So when we look at ourselves in a mirror our face is reversed. We get used to seeing ourselves that way, but the rest of the world sees our face normally I.e not reversed. In pictures our face isn't reversed, and since we're not used to it, we find that we don't look good. However, others are used to it and see no difference.
I look horrible in photos. I look fine in the mirror. I take a picture even if the camera is facing the same direction as the mirror, so the light is the same, and BAM, I look horribly old and ugly.
I have googled this so many times: they say it's the light, the camera quality (too unforgiving and 2d and the mirror is more like the real thing), the proximity of the lens, this and that. I even tried those apps that give an estimated age and when I'm not smiling the app says I look my age; if I smile I look 5 years younger.
FACT: I look horrible. And then I take a picture in my car with direct sunlight which should cause deep wrinkles and I look good. I take pictures at the beach and I look HORRIBLE!
I hope that reality is better.
I’m hella unphotogenic. That said, I saw something the other day that was like well take a pic of a beautiful sunset or landscape and be like this pic doesn’t do it justice but we don’t give ourselves that same grace
I always got told “I’m so photogenic” before the whole editing/filters thing. But I would think if it matched IRL it would be normal/expected I look that way in photos. So to me that means I don’t look that good irl
It’s the camera, not you. This should make you feel better!
https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/a7mdry/the_way_focal_length_of_the_lens_affects_the/
Remember that our brains are wired to like things we are more familiar with; we see ourselves in the mirror regularly, much more often than we see ourselves in photos, so that is the version of ourselves we prefer.
Is it not the case though that what we see in the mirror is flipped in comparison to what others see when they look at us and what we see in photos? So when we look at others in photos, that’s the same as what we are used to seeing but we are used to seeing ourselves in the mirror so it doesn’t look right to us.
I think it could actually just that your brain prefers the version it is used to seeing in the mirror because that is what it is most familiar with and not because that version is actually any more attractive. It’s literally exactly the same, just flipped.
I think Anyone who’s not an influencer/model typically looks better in real life. And influencers typically only look good online due to proper cameras, lighting, editing, angles, etc
Sure hope so, I look like shit in photos. Apparently there is a big difference also in digital and analog photos in how you appear. But just go by how you look in the mirror.
My ex boyfriend once took pictures with me and told me I looked much better in person. Which I’ve been told repeatedly. I tried not to be offended, but it’s true. Makes me a little more confident in meeting dates. (Less confident in photos). I’ve also seen videos posted about how phone cameras distort photos vs actual cameras. Maybe look at those videos too!
Yes, most of the people are look better in real life, because their expression is true. But most of the time in photos people expression and face beauty is fake.
I feel the exact same way! My partner is a photographer though, and he explained to me that lens distortion can result from phone cameras and flatten us a bit, making us look not like ourselves. Some people just photograph better than others in such conditions. Do you feel differently about yourself when you look into the mirror?
Some people look better in real life than their photos and then there’s those who don’t look like their photos at all, then there’s those who look like their photos can someone please explain this weird phenomenon?
I think so. I think photos are so easy to pick apart. Talk kindly to yourself. Love yourself. It's so important to see the good in you. Looks are great; being a good person is the most attractive thing you can be.
I was just thinking that last week!!! Loved my hair and makeup, so I took a pic to keep for future. Wow!! Who’s that girl in the picture? Hopefully not me. 😳
It's rare to see a spontaneous photo of anyone, most will take at least a few and adjust the angle of their head etc until they're happy with it - me included - before sharing.
Especially on a camera phone, the lens itself will make your features look different to how you actually look, and things like smiling that are generally appealing irl can look forced or odd in a photo..I speak as someone whose eyes and neck disappear when I do a toothy smile for a pic, but have been assured I don't look like that in the flesh!
Just don't go overboard with filters or skin smoothing apps..I see loads where the skin has zero texture and looks so obviously fake. Someone once commented on a pic of my friend asking if she'd found the fountain of youth since they last saw her..her face was practically blurry with filter.
Much better to have people be pleasantly surprised when they meet you in person, and no harm in looking up a few tutorials on how to pose for a photo.
Edited to add..also bear in mind that you're used to seeing yourself in a reflection. A photo is the inverse of that, so your friends will look how you see them and if you flip the photo you'll see yourself as you would in the mirror.
