Think I look ok then I see a photo ...

[Applebear]

This is a bit of wallowing in self pity but also an amount of genuine confusion about how this happens. Does anyone else feel the same way? I get ready for whatever occasion and think I look good in the mirror. Then when I see a picture, my lipstick looks too bright like a clown, my hair looks rubbish and flat and frumpy, my face invariably looks fat and a bit jowly and I look at least a dress size bigger than I thought. I'm starting to worry about this and lose any confidence when I look in the mirror, as I think I look ok or even pretty good but I'm now not believing the mirror anymore and am genuinely confused about whether I look ok or awful. I know this is a strange thread but this is affecting my self confidence, silly I know.

I look shit in photos which is why I've spent most of my life avoiding having my photo taken. I don't think I look as hideous in real life though, otherwise small children would be running away from me in the street screaming.

Slightly more seriously, I do hope think that some people are the opposite of photogenic in that they look worse in photos than they do in the flesh.

Do you have a digital camera or a decent camera on your phone? Try taking photos of yourself just to see what you look like. You can delete them straight after. Take lots - you don't have to be 'posing' as you're not going to keep them. Experiment with the light (daylight, artificial), angles, and different clothes and make up. It will give you a better of idea of what others see when they look at you. If you still don't like how you look, change something!

I get this too (look good in mirror but awful in pictures). I tend the rely more on mirrors than cameras though. (Really un-photogenic).

My sister is the same, will look gorgeous but when you snap a picture of her she looks really different.

That's interesting thanks. I'd really love to see myself as I really am / how others see me. I'm starting to wear less interesting clothes and make up because of this. I felt really silly saying this so thanks for the comments, makes me feel
A bit better.

I'm the least photogenic person ever. It's a standing joke in our house. I am a horrible horrible person but I can't deny I felt better when somebody I know who always looks fab said they're the same and when she showed me photos it was unbelievable how different she looked. So I just convince myself I'm EXACTLY like her. I'm not

Have you seen ?
Makes you consider how you view yourself in pictures and in the mirror and how others see you.

According to the photos in our house my oh's a single parent, seriously I avoid a camera like the plague but don't mind how my face looks in a mirror

At the grand age of 40 I have realised that if I turn my face to the left that's as good as it get but I would still rather avoid photos

I think some people are just not very photogenic and it's not about your attractiveness in real life. Symmetry and having certain features have a lot to do with it. Also if you compare yourself to celebrities they have had a team of stylists, a great photographer with flattering lighting and then photoshopped. I consider myself pretty attractive but in photos I frequently look dreadful, it seems to exaggerate my worst features! My cheeks look extra red, my teeth look weird and my hair fluffy. I'm also frequently grimacing.

I also have ( by luck) some photos where I look really beautiful. Would you ever consider having some professional photos taken where they would bring out the best in you?

I know how demoralising it is when you think you look ok, nice even and the 'camera says no'..!

I saw a photo the other day, my lovely necklace was just lying on a stripey cushion. Except on closer inspection it wasn't a cushion. . I have got rid of that particular t shirt.

I also look awful in pics - much older and more serious/grumpy than I feel. I decided a long time ago to be the one who always takes pictures rather than stars in them!

I look shit in photos and always have done

DD1 does too and she is stunning! (Mind you, she is 9 and I am pushing 50 so I would settle for "not hideous"!! )

I'm the most unphotogenic person on the planet. In the flesh. I could be described as ugly but by the same token. I' m not a traffic stopper either.
I am always emaculate and never have a thing out of place but on camera I am unrecognizable.
I know most people think they look awful on camera but I really do.

Couldn't not could

I feel the same, I think I look ok when I go out but when the camera comes out I cringe.

I went out with a group of girls I don't usually go out with recently. They started with the selfies and laughed at the ones I was in.

I could have cried with embarrassment. I don't understand why a photo makes me look so grim!

I think I look awful too. Im not sure if the reason is I'm not photogenic or just slightly deluded as to what I really look like when I look in the mirror. I suspect I need to install a better light in my bathroom.
My BIL takes amazing pics at every family function but he knows now to mostly keep me out of them. When I do feature I'm usually laughing or have my mouth open or whatever so this doesnt help to look great .
Dont worry about it, you are who you are

I think it depends upon who is taking the photo. Some people don't wait till they get the best shot of that person that represents their true look. A photo is not a real representation of how you really look but just a shot of how you looked at that second.

Shirley loved that you tube clip. Very emotive and sad too that a lot of us women spend a lot of our lives thinking we are not pretty enough.

I'm the exact opposite.
In reality I'm quite plain but look reasonably attractive in photos.
No idea why.

I am very pale so I always look like The Undead in photos..also my eyes go really small so to compensate I raise my eyebrows...therefore I look like a very suprised Undead ..maybe one who has had their coffin unexpectedly opened!

Video tends to work better for me because you see me moving and appearing more natural. I look grotesque in photos as it's one shot frozen in time.

I know I can look good in photos but it's so rare it might as well not happen. Our wedding photographer was documentary style so he just hung around in the background taking candid shots. I look pretty good in some of them (not in all!) so I know it's possible, but in most photos my features look out of proportion and I have a double chin. But I think I look ok in mirrors.

I think some people just look better when they're moving - this is my conclusion based on life experience watching America's Next Top Model

itchy you shouldn't go out with that group again. How nasty!

I look terrible in photos too. I came across an interview years ago (can't remember who it was) who said that they looked shit in photos because "I have the kind of beauty that moves". Love that and it's stuck with me ever since.

ShirleySharpeyes

^Have you seen this american Dove ad?
Makes you consider how you view yourself in pictures and in the mirror and how others see you.^

Oh, that's really good. I bet it's pretty true as well.

I remember being amazed to hear myself described as "the one who is always smiling" - I'm a miserable bugger! Just goes to show I suppose...

Some people don't wait till they get the best shot of that person that represents their true look. Agree with this.

And photos can only take a 2D image - disaster if you have a big nose - it can look huuuuuge in close ups.

people generally know how to work their best angle in a pic too. I remember when my friends all learned to turn their cheek to the camera and lift their chin they all took great pics after that