Comments on: Why You Look Bad in Photographs

By: Micah Tillman » Blog Archive » One Reason the Pope’s Visit Was Smart

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:28:16 +0000

[...] think the issue was that Pope Benedict XVI suffers from an condition which afflicts many of us. As I’ve written before, to be “photogenic” is simply to have the kind of face that looks good flat, [...]

By: Why You Look Bad in Photographs

Why You Look Bad in Photographs — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 20:39:11 +0000

[...] Why You Look Bad in Photographs Photos are 2D, and make your face look 2D. There’s no depth-difference between your nose and your ear in a photo. You don’t have to refocus your eyes to move from one part of the picture to another, like you would if you were looking at … [...]

By: joanna

joanna — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 04:55:51 +0000

Also, these days photographers use photoshop to enlargen the eyes to mimic what we see in our 3-D world.

Also, most people look better with bigger eyes…

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:49:05 +0000

I actually find that I look better in photographs and I believe it’s for exactly the reasons you state. A picture from the front “flattens” my slightly too large nose.

You might find it interesting that for a century or two it was actually the fashionable thing to have your portrait painted in profile since that is the angle that best displays the uniqueness of an individuals features.

In more “recent” times (the past three or four centuries) it has been preferable to paint portraits in the three-quarters angle since that one most realistically depicts the volume of an individual’s face and features.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:00:22 +0000

So you know how people talk about some people being “photogenic”? It’s not a compliment. It just means those people’s faces look good flattened. And that’s disgusting. Nothing to be proud of.

LOL

:) I miss when we lived in the same building….

By: Christine

Christine — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 04:33:50 +0000

You make me laugh. I thought I just looked bad in photos because I don’t like having my picture taken, and usually end up all frozen-smile crazy-eyes.