I think so. I get this from people meeting celebrities irl and being starstruck at how beautiful they are in person, even though one already knows what they look like from photos.
I would consider myself attractive and I still get dates from the apps telling me I look much better in person.
So yes, I do think that's true for the most part, if the pics online are not edited or photoshopped in any way, shape, or form.
I have three professional photographers in my family, and they unilaterally agree that I photograph badly.
The latest one, who married into to fam, took a group picture, saw how I (and only I) looked and took it again. Same result lol!
I have never once liked a photo of myself. I’m like wow and I really this ugly?!? Lmao. But in real life people often comment on my looks and in the mirror a lot of the time I don’t feel too horrible about myself, but according to every picture of me ever taken I’m hideous 😂. What is reality? Lol
In 2024, philters, smoothing, editing, and outright AI enhancement fakery, is used to make people look *much* better in photos.
Young adults are under tremendous pressure to present a false image of themselves and their lives on social media that appears to others as the apex of perfection.
Being photogenic is an intrinsic quality; like being musical or artistic. It is something you are born with. Watch Top Model sometime and see that some very gawky, homely girls take gorgeous pictures and some very attractive ones don’t.
Also remember that photos are frozen. The most attractive thing about a person is the spark of life inside, which animates us in person.
This girl I knew in college was absolutely gorgeous. Silky black hair, smooth golden skin, huge dark eyes. Moroccan. Beautiful body. Tall. Absolutely stunning, she could have been a model…
…or not, because for some reason only the gods of fotography know, she looked worse than average in pictures. Her gaze didn’t translate well to the camera or something.
I considered it a sign of divine justice.
I’ve noticed a lot of people do. I sure hope I look better irl because I hate a lot of photos of me. My ex was pretty hot, but he wasn’t really photogenic.
A plastic surgeon on YouTube just talked about this… she used the example of when you take a picture of a beautiful scenery like the beach or sunset. It never looks as good in the picture as it does in real life.
I used to live in an area of NYC which was frequented by professional models so I learned to recognize models when I saw them on the streets. They looked much better in photos than IRL but I think most of the rest of us look better IRL.
I look way cuter in real life than in pics. I'll literally look in the mirror and say, "Oh, I look good today," then take a picture and wind up hating it.
My theory is that in person we're used to seeing real faces, textures, imperfections etc and we can code all of that as good looking or not appropriately. But with cameras we're so used to seeing filtered, perfected images, even of ourselves. It's harder to accept those flaws in a photo because we aren't used to seeing imperfections in photos. This is why I always think I look amazing in the mirror and then as soon as I snap a photo my confidence goes out the window even though I literally look the same in both
I think most people do look better in person. Especially if you’re looking at an ID photo. My work badge is quite literally, my mug shot on the worst of the worst potato days 🤣
At least that’s what I tell myself so I won’t hide in my closet everyday! 🤣
I agree with what’s already been said and I’ll just add - a photo only captures what you look like, that’s not everything that makes you beautiful. Your charm, your sense of humor, your compassion, your charisma, your warmth - all things that people love about you and add to your beauty that can’t be captured by a camera.
And yes I hate most pictures of myself but I don’t hate what I see in the mirror. I’ve just made my peace with it.
I joke that I cannot be photographed like a vampire because seriously - I look awful in 99.9% of photos.
If you think about high fashion models, many of them are odd looking but photograph really well. It’s like the opposite effect.
I've heard a theory that some people have static beauty (look better in photos) while others have a more dynamic beauty (better in video/IRL). I hope this is true because I hate the way I look in photos most of the time.
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I sure as fuck hope so lol.
I thought I looked okay in pictures I took on my old phone, then I got a new one with an upgraded camera and I pretty much hate every single picture of myself I have taken on it. The HD is not doing me any favors. I know there are filters, but I want to know how I REALLY look…and I kind of don’t anymore.
High-quality posts help solve specific beauty-related problems. Low-quality posts clutter the subreddit and tend to be repetitive. Examples of low-quality posts: “What is my [face shape, eye shape, skintone]?”, glow up requests, compliment fishing, non-beauty advice, sympathy farming, attention seeking, rage-bait, "pretty privilege", and vague-titled posts. In addition, please note that this is not a medical/mental health subreddit, and we are not qualified to address such issues here.
personally i do think you look far more better irl than photos. irl you have 3d movements and motions that accentuate your overall features from different angles and stuff yk? it makes you more defined. but a photo is just a 2d representation that doesn't offer much for the viewer to see.
