Does a camera REALLY add 10lbs?

[WeirdArchitecture]

I remember hearing this many, many years ago, then forgot about it. I was reading a thread about actors being tiny in real life and how the camera adds visual weight to them, and that this is an actual thing.

I must admit I do look larger in photo's but thought this was the crappy quality of iphone lenses. I know from having studied photography in the past that even a 50mm lens isn't kind to the human figure, so over 85mm would be more natural/flattering. And obviously the iphone really does distort (you will be happy to hear!).

I have only met one actor in recent years and she looked very similar to her on screen, slim self.
But is it a thing in general? I never notice if other people look bigger in photo's as only really notice myself, lol, in terms of weight.

Film cameras definitely do.

One of my friends at uni was on the weakest link. She was really slim in real life. A size 10 in Top Shop well before the days of vanity sizing! She looked absolutely massive on the telly and we were all shocked at how different she looked!

I always thought that meant tv and film makes people look bigger. Not photos.

I saw a load of tv people at an awards event once and the women were all smaller than I expected. Shorter as well as slimmer. Also applies to seeing athletes in the flesh.

Strange, I look my normal weight on video but bigger in photos. Maybe it's tv cameras......and don't get me started on my mirrors!

I look the most slim in a mirror selfie 🫣! I can see my best angle and pose for it . I know someone who posts mirror selfies nearly daily on Instagram stories and I saw her in real life after a long period and was shocked by how much bigger she was in real life .

I think I look accurate in video though but it’s hard to know as I don’t have a ton of video of myself to compare .

I think I look a bit bigger in most pics but I’m not sure if it’s because when I see myself in a mirror I automatically pose myself in a good angle kinda like when I take a selfie .

Digital cameras make me look thinner, but i can depend on the angle

it not i

I think they do. Without being disrespectful, in gogglebox Ellie and Izzy look fairly large, but in there photos out and about with other people they look a lot smaller.

I've seen a few celebs who look thin but not overly so on screen and in photos, when in person they look worryingly tiny. It's always made me feel sad when you see how tiny they are in person.

I searched for this subject yesterday and sadly found a 36 page thread where posters obsessively and vehemently shamed and abused thin women for being 'worryingly teeny tiny'. When naturally small MN'ers popped into the thread to say they were not disordered or unsell, they were pretty much told they must be if they had lower than a 22BMI at over 40. Christ it was rancid in there! It has left a sour taste tbh.

Not the fault of this thread though, thankfully - but I still do look bigger in photo's and normal in video. Seems we are all different.

I have never felt 'sad' at someone else's thinness, though. I wonder, do we feel sad at someone's fatness, too?

Mine adds a good 30lbs - what model is yours to only add ten?!

Many years ago I was in the audience at some TV show.
Chris Tarrents wife, don't know her name,was on the show.
I was so shocked at how slim she was in the flesh.
when the show aired and I watched it... she looked a very healthy weight.
So yes it does make you look bigger.

I've seen women who are admired for their slimness in pictures look absolutely terrifyingly skinny irl. Duchess of Cambridge for one. Looks elegant if a little thin in pictures. Looks scary scrawny irl. Like jaw droppingly underweight

I only think someone is 'terrifyingly' skinny if they are very unwell. I have seen addicts who are severely underweight and they are not having a good time there.

I am slightly underweight, mostly due to IBS, but I don't frighten people, I hope!

I have noticed that many people online say that this means I must look 'aged', 'ugly' 'disordered', 'unwell' and 'will get dementia'. It's not nice.

There are many different shapes and sizes and being a few lbs underweight isn't terrifying, just like being a few lbs over isn't terrifying, as long as we are physically and mentally healthy, who cares?.

I think sometimes if people diet down to a very low weight it doesn't suit them, yet with some people they look ok. Likewise with higher BMI's. The Cambridge woman get's a lot of stick, it says a lot about how women regard one another, I think. Do I think she looks good? No, as my own preference is strong and solid (I have a dream, lol).

I personally look fatter in pictures and slim in video. I have fat and thin mirrors in my home and have no idea which are true. Therefore I have no idea what i really look like.... this is disconcerting

I stand by my comment. IRL, she is jaw-droppingly skinny and it is alarming. Maybe 'terrifying' is not the right word but certainly, she looks a LOT skinnier IRL than she does in photos and skinny enough that there are murmurings and gasps. I suspect one of the reasons why she has dropped to such a low weight is precisely because she is having her picture taken from every angle all the time and that possibly makes one nervous of carrying any weight.

I've seen the DoC I real life and I didn't think she was terrifyingly skinny. She looked a similar size to me just taller. Fwiw my bmi is low at 19 but I am not underweight.

More than 10lbs in my case!!

I did see a pic today after this thread of the Duchess of C in a crowd, and coincidentally a bunch of women were looking at her with shocked faces. It was amusing in that respect. I have heard people say they are quite shocked when they see her. However it does feel odd discussing her body this way , as a culture we are far too invested in other women's bodies - whether that is comparing them to our own or using them fire off some anger or fear. Then we blame the patriarchy (in which we play a damn fine and loyal role).

Yes, TV screens do. The expression doesn't relate to photos.
I've also met actresses in real life who've seemed skinny rather than slim when you see them in the flesh.

Assuming that was aimed at my comment. If I saw one woman walking down the street, I wouldn't give any consideration to their weight or worry about it, fat or thin. But when you see a girl group trio all looking so thin and gaunt with bones protruding I don't think it's a crime to feel sad, given that it's hardly a secret women in that industry are heavily scrutinised on how slim they are, especially in past years.

Does this apply to other features too?!

I swear my nose always looks MASSIVE in photos but normal in the mirror!

I did a photography degree OP and I agree.

I especially think Nikons make people look bigger in film and images, and canon a little kinder.

I'm a size 8, always been slim? When others take pictures of me especially on iPhones I could pass for a 12. (Not big, just bigger than I am)

I'm also a firm believer that we are our own worst critiques, and we will always look at our 'bad bits' and exaggerate them no matter what images we see.

I notice this with certain actresses or others you see on TV. When in their posed positions they look a certain way - then you see a photo of them about and about and you think Oh you never see that on TV. They know how to flatter themselves by emphasising the "good" and minimising the "bad".

I’m interested in this as I was stumped at how I looked in a recent recording on my friends iPhone (I was singing on stage in a bar 🤦‍♀️)
I looked very, very curvy and to be honest it was not at all flattering…
in real life I’m 7st 10 lbs at the moment …
before going out that evening I thought I looked a bit underweight in my dress and made a mental note to try to gain a few pounds !!!

they say the camera never lies ….
On this experience I would need to disagree…..