Body Language: Speaking Below the Chin
- Thursday, December 30 2010 @ 09:47 am
- Contributed by: Jet
- Views: 1,530
So you think you've figured out every aspect of the online profile default picture. You've got one where you're smiling, you don't look like you're about to rob a bank, and you're not holding a giant drink from Ladies' Night. The picture does not look like it was taken on a web cam from 1998, or a phone from 2002. In short, you're set... or so you think.
Chances are, if you have a picture that meets all that criteria, it's a perfectly fine default picture. But occasionally you'll run across a picture that seems... off, somehow, and you can't put your finger on why. What could be the missing element?
Ladies and gentlemen who like to over-obsess on every bit of minutiae available, I present to you: body language.
But first, a warning: I think it's fine to make sure you aren't sending out any unintended messages through your own body language in pictures, just to be on the safe side. However, I wouldn't then go extrapolating meaning from the body language of others. It's all in perspective, after all; pictures can be taken at funny angles, by a third-party observer, and probably have nothing to do with how someone treats another in conversation.
Now, to get back to the fun of analyzing your own photos: the most common misfiring signal I see out there is what I like to call the “show and tell” picture. Imagine a child at Christmas that's gotten a new toy, and is holding it up for the cameras. Often, people will hold a funny prop or something cute in their picture with them: a squirt gun, their cat. And occasionally – maybe it's just the angle of the photographer – it can appear that the person is hiding behind their prop, that they're constructing a barrier between themselves and the viewer. So look at your own pictures; are you hiding behind something in most of them? Do you look friendly and welcoming, or are you literally hiding behind a wall of cat?
Unfortunately, sometimes people go to the other extreme, and every picture is reminiscent of a mug shot. By that, I don't just mean with shoulders squared to the camera; I mean eyes leveled directly at the viewer, challenging, not welcoming. It can provoke a range of emotions in the viewer, from being creeped out to just plain intimidated. Like the “show and tell” pictures, these are often only a problem when they occur in sheer numbers, so check your picture gallery: does it look like a lineup?
As with most things, it's all about the context. A picture where you're “hiding” behind something can be adorable and engaging, and a “mug shot” can be welcoming. Typically, pictures that are candidly shot can be better even if they don't meet the “rules,” simply because they're more likely to capture genuine emotion.
If you're unsure, try having a third party look through your pictures and give you an honest opinion. They're more likely than you are to match the first impressions of a viewer. Again, if you put any thought at all into your picture selection, you're already way ahead of the game; still, could you be saying more than you mean to?
Chances are, if you have a picture that meets all that criteria, it's a perfectly fine default picture. But occasionally you'll run across a picture that seems... off, somehow, and you can't put your finger on why. What could be the missing element?
Ladies and gentlemen who like to over-obsess on every bit of minutiae available, I present to you: body language.
But first, a warning: I think it's fine to make sure you aren't sending out any unintended messages through your own body language in pictures, just to be on the safe side. However, I wouldn't then go extrapolating meaning from the body language of others. It's all in perspective, after all; pictures can be taken at funny angles, by a third-party observer, and probably have nothing to do with how someone treats another in conversation.
Now, to get back to the fun of analyzing your own photos: the most common misfiring signal I see out there is what I like to call the “show and tell” picture. Imagine a child at Christmas that's gotten a new toy, and is holding it up for the cameras. Often, people will hold a funny prop or something cute in their picture with them: a squirt gun, their cat. And occasionally – maybe it's just the angle of the photographer – it can appear that the person is hiding behind their prop, that they're constructing a barrier between themselves and the viewer. So look at your own pictures; are you hiding behind something in most of them? Do you look friendly and welcoming, or are you literally hiding behind a wall of cat?
Unfortunately, sometimes people go to the other extreme, and every picture is reminiscent of a mug shot. By that, I don't just mean with shoulders squared to the camera; I mean eyes leveled directly at the viewer, challenging, not welcoming. It can provoke a range of emotions in the viewer, from being creeped out to just plain intimidated. Like the “show and tell” pictures, these are often only a problem when they occur in sheer numbers, so check your picture gallery: does it look like a lineup?
As with most things, it's all about the context. A picture where you're “hiding” behind something can be adorable and engaging, and a “mug shot” can be welcoming. Typically, pictures that are candidly shot can be better even if they don't meet the “rules,” simply because they're more likely to capture genuine emotion.
If you're unsure, try having a third party look through your pictures and give you an honest opinion. They're more likely than you are to match the first impressions of a viewer. Again, if you put any thought at all into your picture selection, you're already way ahead of the game; still, could you be saying more than you mean to?
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