I swear I look like a potato in each of my photos. The camera angles, lighting make such a difference. I’ve just given up and just focus on knowing that how I look like in real life is somewhat better. Chin up girl - we are all a work in progress especially when it comes to self acceptance❤️
I don't photograph well at all. I think a lot of it has to do with me being insecure with my appearance and being uncomfortable being photographed.
I can understand and this is okay. I hope you get to a point where you feel comfortable in your own skin. Self care and self love really go a long way. Start taking care of your physical and mental health and watch how beautifully your body and mind responds. ❤️
leave the house thinking I look cute AF then see a pic and I don’t know what’s real
My sister asked me this today since she got a new iPhone and took photos. She was like, “Why does the camera make me look so bad? Is this how I really look.? I said no because her features and face looked way more lively to me than the camera.
The recent iphone selfie camera is so bad. I used to take selfies occasionally, now I never do because it kills my self esteem.
I hate iPhone’s camera, it automatically uses HDR with accentuates **every** damn detail and makes my skin look terrible, like every damn pore is visible. I tried turning it off in settings but it just comes back on. It also automatically flips your pictures. We always see our mirror image so having our own perception of ourselves suddenly flipped on us can be a bit jarring.
God, I hope this is true. I just commented about how I didn’t mind how I looked on my old phone but when I got my new phone (iPhone 14) the pictures were in such HD I look awful in every one.
The camera is rubbish; it’s relatively cheap quality for an Apple iPhone. The mirror and a human eye are more accurate.
I have an iPhone 14 as well and the selfie camera literally accentuates every single pore I have and makes my skin look so dull. I cannot stand taking photos of myself on it
Yup. I can think I look good when I look in the mirror and then take a selfie and want to cry 😭
That wide angle makes most people look off.
I hope so because I hate photos of me with a passion
Me too 🥴 especially now that I'm 40. It's like I expect to see the younger me in the photos, but then I see someone that looks older and not how I picture myself/see myself in the mirror.
You ever see the most magnificent sunset, with all its radient colours and vibrancy, and then go to take a photo of it and it never looks as good as it does in real life? It’s the same for people. You are the sunset.
Beautiful. Poetic.
You look better in real life, but also your family and friends think your photos look better than you think they do. We tend to see the beauty in others and don’t really pick up on imperfections
I think so. I like to think I’m a beautiful woman but I never like pictures of myself & the ones I do like tend to be candid pictures. I feel like when I pose idk what to do and I make myself look weird.
my daughter is the same. She's beautiful, but as soon as someone points a camera at her, she does this weird upside down smile and eyes half closed thing that she never does IRL.
I really hope you have never made a comment to her about it. My mom made a comment to me when I was around 6-7 years old that I “couldn’t smile properly” and 30 years later that has stuck with me and killed my confidence for taking photos.
I’m sorry that’s stuck with you so bad. My grandmother loved photography and she would always say “do your real smile” And I’d be like no I can’t do that smile when you ask! It used to bug me so much but I now realize she really did just love my natural smile, she was just trying to force candids😂
It's true. I used to take photos for a living and one of the key things to remember is the skill of the photographer. Is the lighting bad? Have they posed you awkwardly or given no guidance on your best angles? Is it a staged photo or a candid shot? Are there shadows? Are there any other elements that could ruin the shot? (Blurry, incorrect colour filtering, incorrect subject distance, etc). A lot of celebrities and models are good looking, yes, but they are also being snapped on red carpets and magazines by people who devote their lives to making them look hot. Most of us are snapped by people who mean well but don't know what they're doing.
My dad LOVES to take photos of everything, every occasion, but bless his heart he is the worst photographer. Literally spends all of half a second considering the photo before he just points and shoots. Our family photos look so rough 😭 I wish I could leave a disclaimer to future family that we really do look better than that
Well, then there are the paparazzi and their shots purposely trying to make them look their worst…
I feel the same. Saw a reel recently that gave a good perspective :) You know when you see a beautiful sunset or a mountain range and you try to capture a photo of it but it never comes anywhere close to what it looked like in person. Same can be said about photos of you.
