Photogenic or not?

[pinkvolvo]

I think we are unphotogenic because we're uncomfortable in front of the camera (im generalizing!), sometimes more candid pics look better because we are more "natural" um.. and we don't know that we're being photographs. But of course some candid pics can be hilarious and... horrible!

I hope this isn't off topic but, I heard that instead of pretending to smile in front of the camera, just think of something really funny and it'll come out naturally

est Answer - Chosen by Asker


I have been a professional photographer for many years--taken tens of thousands of photographs--and this subject is one that I still am working on---there are at least three hundred theories---suffice to say here in this questions implied framework I'll respond with this----photogenics is a very subjective entity---the way a subject appears to one may not be the way they appear to another---and especially when that person is both subject AND viewer--an enormous per centage of people do not like the way they look ---period--so how will they ever be satisfied with a photo of theirself ?? Then you have the folks who think they look marvelous who see a photo and just can't believe that THAT is them---Then you have the thing that drives me mad till this very day---the people who DO look marvelous but who can not be photographed to reflect that---and the people who eye-to-eye appear as somewhat 'normal' that get on set and every single shot is art---shear art------So with your situation---you have got to analyze what is happening here---is this your super critical eye on yourself that will NOT be pleased with ANY result---or is it a look that your looking to produce and need to work for ? Or is it a case of the shot being superb in everyone else's eye and one YOU CANNOT SEE----in any case this will require you to bring others into the fold for their opinions and input eye-to-eye---If I were there I could probably nail it down fairly fast but I'm not--so this is your baby to rock---you could e me on what you come up with--I'd really seriously like to know--------
Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060618002642AAzbc2Y

 

[sexydaydreamer]

I'd rather be prettier in real life to be honest. Why be beautiful in airbrushed pics when you could be a natural? Besides, it's not like I take so many pictures of myself. But being photogenetic is a plus.

 

[Fabulyss]

im awfully,awfully unphotographic. and im so glad people see that, ill take a pic and ask: do i REALLY look like that? .

I am the exact same way. I think I look completely different when I see myself in the mirror vs. in photographs. Not only that, but I have various photos of myself that look completely different from one another, as if it isn't even the same person in each photo! It is very very strange, I like to think that poor lighting and the mere fact that the moment is frozen in time accounts for my awful looks in photos!

 

[Zen]

I look hideous in pictures! But some say that I look pretty in person, so I would have to say in person then in photographs....

 

[fashion_victim]

I am the exact same way. I think I look completely different when I see myself in the mirror vs. in photographs. Not only that, but I have various photos of myself that look completely different from one another, as if it isn't even the same person in each photo! It is very very strange, I like to think that poor lighting and the mere fact that the moment is frozen in time accounts for my awful looks in photos!

I'm the same too. But apart from looking different in mirror vs. photos, I think I also look completely different in different mirrors, if you get what I mean. For example...I love the mirror in my bathroom, but I look awful in the mirror in my bedroom. So I actually don't know what I really look like. I guess it could be the lighting...And when I ask other people, they say they can't see any difference. Is it just me who feels this way?
I find this quite fascinating actually...and frustrating from time to time.

 

[model_mom]

Why isn't this in the photography thread?

 

[sanrio]

im awfully,awfully unphotographic. and im so glad people see that, ill take a pic and ask: do i REALLY look like that? and they just laugh and agree with me. Its so frustrating for me. But to your question : definitley real life.

My words...have nothing to add to that...

 

[*Sunrise_Serena*]

I'm the same too. But apart from looking different in mirror vs. photos, I think I also look completely different in different mirrors, if you get what I mean. For example...I love the mirror in my bathroom, but I look awful in the mirror in my bedroom. So I actually don't know what I really look like. I guess it could be the lighting...And when I ask other people, they say they can't see any difference. Is it just me who feels this way?
I find this quite fascinating actually...and frustrating from time to time.

Don't worry sometimes I feel the same way, it's soooooo weird really. I just came to the guess that it is the lightening too..I can see no other reason.. Other than that, I am soooo unphotogenic, I hate it when people take pictures of me, I always look different than I really look like..I don't know why..maybe I have an insecurity in front of the camera...but yeah I couldnt agree more with you LeonieAlexandria. It's the same with me..glad to know i'm not the only one.

 

[Modelgirlie]

Both!!

 

[marqueemoon]

Faces/features I've noticed that are more photogenic:

1) Facial flatness -- More 3-D faces are distorted when converted into 2-D. Valentina Zeliaeva and Paulina Porizkova are examples of flattish, photogenic faces.

