Self-Photos, Personal Essence or Enhanced Beauty?

[Xinnamin]

When a photographer takes your picture, are you hoping he or she will capture your "essence" perfectly, or would you be happy for a more "misrepresentative" outcome that made you look physically "better?"

I saw this poll on the popular art site DeviantArt and it really got me thinking. I suppose that may just be because my father is an amateur photographer and so I come across this situation a lot where my father will edit the hell out of pictures of me to fix up flaws in my skin or whatever, a practice that at times makes me feel better about myself and at other times deals major blows to my self esteem.

It also sort of reminds me of how almost all celebrity photos are edited to no end to give the celebrities their perfect image.

But this is where I pose the question to all of you. If you were to get your photo taken by a skilled photographer, and this would be the photograph that you show to everyone who cannot meet you face to face, would you prefer your photo be a perfect representation of you as you truly appear, flawed and all, or would you rather it be edited to enhance your physical appearance and cover up for a few unnecessary undesirable details?

 

[Linknerd09]

If a skills photographer wants to show me to the world, I want him to represent me as me truly who I am. I don't want to be changed physically. Well, only a little^^ But I choose the first choice of vote^^ I want the photographer to show everyone who I really am.

 

[zeldahuman]

Perfect representation of you as you really look;

I want people to know me for me. I'm not a fake person, so i don't wanna look fake! If people can't except what i look like, except me for me, well too bad. I'm not gonna change how i look for a low-life who thinks being perfect is everything. /small rant

 

[Xinnamin]

Hmm, I think my wording may have been a bit misleading. Either that, or people are going to go for the "ideal" answer at the risk of seeming vain otherwise.

A "perfect" representation of oneself isn't always the most desirable, and unfortunately, society has placed quite the emphasis on looks. Me, I'd personally take the enhancements. Nothing fake of course, but really, does the world need to see all that acne or those little scars I've made with my bad habit of poking at open wounds? Under certain lighting it is surprising how much attention can be drawn to those red patterns all over my face, and quite frankly, I hate it ._.

So while I'd love to say that I want a true representation in a photo, I honestly would not like it. Too many imperfections that I can change and I'm trying to change but haven't been able to change yet. Why document all those ugly spotches?

 

[jstar]

My brother is a pro photographer (he's taken classes at college and pictures since he was 10!) and I like his style, it's a hybrid. He might use photoshop to make the subject look better but he only does to the extent when the photoshop is unnoticeable. So he still shows them their true self (whether fat, skinny, ugly or pretty) in a way that flatters and compliments their appearance. So when his subjects get their photos they know that its them and they also feel good about themselves.

 

[gannondorf]

Its not you, its the photographers vision of What you look like and computers just help us be able to see that vision.

When they edit the picture and change how you look, its no longer you as it is no longer real. it is there unrealistic vision of how the photographer thinks you look.

 

[Kybyrian]

What a crazy question. Of course I want to look better in the picture than I want it to portray how I really am.

 

[Ventus]

I see the reasoning behind not wanting your most noticeable flaws being displayed to the world, but I would hate to meet someone and they give me a nasty look simply because I have a mole or half of my cheek is missing (small examples, not true of me) despite the photo showing otherwise. I would want a pro photographer to take a shot of me of who I really am :3

 

[Raindrop14]

I would rather it show me who I really am, flaws and all. I've seen magazines of people who look perfect and I know that they don't actually look like that. A lot of the time when a girl who thinks she's not pretty sees one of those pictures she thinks, "I must be like her, she is so perfect and I want to be perfect too. I'll buy all their products if it makes me perfect like her." She is contradicting herself, she doesn't have to be pretty, she only has to be herself. I think that if you change yourself to be perfect you’re just like all the other people who think looking good is the most important thing. A guy who looks at one of those pictures and thinks the same thing is also contradicting himself. He doesn't have to be handsome. I don't think anyone should be afraid to show people what they really look like(I'm not saying that anyone looks ugly). They should want to show the world who they really are, they should not be like those people who hide behind their masks. I'm not saying everyone is ugly, I'm saying that everyone should show their true beauty by not being afraid. If you cling on to those things that they say will make you beautiful then you are clinging onto something useless. So what if you don't get the prettiest girl or guy for the dance or whatever, at least you aren’t afraid. I think everyone should pluck up the courage and not be afraid. We live in a world that is afraid; since it's all around us we become it. Don't listen to those who want to tell you what to do to look good. Listen to your heart and stay the way you are. This is only my opinion.:silent:

 

[Djinn]

I think it really depends on the purpose of the picture and who you are having it made for.

If you are having professional photos made for a portrait to be sent off to various studios, jobs, or agencies, then the idea would be to have it dressed up as much as possible. Part of the concept is selling yourself so you would have to look your best while also displaying the level of which your portrait can be maximized for the best effect. This is where the concept of celebrity photos showing off that perfect image comes from. They are meant to be viewed as idols, it is a part of their image. They are supposed to be seen, their look is a large aspect of their character.

If you are only wishing to keep a portrait for your own private use and display around your home then many people would want it to be as natural as possible since anything more would not really be you at all. It wold be an idealized concept of you, which might be alright in one's own mind but possibly not to close family members. This is where the argument of vanity might come in. People may just ask why would you have an enhanced photo of yourself. Even if one has a reasonable answer there is still the question in the backs of people's minds when they see an enhanced photo.

I have known a few photographers before and most of them personally are against enhancing their pics in any way except for changing lighting and color to bring out certain aspects or to show a greater detail. They never like to actually alter the appearance of an object or person in a picture they have taken. They seem to view it as not quite capturing the likeness at all. But inventing something that was not there.

Personally I do not think I would do any enhancements unless it was funny. In fact I'm not certain I could do that without wishing to mess with it in some way as a joke. I think that is just my nature though, I never think to actually present myself in any idealized way. It is just not something I think about too much. But altering a pic to make it funny, I can definitely see myself doing that a lot.

 

[PK Love Omega]

Yes, this is me, I just photoshopped it. So enhanced beauty ftw.

 

[ケンジ]

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder.

I prefer the natural way, with flaws in all. That means that's how you always look and it's the real you. Covering yourself with makeup and erasing certain features has been the norm in obtaining a good impression of someone. <_< Do people really need to suck up to others just to be accepted? Sadly yes, since we are social creatures and we are dependent on a society that holds beauty first rather than the person itself.