Yea that’s an old cliche saying I think most of us have already heard. But I think OP is talking about the difference between her friends looking normal (in a pic ofc ,nothing can be compared to irl) vs OP not looking like herself at all in pix. And the answer to that might just be that she’s straight up not photogenic. Her features just don’t reflect light in the way that’s flattering in photos. Being photogenic/ non photogenic is a very real thing. It’s why some gorgeous people can’t make it as models and why some models look average at best irl. I’m not very photogenic Imo but I knew a girl in HS who was so loved by the camera it was crazy! Irl she was very normal/average looking, but the second she took a picture she turned into a stunner. It was the weirdest phenomenon and no one could figure it out lol but I think she just had features that just so happened to reflect light in a flattering way and it made her appear more beautiful . OP is probably just the opposite of that.
Yeah, I feel like in photos my face looks very wide and flat. Like IRL, there’s a depth difference between my cheekbone and ear, but in most photos it looks like my face is just WIIIIIIDE.
Exactly. Your features probably look most flattering in 3D but in a pic you’re only getting 2D so the slopes of your face that flatter your face are getting lost in translation lol .
Why is that everyone looks so normal and good in photos but when I look at myself I look terrible I don’t even look like myself
I think we see ourselves through a different lens than we see others.
Because *you're* seeing *them*. Ask them how they feel about their own photos. If they don't put a lot of effort into the art of posing and lighting their photos, they'll be just as unhappy with their photos as you are with yours.
That'd be great because I either look stunning or like a gremlin in photos.
Same. I know my angles so whenever I take a photo of myself, it comes out pretty nice, but if someone else takes it, I look really ugly 😅 I also don’t smile in my pictures, but I smile a lot in person, so I wonder if I’m one of those people that look better in photos lol
Posing is everything for us
Ive had this experience and it makes me wonder what I really look like.
I think it's pretty simple. I look good in good lighting and angles and I look bad in bad lighting and angles. So it's safe to say I really look average and if I put effort into it, I look good but if I slack off, I look bad. Most of us are like that.
Most of the time, yes. Tho I’ve met the rare case of someone who looked so much better in pictures for some reason.
Some people are just very photogenic. I once read something by a photographer who explained that models aren’t necessarily the most beautiful people but they are photogenic. There may be people who are pretty but just don’t photograph well. The other issue is focal length which is especially an issue with selfies. [Focal length can totally distort someone face](https://www.danvojtech.cz/blog/2016/07/amazing-how-focal-length-affect-shape-of-the-face/)
My friends tried to set me up with this guy who looked good in his social media photos, but when we met up in person, I was like…this guy is like the dopier version of the guy in the photos, is this really the same person? It was. His body language, speech pattern, and general movements ruined what looks he had - photos simply had the ability to hold him “in place” haha
We, as humans, generally do not see ourselves the way others see us. It's not exactly the same, but there was a study done about a similar phenomenon. Long story, short- took a bunch of people showed them 5 images of themselves. 1 pic was the real image, then 2 digitally altered to look less attractive and 2 that made them more attractive. They were supposed to pick out the unaltered image. Majority of people chose the less attractive versions. Whenever someone talks about how bad they look in photos I immediately think of this study. Maybe one of you lovely people have a link. I've tried to find it again and I'm coming up empty. But I swear I saw it on Reddit
I would say yes. Think about people who are uncomfortable on camera. You tend to be very hyper aware of yourself at that moment. You are way less natural than if you are just hanging out with your friends. I've seen people who look downright uncomfortable in photos. A lot actually goes into great photographs. Good lighting, good camera. Angles, positioning. Looking natural. Photoshop/editing.
That’s why I don’t have many photos of myself. I’m the one who takes all the photos. I don’t feel I even look like me.
Yes, eyes have better lenses than most cameras
I have asked my boyfriend this. Like, I am I really walking around out there looking like a Fraggle with hepatitis?? He assured me that I’m beautiful (I’m not but it was sweet of him to say it) and that it was, in fact, just a remarkably bad picture.
