Making the Camera Your Friend
- Sunday, December 18 2011 @ 09:22 am
- Contributed by: Jet
- Views: 1,045
In the days before I owned a digital camera, I was frequently unpleasantly surprised. “That’s what I look like to everyone else?” I would think dismally when I’d finally see a picture of myself. “Why didn’t anyone tell me that haircut was awful? I had no idea that outfit really made me look so bad!” Once I acquired a camera - not even a good one, just something where I could check out the results quickly - a strange thing happened. Rather than have my self-esteem trampled on a more regular basis, the camera became a friend.
It’s something of a joke in movies, but there’s a reason why the fashion industry has long used Polaroids as backup for their eyes - it’s a fast and simple way to get an objective third-person perspective. When you’re viewing an outfit in a mirror, looking down upon yourself, it’s just not the same as someone standing ten feet away from you. Now, digital technology is even better - if you find you’ve made a terrible mistake in dressing, you can quickly change, delete the evidence, and it’s like it never happened.
That doesn’t mean that cameras are infallible; turning a three-dimensional person into a two-dimensional image can have unfortunate side effects. The wrong angle can, indeed, “add ten pounds.” Some days we’re simply less photogenic than others. The beauty of digital technology, however, is that taking many pictures makes it increasingly obvious whether it’s a simple issue of angle or a bad hair day. In the days when we saw only a handful of pictures of ourselves every so often, we might wonder if we looked like that every day. With a digital camera, it’s easier to brush off a bad picture as simply that.
Playing with a digital camera, while uncomfortable at first, can even help raise self-confidence. From the privacy of your own home, you can learn that the look you thought was coy actually gives you two chins, or that there really is a better “side” to you. Then, the next time you’re in a group shot with friends, you can literally put your best face forward - or your best facial expression, anyway.
Finally, being familiar with a digital camera can give you a range of choices when it comes time to choose a default picture for an online dating profile. Why limit yourself to a choice between one picture that’s four years old and another when you’re in mid-sneeze? The less afraid you are of the camera, the more natural you’ll become in front of it, and you’ll advance to a level where you’re finding a picture that best captures your personality, instead of simply one where you look okay.
For some, the camera is their worst enemy - but with digital cameras available cheaply, even found on our phones, there’s no reason not to see the camera for what it is: a tool. When properly mastered, it can even become a friend.
It’s something of a joke in movies, but there’s a reason why the fashion industry has long used Polaroids as backup for their eyes - it’s a fast and simple way to get an objective third-person perspective. When you’re viewing an outfit in a mirror, looking down upon yourself, it’s just not the same as someone standing ten feet away from you. Now, digital technology is even better - if you find you’ve made a terrible mistake in dressing, you can quickly change, delete the evidence, and it’s like it never happened.
That doesn’t mean that cameras are infallible; turning a three-dimensional person into a two-dimensional image can have unfortunate side effects. The wrong angle can, indeed, “add ten pounds.” Some days we’re simply less photogenic than others. The beauty of digital technology, however, is that taking many pictures makes it increasingly obvious whether it’s a simple issue of angle or a bad hair day. In the days when we saw only a handful of pictures of ourselves every so often, we might wonder if we looked like that every day. With a digital camera, it’s easier to brush off a bad picture as simply that.
Playing with a digital camera, while uncomfortable at first, can even help raise self-confidence. From the privacy of your own home, you can learn that the look you thought was coy actually gives you two chins, or that there really is a better “side” to you. Then, the next time you’re in a group shot with friends, you can literally put your best face forward - or your best facial expression, anyway.
Finally, being familiar with a digital camera can give you a range of choices when it comes time to choose a default picture for an online dating profile. Why limit yourself to a choice between one picture that’s four years old and another when you’re in mid-sneeze? The less afraid you are of the camera, the more natural you’ll become in front of it, and you’ll advance to a level where you’re finding a picture that best captures your personality, instead of simply one where you look okay.
For some, the camera is their worst enemy - but with digital cameras available cheaply, even found on our phones, there’s no reason not to see the camera for what it is: a tool. When properly mastered, it can even become a friend.
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