weird ....?

Question

when i look at the mirror in my house i look good but when i look at the mirror at some one elses house i look bad.
when i take a photo of me i look ok but if i take a video i look horrible why.

Answer 1

I think you are worrying about your appearance too much!

Answer 2

As many above have already said, lighting is *very* important. I used to work as photographer and I'm still a very avid amateur. And one of the most difficult subjects in photography is portrait photograpy. Because of the lighting. (The *most* difficult is nude photography. Not because of what you think of, but again because of lighting all that skin, and getting the posture of the model right.)

Getting the skin color, skin texture and hair color right is *hard work*. To get professional results, you need filters, reflectors, direct, indirect and diffuse lighting, make-up, sometimes a soft-focus lens, and software like Photoshop to clean up the result.

So don't expect the same results with a fixed lens and a teeny flash! Or someone's bathroom mirror ...

A few tips :

- Don't get to close to take a portrait as the face will be optically deformed. Take a few steps back and zoom in. Or use a tele-lens in the 80mm-120mm range.

- Avoid harsh sunlight as it will exagerate skin texture, and people will squint their eyes. And you will get harsh shadows under the nose and eyes. Try to take your portraits in the soft morning or evening light. Or use a portable "hoop" reflector to even out the shadows and soften the skin texture. Or stay in the shadow and use a fill-in flash. Try to light the face from at least the front *and* the side, *never* only from the front or only from the back, as you will get a portait that will look flat. That's why so many flash pictures look so horrible.

- Some fluorescent lighting will give your skin a horrible red or blue sheen. Check the "color temperature" of the lamps. Most incandescent lamps give a "warm" light that flatters the skin. (That's why brothels have all that red lighting.)

- Try to get a good background so that the portrait won't look too flat. The old rules still are valid: dark hair/light background, light hair/dark background. Light the hair from the rear if possible, so that the head will stand out from the background.

- Take a comfortable position when being photographed. When sitting, turn the knees slightly away from the camera, and turn the upper body slightly toward the camera.

- And put some gloss on those lips! (Or lick your lips before the shoot.) And if you're a bit older, work those face muscles right before the shoot, so that you will get a good muscle tone and your face will look less saggy. And if you shave, shave right before the shoot to avoid an exagerated Five O'Clock Shadow. And maybe hydrate the skin a bit.

(And that last item is maybe why you look good in the mirror at home. Rested, relaxed, freshly shaved, skin tout, and maybe good "warm" lighting.)

And if all else fails, use the old soft-focus filter or soft-focus lens. No filter? No lens? Stretch a nylon stocking over a hoop and shoot trough it, stretch it or over the lens, or just fog up the lens a bit by breathing on it. You will have your "Helmut Newton soft-focus"! :-)

Good luck next time! :-)

Answer 3

I SWEAR THAT HAPPENS TO ME TOO! When I take a picture or video of myself I look horirble. Also with the mirror it is possible that different lighting contributes to different looks, there are actual beauty consultants that pick the right color for your bathroom and lighting so you can look your best. Look ay yourself outsidein the sunlight, that is how you really appear.

Answer 4

Probably because you live in a FunHouse with those crazy mirrors that distort everything.. so you are probably really hidious to look at and you see that at your friends house, but the crazy mirrors in your house probably make you look normal.

Answer 5

Maybe because when u at someone else house you are selfconcious ,u may feel bad about yourself and care how u look to others.I feel the same way sometimes. I hate pictures and video and pictures because i care how i look.Dont worry u just feel selfconconscience.

Answer 6

I t might be the different lighting in the other places that you are taking your video's and maybe that in your house you feel more comfortable :O}

Answer 7

your self conscious, i noticed you said you look "ok " in photos, thats not positive, its low self esteem.start by quit looking with judgement as the outcome

Answer 8

Different environment.

Answer 9

Yeah........wonder why?

Answer 10

i dunno..