You would not BELIEVE how hard I laughed at Fraggle with hepatitis
I’m just relieved someone got it! The bf didn’t know what Fraggle are but when I showed him a picture of one he started laughing in a way that let me know I’d hit the nail on the head. Between the lighting in my office and whatever the hell is going on with the selfie-camera on my phone, the universe is conspiring to make me look like an underground creature. Specifically, [these guys.](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/66611/17-fun-facts-about-fraggle-rock)
Yes daw. Dahil you need to be 1.5 yard away from your camera phone to be able to get a "accurate shot of your looks. Akala ko dati ang wide ng lips ko.
Quite surprised to see a Tagalog comment here I had to take a second look to see if it was a PH sub haha
I have never been someone who photographs well - I am always blinking or pulling a strange face or doing the weird bugged out eyes or not looking at the camera or something to throw it off. In fact, the first time I met my friend's mum, the first thing she said to me was "you're so much prettier than in your pictures!" So I'm hoping the answer is yes, at least in my case.
You get a lot more of an idea of someone when you see them in real life. Photos don’t properly convey things like someone giggling, telling a funny joke, sharing an intimate moment with someone or dancing etc, which in my view, only stand to make people more attractive.
I’ve never photographed well. I look much better in person, and oddly, filmed. I suppose I look better in 3D? I know someone that has had a lot of fillers and cosmetic work done. I suppose you would call it an instagram face. She looks stunning in photos but scary and cartoonish irl.
i’m always more attracted to a man that i see in real life vs. on instagram or tiktok lol
We haven't had cameras for most of our history so it makes sense that a lot of us aren't suited for it
Some people don’t photograph well and some are super photogenic. I don’t know why though.
And, here I look better in photos than in real life. It's much better to look good irl than just being photogenic
Same. Well used to. Now I don’t even like my photos. Sad.
There are a few things happening here: One is that some people are more photogenic than others for reasons I'm not well-informed on (though I have thoughts) but someone else might be. Another is that we are used to how we look in the mirror. We aren't symmetrical, so what we see in the mirror is not how we look to other people. We see that flipped image as weird/bad because it isn't what we think we look like. Yet another thing is how we magnify our own flaws (e.g. that little pimple on your forehead is not as red or giant or gross as you think). So in my case, I see only that one side of my lip is higher than the other, one eye is droopier, and my nose curves in the direction of the 'bad' side. Does anyone have a clue what I'm on about when I tell them this? No, because they don't see it.
Some people do and some don’t. There is no “most”.
Hire a semi-professional photographer. Have them take all types of pictures, shy looking down picture, smiling happy, smiling with a grin, sexy smile. Imagine you are sexy & beautiful & the person behind the camera thinks so too. Have them only send you the good shots. Now you have an attractive picture of yourself. Look at that picture before you have another photo taken. Always imagine the cameraman is wildly in love or lust after you. And that is how I went from potato to butterfly in pics!
PSA: camera lenses do not capture images the way the human eye perceives them, thus why people often feel like they look good in the mirror but hate how they look in a picture [Explainer here.](https://aaronhertzmann.com/2024/06/10/perspective-distortions.html) Tl;dr: you look good.
So when we look at ourselves in a mirror our face is reversed. We get used to seeing ourselves that way, but the rest of the world sees our face normally I.e not reversed. In pictures our face isn't reversed, and since we're not used to it, we find that we don't look good. However, others are used to it and see no difference.
Yep, I tried reversing my photos, and I look so much better to myself. But others say that I look odd this way. Makes sense.
No, many people look better irl than photos lol
Mirror definitely looks better than photos
I look horrible in photos. I look fine in the mirror. I take a picture even if the camera is facing the same direction as the mirror, so the light is the same, and BAM, I look horribly old and ugly. I have googled this so many times: they say it's the light, the camera quality (too unforgiving and 2d and the mirror is more like the real thing), the proximity of the lens, this and that. I even tried those apps that give an estimated age and when I'm not smiling the app says I look my age; if I smile I look 5 years younger. FACT: I look horrible. And then I take a picture in my car with direct sunlight which should cause deep wrinkles and I look good. I take pictures at the beach and I look HORRIBLE! I hope that reality is better.
