Are you super critical of how you look in photos? Do you avoid having your picture taken at all costs? You are not alone. However, I’d like you to consider something: it may be more than just thinking you look old, fat, unattractive, etc. It may that you’re just not used to seeing yourself in photographs.

Seeing yourself in a mirror is very different than seeing yourself in a still photograph. A mirror is more “alive.” It reflects your movements, your changing expression. So even if one zillionth of a second of the image is not great, it changes immediately. A still photo freezes the movement, your expression, the way the light hits your face, the way shadows hover underneath body bulges. I get it. An unflattering picture bears witness to the fact that you are not a supermodel.

But – it is still a representation of you, for better or worse. It’s YOU. Unless you’re living under a rock, you and your image will be moving in and out of public view for most of your life. People are going to see you. They’re going to see you on bad hair days, when your chin is breaking out, when you’re stuck under hideous overhead fluorescent lighting. You can’t hide just by refusing to ever be in a picture (well, you can, but do you want to live that way?).

So, since being seen and being in photographs are normal parts of life, what can you do to help yourself feel better about it?

You can normalize seeing yourself – what you look like – in photos by…BEING IN MORE PHOTOS. If you don’t like yourself in pictures, you probably avoid having your picture taken. If you avoid having your picture taken, how often are you seeing yourself in photos? Probably not often. If you don’t see yourself in photos often, it’s possibly always a surprise to you how you look.

In my time as a photographer, I have heard this SO many times, “Is THAT what I really LOOK like? Yuck!” But it’s not that you’re “yuck.” You’re just not used to seeing yourself.

So, my challenge to you is to SEE YOURSELF. Get in the picture. Do the selfie. Do ALL the selfies. Take a photo of yourself Every Day. Look at them. Every day. Until you stop only seeing what it is you don’t like. Keep looking until you find something you like. The smile that makes you look genuinely happy. Your bangs at the perfect length. The best cat-eye you’ve ever done. Whatever it is, focus on that. Keep doing it. Do it for 30 days. I can almost guarantee that at the end of the month you will feel more positively about your appearance in photos than you did at the beginning.

You’ll be used to what you look like, rather than being surprised. You’ll be able to see and appreciate the good.

And that, my friend, is the goal. Let’s appreciate ourselves and our appearance. We each have a unique and beautiful appearance. Let’s CELEBRATE that!

If you do the 30-day Challenge, let me know how it goes!

WHAT I’M WEARING

Striped Tee: Old Navy, 3x
White Tee: H&M, 3x
Plaid Buttondown: Sanctuary, 3x. Straight sizes here, comparable in plus sizes here.
Jeans: Gloria Vanderbilt Amanda, Scottsdale wash, 20 short
Denim Jacket: White Mark, 3x
Sneakers: Black Converse Shoreline slip-ons

 

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