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[elemmennope]

Yesterday I received an envelope stuffed full of pictures from my sister that she took while staying with me this summer. Gah, I look completely hideous in all of them. The person I see in the mirror everyday, while not the most beautiful person on earth, is at least ok looking. I don't walk around with horrible self-confidence and obsess about how

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[ellettra]

good grief, do i ever know what you mean about pictures. i have had thi conversation with friends before, though, demanding they look critically at the photo and tell me honestly if that's how they see me. and my friend kate, who is dear enough to me to be honest about stuff like that, once said, "yes, that picture makes you look rather wide. no, that is not what i see when i look at you." she then went on to point out that most people do not look at one another in a "photo" perspective; that is, straight on. kate is taller than me by a good 7 inches, so that's definitely not what she sees, but it makes sense in general. i am convinced that the angle is everything, and most candid-type shots are not carefully composed, and are therefore going to wash you out, make you look heavy, etc. but secondarily, i am almost positive no one else sees that stuff in everyday life. for example, my partner and i went to the beach recently and it was rainy and foggy and she took a picture of me from behind (!!) as i walked along. she liked the picture, liked the contrast of the red of my coat and the muted colors of the beach and the water. all i could see was Big Red Coat Monster. it's all about perspective. :) i have a picture of her in our room wherein she's standing in the rain, hair all water-dropplety and smiling and i LOVE it. she, on the other had, HATES it. all about perspective....

[elemmennope]

Big Red Coat Monster, lol!

I know what you mean. But still, in that second my sister was standing and composing these pictures, what she was seeing through the lens must be what I'm seeing in the print. Maybe they just always manage to catch me in the midpoint between expressions or something.