Not photogenic

[Bubblylikechampers]

Not AIBU but it really does piss me off!!

I'd consider myself fairly attractive. Not pretty, but definitely 'ok' looking.

I could take a thousand pics and I look absolutely awful. Yet most people no matter what are so photogenic.

Why is this? My holiday pics at the moment are depressing as hell.

Any one else find this??

Oh Torn you are too kind. I took my glasses off, my mum tells me my eyes look wonky without my glasses, great😪😪😪😪

Nothing like a mother to give you that back down to earth feeling is there? lol

I know, she is very cutting🙄🙄🙄. I am sooo envious of people listing puctures of themselves completely natural as in no make up, looking fanrastic, whereas I look awful😪😪😪😪

My bootcamp instructor(naturally photogenic, MMA martial arts champion), Takes group photos after the workout, I am red, fat, sweating mess, and posts them on the Combat bootcamp page😬😬😬😬

You don't. Honestly, you look perfectly fine!
Some people are very lucky, most of the world isn't and they have to work at it! You're too down on yourself!

Thanks very Torn, I am 41 and don't have to dye my hair yet as that's an advantage😃😃

These are two photos of me, different lighting, different pose, different makeup. It alters your face a lot. Both taken within weeks of each other

Oh Olivander very attractive and photogenic. I love your hair 💓💓

Ok. Now I just have hair envy Olli.

You have lovely eyes too.

Diffuse (scattered) lighting is flattering to the face - esp daylight.
Harsh shadows much less see (unless you're very striking to begin with)

Another tip - if you have a reasonably long lens (one that can zoom in) then stand further back and have your photo zoomed in (but do NOT use digital zoom). The reasons why this can help are complex, but essentially it shallows the face and can give a nicer 'bokeh' (blurred background). It's very flattering in the right light.

A good photographer can make a huge difference, but you can help yourselves too with a little knowledge. Don't be afraid to take hundreds of photos with a friend and only choose a couple. :-)

God don't be, I look awful in RL
Photographers often do look when I turn up but then amazed when I'm in front of a camera!!!

Ollivander, you do look fantastic in your photos😃

I'm another who looks like I've hit every branch on the ugly tree in photos.

When I was 17, I had to have a load of passport photos done for my applications for various Musical theatre courses. Bearing in mind I was young and gorgeous, I had to have about 12 sets done in the end and most were unusable. My dad still has one of them on his desk that he laughs at on occasion because it was so bad. I'm 42 now.

My features just seem to disappear and I look like a moon-faced gimp. Doesn't help that I have no idea how to pose.

I know a mum at the kids school who, whilst is reasonably attractive in real life look stunning in pictures, really breathtakingly beautiful. The camera just seems to love her whilst it fucking hates me.

oh DickTERF I hear you, I need to take loads, before there is a decent photo.

I'm so ugly they put tinted windows on my incubator.

It's why I prefer to be behind the camera!

Oh TornTfrom I bet not! I suspect that you are lovely .

I prefer being behind the camera, not in front, I am always offering to take pictures of the family.

Not RTFT but I’m the same, I take a terrible photo. I read somewhere that a camera doesn’t capture your aura, so if you look awful in photos it’s because you have a beautiful aura in real life I thought that was rather lovely...

Same for me OP, esp since I hit my mid-late thirties

I have also seen this the other way, a perfectly average looking slightly plain woman, who in every single photo she was in looked stunning, her face lit up in every picture. It was like witchcraft, I should have asked her her secret

It's all about the angle when taking your pictures. Find the best angle for you.

I think I look bad in pictures but I also do wonder if they are somehow more representative of how I look than the mirror. I know lighting can make a huge difference as that is true even when looking in mirrors in harshly lit rooms Vs softly lot rooms. The only thing that bothers me though is that in group shots taken where everyone is at roughly the same angle and subject to similar lighting conditions I always think that my friends look ok whereas I look worse than IRL. I guess that's why I wonder if I am deluded and actually look more like the photos than I would like to believe.

OP we need a selfie with your shoulders back and a smile. Try thinking of something delicious or lovely like a chocolate fondue or a baby snuggle!

Ollivander- you look very photogenic and attractive in both pics!!!

Aero- the same to you. You look v photogenic indeed. You have lovely features and don't look awkward. Would you say you look like that in mirror?