Be honest. If you put photos of yourself on social media, do you filter them?

[Aldibaldi555]

Ok so everyone I know my age (35-40 bracket) looks amazing on Instagram / Facebook.

I point my phone camera at myself and my goodness I look like sh1t!

Blotchy skin... I just can’t explain it I look hideous.

The sad thing is it means I have next to no photos of myself and DC as I look so shit I genuinely get upset that if I died or something DC would have literally one or two photos of me

I don’t think I’m bad looking, and indeed pre-kids I was told I was pretty.

Without meaning to sound vain, there’s people I know in real life who I would say I’m as good looking as, but they look great on Insta / FB and I look crap.

So, is everyone filtering photos?
What filter do you use because I need it!!

No they’re pretty obvious anyway

I rarely put up pics anyway but if I did it would be one with better lighting

Amazed at how many people do this. I agree with this:
"people who know me IRL know what I look like, and if they don't know me, why would I care what they thought of me?"

I also hardly ever wear makeup unless I am dressing up to go out. I think the danger is if you wear it all the time you start to think you look terrible without it. I don't think I look amazing but I'm not horrified by my appearance either. When I put make up on I want to look special, nicer than usual, but 'normal' is fine.

I don't put photos on social media and I don't know about filters.

I wouldn't mind a bathroom mirror which did that though, could save loads on makeup as I'd look brilliant all the time.

I could get a similar effect by not putting on my glasses.

I don't use a filter because I don't like them. I feel like it's sort of lying. Saying that, I don't actually post pictures online so I suppose I'm not the right person to answer! I do take a lot of pictures on my phone though.

When I first got my current phone I thought all my pictures looked a bit strange. Eventually I realised it had been preset with a "beauty" filter. It actually made me angry that it had been preset. Also made me angry that according to my phone, beauty means having bigger eyes, a slimmer nose, no pores etc. I don't think all these filters do any good for our self esteem in real life. I understand why people use them, but I think if it were possible I'd actually ban them!

I don't filter, but I'm pretty sure my phone does it automatically

I don’t filter and I like to sometimes put up pictures that look goofy. I’d rather be real than always look wonderful.

I used to do a little bit of modelling years ago and the amount of retouching there is incredible. I just find natural and happy is better.

Further to that I think the filters actually promote cosmetic procedures. I mean even after my short-lived accidental brush with a beauty feature I became slightly obsessed with the fact my skin looks like skin and not that smooth, pore-less alien-like filtered version of skin. I did a bit of googling about acid peels, fillers and Botox and so on. I'm getting used to my pore-y, regular skin again now though.

No I don't.

I'm not ashamed of my big nose, squint smile, lines under my eyes, double chin. They're me.

Nope. I’ve turned the odd one black and white over the years, but it’s mostly just my normal mug on display.

No, i don’t. I mean I’ve changed my profile pic to be B&W on occasion but that’s it. It’s either a picture of the real me, or it’s not. I photograph terribly, though; I am not photogenic at all!

No. We have to put profile photos on messaging at work, and it makes me laugh how many women use ridiculously heavily filtered ones. All it does it makes it more likely people will do a double take or fail to recognise you when you meet face to face the first time. I don’t know why you’d want that.
I do select very carefully and don’t post any I don’t like.

I don't because I don't have a clue how to!

No

If I'm Snapchatting I will always use a filter (most because they're funny), but other than that, I'm not a selfie kind of person, so any pics I take will be from days out etc, which are always natural photos, and often of groups of people, rarely just me.. so I look like what I look like.

FWIW, we're much more critical of our own face than anyone else is. What you think is a great photo and a bad photo probably don't look much different to anyone else.

No I don't and I just realised that's why everyone else's photos look better than mine!

Yep, soften skin a little and slightly adjust tone so less blotchy, i use Camera360

@Aldibaldi555 I use filters occasionally (I'm 39). As the child of a mother who always refuses to have her photo taken with us (because she claims to look horrible) we have zero pictures of us with her after we were babies.

I've promised not to do that for my own DC and in fact, I find if I leave the picture I've taken then go back to look at it a week or two later, it doesn't seem as bad as when I first took it.

When I'm gone my DD won't give a shit what I look like in them, I suspect. She'll just be glad of the memories.

I just reread my earlier post and realised I didn't say anything nice about my photos. I have nice hair and an infectious smile FWIW. Most of my photos look like I'm having a really lovely time with my kids (or more often my dog/cats). Mostly because I am, and that's what I'd like my children (and dog/cats I suppose) to remember.

Recently we did a team photo for a magazine I freelance on. We were sitting in the back of a pickup truck in the sunshine, all laughing. Sure some people are really skinny, and others are slightly overweight, but when it comes down to it we're a group of 50-something year old women who do a fabulous job of creating a valuable magazine, and the day the photo was taken we were having a great time catching up with each other. That's what I see when I look at that photo.

@EmmiJay, would you mind sharing your skincare journey into Jazz Hands territory? If you already have a thread about it, please point me in that direction. If not, maybe start one in Style & Beauty and tag me in? Or, obviously, you don’t have to share at all.

I’ve been known to do the odd filter experiment but mostly for my own fun/information, meaning I don’t upload them or send them as a representation of myself.

It’s nice to upload the occasional B&W photo, but generally I aim for best light, makeup, hair—essentially trying to look my best. This is not only for Facebook, but also professional social media such as LinkedIn and my own website. Recognisable, and at my best. Why wouldn’t I want a good photo to represent me?

Having said that, during my experiments I’ve discovered that Photoshop makes everyone look photoshopped (unless one is adept with the software), and Snapchat thinks I like animal ears on my head and am 25 years old. I do not, and am not.

So I’ve downloaded a photo editing app and OMG I am shocked - I have edited some photos to look nothing like myself!!!

But after playing around with this app I can now see how all my Facebook / Insta buddies look so good as making some small tweaks really improved my pictures.

Rather worried for all the kids growing up with this though

Lighting is everything! I'm a dumpy middle aged woman with my health ruined by serious illness but when I'm lit the right way, I still look reasonably decent, even without makeup. Stand close to a window and adjust your position (looking slightly upwards with camera slightly above) until you get a good even light.

No

I'm 38 and have never used a filter

No, I've never used a filter. If a photo is dire of me (and let's be honest, surely none of us really like photos of ourselves?), then I don't put it out there for others to see. So I suppose by 'choosing' which photos people see, then that is 'filtering' what is seen ? But I don't change pictures, no.