Aibu to think being unphotogenic is a thing

Yes, I believe it's a thing. It has little to do with angles or how relaxed you are. I have a friend who works in the beauty industry ( pretty), who told me that when people meet her after seeing her photograph they are sometimes disappointed. I think it has to do with the planes of the face and how light 'seizes' it.

I laughed when my friend said this to me but oh my god it really is true- she is beautiful and every photo she doesn’t quite look like her, or has closed eyes, is squinting, head at a weird angle … every time they do a family photo someone tells her to try!!

Apparently some of it is to do with the focal length of the lenses used. Most cameras on phones have a short focal length which can overly distort faces, whereas traditional style cameras give a more realistic view.

This picture shows how much of an impact it can have...

It is absolutely a thing. I have two friends both look great in real life, but one looks like a supermodel in photos and the other looks terrible, apart from the very rare nice ones if she doesn't know the picture is being taken. Show your daughter the episode of friends with Chandler and Monica getting the engagement photo done. I also think the suggestion of some professional shots is a good one, especially if you can get someone who specialises in candid shots and could maybe photograph her doing something so she is less self conscious.

A quick Google confirmed my suspicions about rounded faces. Angular faces reflect light differently while rounder ones reflect in all directions which is less attractive in a photo, yet often prettier in real life.

Also cameras can make faces wider and noses larger - which may be why sone of us are feeling striking people fare less well and the plainer featured people tend to improve.

I sincerely hope it's a thing, because I look bloody awful in pictures. I also look quite different in pictures then I do in the mirror. Odd

Also - find portrait mode on your phone.

Definitely a thing

This is more or less what I notice. It’s sometimes pasty and plainer-featured people who look better. Also irl hair plays more of a role as you have a more three dimensional view.

Plain people often photograph well because it is like working with a blank canvas. People with stricking features often don't look good in photos but stunning in real life, because their facial features just don't translate Well on camera. I know many plain or quite unattractive people who look gorgeous in pictures. It is most definitely a thing!

I'm not at all photogenic and neither is my DD. Fine if we're caught unawares and somebody captures a natural expression, but somehow our faces seize up into the most awful grimaces the second someone says Cheese. We just can't conjure up a natural looking smile. DD is gorgeous in reality.
I take a passable, if mildly pouty, selfie.

Though ironically she probably could be a magazine model as that would be photos.

Also faces that can look gaunt in real life can look softer in a photo. Softer faces can look fat.

This is a great TED talk - https://www.ted.com/talks/teri_hofford_why_you_think_you_look_bad_in_photos

Wow...never realised this was a thing but it's very reassuring. I think I'm average looking and scrub up quite well on occasion but photos of me are almost without exception terrible. I've just accepted it now but my son is the same.

Of course it is. I look shit in photos and slightly less so in real life.

Definitely a thing! I am the most unphotogenic person ever. I have been told I am much more attractive in person, and I think that’s down to my personality.

It’s a thing. The way people’s faces catch the light. It’s a harsh time for kids with cameras being everywhere and images shared all over on social media.

I’m not going to name names but I have seen quite a few celebrities in the flesh who look stunning on screen and … you honestly wouldn’t look twice at them in reality if you didn’t recognise them from their photos/movies. Almost always disappointing. But I guess that’s what Hollywood screen tests were invented for.

I think it's a thing. I'm mega unphotogenic. I'm very normal looking and reasonably pretty irl, but I look awful in photos. I struggle to smile on cue though (neurodivergence) and feel incredibly awkward. My entire face/body just becomes awkward in photos.

I also think with people who are quite vivacious in real life that side of them doesn’t really come across strongly, whereas people you are used to seeing a bit sour and low-energy have only to light up temporarily and it suddenly transforms them. ( No, no, I’m not thinking of anyone in particular: why do you ask?! )

Oh my god, I've found my people. I take fucking hideous photos. David Bailey would be hard pressed to manage a decent shot of me. So much so, I have a deep pathological hatred of being in photos and for the most part refuse to do so. The current phenomenon of photographing oneself to share with the world on an almost hourly basis is to me like one of the seven circles of hell! shudder I have no words of comfort, except to say : I get it.

Yes it’s that glowy look! I actually think it’s people with very pasty complexion and the camera kind of reflects off it like the moon or something!

🤣🤣🤣

Of course it’s a thing!
I have two siblings, one is very attractive and turns heads when out, but looks dreadful in every single photo. The other is unremarkable in real life but comes across as beautiful and glowy in photos. It’s weird.