I’m hella unphotogenic. That said, I saw something the other day that was like well take a pic of a beautiful sunset or landscape and be like this pic doesn’t do it justice but we don’t give ourselves that same grace
I always got told “I’m so photogenic” before the whole editing/filters thing. But I would think if it matched IRL it would be normal/expected I look that way in photos. So to me that means I don’t look that good irl
It’s the camera, not you. This should make you feel better! https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/a7mdry/the_way_focal_length_of_the_lens_affects_the/
It’s kind of weird because I feel like photos of people I know, look like them in real life. So I’m not really sure.
I think that people often do look better in photos but like the difference isn't from Shrek in photos to Cinderella in real life.
Remember that our brains are wired to like things we are more familiar with; we see ourselves in the mirror regularly, much more often than we see ourselves in photos, so that is the version of ourselves we prefer. Is it not the case though that what we see in the mirror is flipped in comparison to what others see when they look at us and what we see in photos? So when we look at others in photos, that’s the same as what we are used to seeing but we are used to seeing ourselves in the mirror so it doesn’t look right to us. I think it could actually just that your brain prefers the version it is used to seeing in the mirror because that is what it is most familiar with and not because that version is actually any more attractive. It’s literally exactly the same, just flipped.
lmao my mom always jokes that i look better in pictures than in person. being photogenic isn’t all it’s made out to be😂
I think Anyone who’s not an influencer/model typically looks better in real life. And influencers typically only look good online due to proper cameras, lighting, editing, angles, etc
Sure hope so, I look like shit in photos. Apparently there is a big difference also in digital and analog photos in how you appear. But just go by how you look in the mirror.
My ex boyfriend once took pictures with me and told me I looked much better in person. Which I’ve been told repeatedly. I tried not to be offended, but it’s true. Makes me a little more confident in meeting dates. (Less confident in photos). I’ve also seen videos posted about how phone cameras distort photos vs actual cameras. Maybe look at those videos too!
Yes, most of the people are look better in real life, because their expression is true. But most of the time in photos people expression and face beauty is fake.
I feel the exact same way! My partner is a photographer though, and he explained to me that lens distortion can result from phone cameras and flatten us a bit, making us look not like ourselves. Some people just photograph better than others in such conditions. Do you feel differently about yourself when you look into the mirror?
My passport photo is so bad that last time I went through passport control the guy spent about 5 mins looking at me then back at my photo 😂
I believe that this depends on how much you edit and facetune your pictures. If you're leaving it as is, you probably look prettier in person.
Some people look better in real life than their photos and then there’s those who don’t look like their photos at all, then there’s those who look like their photos can someone please explain this weird phenomenon?
I think depends on the person there's some persons that look better in photos
I’m the same way, most certainly not photogenic in the least! But I stunned compliments in person. 🤷🏻♀️
I think so. I think photos are so easy to pick apart. Talk kindly to yourself. Love yourself. It's so important to see the good in you. Looks are great; being a good person is the most attractive thing you can be.
I was just thinking that last week!!! Loved my hair and makeup, so I took a pic to keep for future. Wow!! Who’s that girl in the picture? Hopefully not me. 😳
It's rare to see a spontaneous photo of anyone, most will take at least a few and adjust the angle of their head etc until they're happy with it - me included - before sharing. Especially on a camera phone, the lens itself will make your features look different to how you actually look, and things like smiling that are generally appealing irl can look forced or odd in a photo..I speak as someone whose eyes and neck disappear when I do a toothy smile for a pic, but have been assured I don't look like that in the flesh! Just don't go overboard with filters or skin smoothing apps..I see loads where the skin has zero texture and looks so obviously fake. Someone once commented on a pic of my friend asking if she'd found the fountain of youth since they last saw her..her face was practically blurry with filter. Much better to have people be pleasantly surprised when they meet you in person, and no harm in looking up a few tutorials on how to pose for a photo. Edited to add..also bear in mind that you're used to seeing yourself in a reflection. A photo is the inverse of that, so your friends will look how you see them and if you flip the photo you'll see yourself as you would in the mirror.
I look horrible in photos! Not that I'm any beauty, but when I look myself in the mirror it's not that bad 😁
Think about the people in your life - do you think they look better in photos or real life?
I think so. I get this from people meeting celebrities irl and being starstruck at how beautiful they are in person, even though one already knows what they look like from photos.
