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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think the camera adds 10lbs?

44 replies

AubreyMegan · 04/05/2013 11:02

Ok so on a night out I'm looking in the full length mirror and I think I look ok, and then photos will get added from the night and I think omg am I seriously that big?!

A friend of mine was tagged in a recent photo and I'm not sure if it's the angle but she looks 2 sizes bigger than she does in RL. I see friend most weeks and she's a slim size 10.

aibu to think the camera really does add 10lbs?

OP posts:

Sallystyle · 04/05/2013 15:30

I am a photographer, the light and pose can either add 10 pounds or make you look slimmer.

In fact, I did a lot of training in how to make people look slimmer and how to NOT make them look like they have gained weight too, light and pose really can add 10 pounds.

VonHerrBurton · 04/05/2013 16:13

I really hope that it's true, not just a myth to make people feel better however I look fucking awful on most pictures. I will always offer to take the photos on any family/friend gatherings and hate it when I have to be in a photo.

The thing is, I don't look awful when I look in the mirror. People often comment on how good I look for my age in rl. So it's not me being negative about how I look, I'm not, I'm pleased when I look in the mirror.

Conversley, I have a particular friend who, whilst being attractive, looks absolutley STUNNING on photos, and my dh and ds look they way they do in rl

I just hope some people don't photograph well. My face always look really fat, my hair looks lank and my tits look 3 sizes bigger...

Rant over, soz!

Sallystyle · 04/05/2013 18:45

Von, it's not that people don't photograph well, some just have certain features that look more flattering in certain poses and lighting. Very few women look flattering straight on in photos, especially if the arms are by your sides.

My husband is a very handsome man but taking a photo of him straight on will exaggerate his sharp features and not look flattering. He has a long nose (not horribly long) if I take it straight on it looks really big, but a slight tilt of the head and it looks truer to real life.

I have photographed a very stunning young girl, she is gorgeous but I remember taking some of her in harsh lighting and she looked nothing as beautiful as she did IRL. I took her out another day in better lighting and the results were much better.

You can look just as awesome in photos as you do IRL if you know how to hold yourself for photos.

FeralStreep · 04/05/2013 19:19

Go on then, how should we hold ourselves?

Because at the moment I look best if I hold myself behind a massive brick wall...

SugarPasteGreyhound · 04/05/2013 19:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ShellyBoobs · 04/05/2013 20:47

It's fact that cameras make people look fatter.

If you look at a person against a background, with your own eyes (i.e. not on a screen or a printed image) you can see slightly more of the background than a camera can see. Therefore to the naked eye, the person looks narrower than they do through the camera.

It's because our eyes are spaced apart whereas a camera image is created through one central aperture.

I don't know if I've explained that very well; I've been drinking wine...

Loulybelle · 04/05/2013 20:50

I look massive in photos, i look like i have a really fat face, which i dont.

Piemother · 04/05/2013 20:53

I saw Paloma faith in real life close up the other day. She is about a 6 . On the telly she looks (to me) about a 10 - 12.
So yes it must add weight

Sallystyle · 04/05/2013 20:54

A few tips

Get the person to shoot slightly above you

Slightly lift your chin up and out

Never stand straight on, turn to the side a little and one foot in front of the other helps too

Hold you arms a little bit out from your side so they aren't flat against your body. Hands on hips can be slimming

There are loads of posing guides you can find on google to show you examples. These really do make a huge difference.

Sallystyle · 04/05/2013 20:56

I always look like I have a fat face too if I don't push my chin up and out.

I look like I have triple chins if not lol

Loulybelle · 04/05/2013 21:03

Strangely my eyes really stand out in pictures, i dont get the devil thing normally.

VonHerrBurton · 05/05/2013 09:12

But why just some people though?? It just seems to be me that doesn't look like me!

Will take your advice though, samu, thanks. Got a girls weekend coming up, the house we've booked has a pool and I fear photos may be necessary....:(

chickydoo · 05/05/2013 09:19

I look dreadful in photos.
I don't look fatter, but the camera accentuates the fact I am angular, and it makes me look like I have Brucies chin and the nose of the wicked witch of the west.
I am angular..... But not that bad in RL...
I don't have one nice picture. I look awful in every single one

Loulybelle · 05/05/2013 09:33

Chicky, i dont have nice pictures either, online dating is a nightmare because of it.

cocolepew · 05/05/2013 09:42

Cameras appear to give me little piggy eyes as well. They look like pissholes in the snow.
I used to be photogenic. Aging is a bastard.

tiredemma · 05/05/2013 09:43

I look fat in pictures.

But I also look fat in the mirror.....

kelda · 05/05/2013 09:45

I saw a TV chef last night in RL. Before you get excited, none of you will know him, unless you live in Belgium.

He looked very slim. On TV, he looks slightly chunky.

Very goodlooking though

Sallystyle · 05/05/2013 10:16

If your eyes look small don't look directly into the camera lens, especially if they have the flash on.

BreasticlesNTesticles · 05/05/2013 10:21

I thought you were supposed to tilt your head slightly down and look up to slim your face down? So head down chin out?

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