2) Simple lines and less angularity -- The flash doesn't cast harsh shadows.

3) Small noses -- The fifteen pound camera rule applies to noses too. As the feature that protrudes most from the face, it is magnified by the camera's flash. So a nose that looks medium in real life often looks big on camera. This is why so many celebrities get nose jobs even though they often have normal-sized noses by everyday standards.

4) Smooth skin and evenly distributed facial fat.

5) Symmetry -- The camera is unforgiving to asymmetrical faces. When a face is in motion you don't notice the small asymmetries and little flaws as much. Take somebody like Paris Hilton. In real life, you might not notice her wonky eye, but it's hard to miss in a photo. I suspect this is also the reason people often look better to themselves in mirrors than in photos. People get so used to the way they look in mirrors that they are no longer able to see the asymmetries in their faces until the image is reversed in a photo.

6) Well-defined features -- Ill-defined features seem to get lost in the surrounding flesh when photographed.

7) Clean Features -- The one trait I've noticed that most models seem to share. The borders of features are clearly marked and composed of simple, geometric lines. I guess this is a combination of #2 and #6. This trait has little to do with beauty (although it's a nice bonus), but apparently it's very important for a model.

 

[Fiancee]

Interesting thoughts, MarqueeMoon.
If I were to add anything I would say that colouring
and (maybe surprisingly) the shape of the chin and brow bone
can play a decisive part in whether one looks good in a photo.
I am light skinned and while in person I get so many compliments on my skin, in photos, I just appear like a ghost, and it makes all my features stand out very dramatically.
Likewise, while in person my slight cleft chin is hardly noticeable and if it is, quite charming (think Selita Ebanks, not Michael Douglas ), in photos it can flatten strangely and become a very dominant feature.
Same with the brow bone. A rounded and light brow can give an alien cast when frozen in a photo. Check out Anja Rubik when she bleaches her eye brows, and you'll see what I mean.

A more general note:
I think a lot of it is in the light and shadows created by most cheap and automatic camera flashes. A good photographer should be able to bounce the light so that it falls on the face the way natural light does, and so, give you a photo that looks closer to how you see yourself in a mirror or how others see you on a regular day.
And as a professional photographer once told me, hardly ANYONE- no matter how gorgeous- will look good in a dead-on pose with a flash. Its just a fact. Thats why you always see models and celebs doing the head-tilt and over the shoulder poses, and why backstage photographers are armed with those light reflectors with tints.

Fashion Victim- you aren't the only one that notices differences between mirrors. My parents wanted to send me to a shrink when I was little cos I refused to look in certain mirrors in the house, to the extent that I would not enter rooms or, if I did, I would turn out the lights. Yes, I was a brat.

 

[Fiancee]

I'm gonna post some pics to demonstrate that even gorgeous people can be rather unphotogenic or fall prey to bad lighting and angles.

Exhibit A: Valentina Z
She is stunning, probably the most photogenic and straight-up beautiful face on the runways today. But did anyone see her at this show? I'd never seen her look bad until then (and never since- she's pretty much perfect ) It was all in the strong cold lighting. Someone shoulda been fired.

Style.com

Exhibit B: Holly Valance
Some people hate her, but I'm Aussie so I'll always think she's adorable. Now she has one of the chins I mentioned earlier. Check her out in motion and in screencaps, and she has such a lovely uber-pretty face. But with strong photographic lights and flashes, her face morphs in to a completely different shape and doesnt look nearly as good.
Motion on left, still on right:

HollyHeaven.net

Hope this helps to show that photos really can alter looks and lighting can be a b*tch

 

[NickiLee]

Style.com

Um why does she have an Adam's apple?

 

[marqueemoon]

Um why does she have an Adam's apple?

lol, that's somebody in the back. i can assure you val doesn't have an adam's apple.

 

[pinkvolvo]

That's quit the noticeable different on motion picture and photograph! I wonder what the science to gaining 10 pounds on camera is! Very strange.

 

[luna1576]

i dont know if this is off topic ata all but i think just about anyone can be photogenic under the right circumstances

 

[pinkvolvo]

i dont know if this is off topic ata all but i think just about anyone can be photogenic under the right circumstances

I agree! I'm sure if I took anyones photographs, they would be extremly unphotogenic and... odd looking. But if a professional photographer took the pic, they can make u look amazingB) IMO