I would consider myself attractive and I still get dates from the apps telling me I look much better in person. So yes, I do think that's true for the most part, if the pics online are not edited or photoshopped in any way, shape, or form.
I have three professional photographers in my family, and they unilaterally agree that I photograph badly. The latest one, who married into to fam, took a group picture, saw how I (and only I) looked and took it again. Same result lol!
I have never once liked a photo of myself. I’m like wow and I really this ugly?!? Lmao. But in real life people often comment on my looks and in the mirror a lot of the time I don’t feel too horrible about myself, but according to every picture of me ever taken I’m hideous 😂. What is reality? Lol
And never mind self check out cameras, holy lord 😂
In 2024, philters, smoothing, editing, and outright AI enhancement fakery, is used to make people look *much* better in photos. Young adults are under tremendous pressure to present a false image of themselves and their lives on social media that appears to others as the apex of perfection.
Being photogenic is an intrinsic quality; like being musical or artistic. It is something you are born with. Watch Top Model sometime and see that some very gawky, homely girls take gorgeous pictures and some very attractive ones don’t. Also remember that photos are frozen. The most attractive thing about a person is the spark of life inside, which animates us in person.
ofc
I also think I look good in person than in photos.
This girl I knew in college was absolutely gorgeous. Silky black hair, smooth golden skin, huge dark eyes. Moroccan. Beautiful body. Tall. Absolutely stunning, she could have been a model… …or not, because for some reason only the gods of fotography know, she looked worse than average in pictures. Her gaze didn’t translate well to the camera or something. I considered it a sign of divine justice.
I’ve noticed a lot of people do. I sure hope I look better irl because I hate a lot of photos of me. My ex was pretty hot, but he wasn’t really photogenic.
I look shit one camera and shit in real life 💀💀😂😂😂
A plastic surgeon on YouTube just talked about this… she used the example of when you take a picture of a beautiful scenery like the beach or sunset. It never looks as good in the picture as it does in real life.
Idk.... I look too self conscious in photos
I used to live in an area of NYC which was frequented by professional models so I learned to recognize models when I saw them on the streets. They looked much better in photos than IRL but I think most of the rest of us look better IRL.
Nothing compares to seeing & experiencing one's beauty in the flesh imo.
I look way cuter in real life than in pics. I'll literally look in the mirror and say, "Oh, I look good today," then take a picture and wind up hating it.
you have the kind of beauty that moves! 🥰
My theory is that in person we're used to seeing real faces, textures, imperfections etc and we can code all of that as good looking or not appropriately. But with cameras we're so used to seeing filtered, perfected images, even of ourselves. It's harder to accept those flaws in a photo because we aren't used to seeing imperfections in photos. This is why I always think I look amazing in the mirror and then as soon as I snap a photo my confidence goes out the window even though I literally look the same in both
I’ve regularly been told I’m prettier than my pictures 🥲 I wish I could learn how to be more photogenic.
You do both extremely well.
🙈☺️
I think most people do look better in person. Especially if you’re looking at an ID photo. My work badge is quite literally, my mug shot on the worst of the worst potato days 🤣 At least that’s what I tell myself so I won’t hide in my closet everyday! 🤣
I agree with what’s already been said and I’ll just add - a photo only captures what you look like, that’s not everything that makes you beautiful. Your charm, your sense of humor, your compassion, your charisma, your warmth - all things that people love about you and add to your beauty that can’t be captured by a camera. And yes I hate most pictures of myself but I don’t hate what I see in the mirror. I’ve just made my peace with it.
I joke that I cannot be photographed like a vampire because seriously - I look awful in 99.9% of photos. If you think about high fashion models, many of them are odd looking but photograph really well. It’s like the opposite effect.
I look bad asf in photos, heck i dont even want my family or friends to take photos. But irl everyone compliments me etc so im not sure
I've heard a theory that some people have static beauty (look better in photos) while others have a more dynamic beauty (better in video/IRL). I hope this is true because I hate the way I look in photos most of the time.
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I sure as fuck hope so lol. I thought I looked okay in pictures I took on my old phone, then I got a new one with an upgraded camera and I pretty much hate every single picture of myself I have taken on it. The HD is not doing me any favors. I know there are filters, but I want to know how I REALLY look…and I kind of don’t anymore.