No Photographs, Please!

What strikes fear into the hearts of women, sending them running like their asses are on fire from social events, family reunions and the DMV? According to The Times of London, it is the fierce hatred and fear of having our pictures taken. But why?

Confession: I loathe having my picture taken. For over three years, there was no photographic evidence of my existence, per my hatred of the camera. According to Dr. Linda Papadopoulos, I'm not alone in my shutter-phobia.

A photograph is worse than a mirror because we focus on it in a different way. With a mirror, we can walk away, rearrange our hair and change our pose. But we can't change a photograph. We also dwell on it longer than on our reflection in a mirror, and our focus usually goes to the areas we don't like instead of those that we do.

That pretty much sums it up for me. I am able to walk past a mirror, let out a shriek of disgust, and run off to hit my hair with more product or apply some eyeliner. Not so with a photograph. That's a permanent record of those flaws, and since the advent of programs like Photoshop, it is possible and popular to doctor into oblivion the few pictures we do deign to keep.

We all have stories as to why we hate pictures of ourselves. Maybe it's the airbrushed CW stars on the gossip rags, or maybe the searing memory of that seventh grade class portrait when your mom gave you that home perm. Or perhaps it goes deeper, into a secret personal shame that we can ignore when we steal a glance at our reflection in a store window, but not if we are posting to Flickr.

What is your relationship with the camera? Have you embraced your inner fierceness and do you pose effortlessly, or do all your family photos have you waving your hands in front of your face like you just got caught doing blow by the paparazzi? Hit up the comments and let's all learn to embrace that lens again.

Source

Source

Comments

[michele]

i think this is very true. and i don't sign up to have my photo taken, but i have at least realized that it is foolish to hide from the lens and then have nothing to look back on to remember the fun times in your life. i do dwell on photos only picking out what i don't like. but i also try not to look in mirrors too often--not good for the morale! inverse relationship between looking at yourself and self esteem i think.

[Snarky Amber]

The camera reminds me of how much weight I've gained and it depresses me, so I avoid it like the plague and hide behind people and objects when having my photograph taken is unavoidable. I am working on both issues - my weight and acceptance of who I am and letting that be documented without being terrified.

[Monica]

I am sure that my initial interest in photography was greatly enhanced by a desire to stay behind the camera. I'm happy that lead to a hobby I love, but I'm working on being happier with the me that does get captured in the occasional shot. I even very bravely shared pictures from a recent girls trip that were snapped by my fellow trippers, including bathing suit shots. We'll see how long I leave the up though :)

[makyo]

i went through a similar phase, where i avoided cameras as much as possible. i stopped when i heard other girls doing the "please don't take my picture i look awful!" routine and realized how obnoxious it sounded to me. i decided that i'd never get a good picture if i didn't take any at all. so now i'll pose for anybody, big stupid smile on my face, and while i cringe inside at the way most pictures look, sometimes i'm surprised to see i look downright presentable and even occasionally pretty!

[baltimoregal]

I don't like having my photo taken but I really hate being on video. That was a problem in my office until recently- this woman videotaped EVERY office party. WHY? No idea. We always joked that somewhere there is a streaming video of all our boring office parties.

[veronica]

I swing back and forth on the issue. I'll admit I'm not a fan of unflattering photos and will many timees delete them from the camera before they can even be downloaded..hehe.

Over the past several years my defense has been to ham it up for every photo I have to pose for weather it be a snap from a vacation to the drivers license picture I thow on the biggest toothiest forced grin possible, make my eyes as wide as possible (almost like a meerkat impression but with a grin). Never fails to make people laugh when they see my pics or remember who I am and you can't be too critical when you're looking like a goofball on purpose ;)

[Miss Britt]

I am the least photogenic person in life. Ever.

I comfort myself with the fact that people usually say "hm, that doesn't even look like you."

It's the only way I can keep living with the illusion of hotness I have in my head. Stupid pictures.