Why do some people look different in photos?

[cantdrv55]

Not only do they look heavier, some just look different. I'm thinking of a coworker in particular. I never noticed that her left eye is smaller than the right but her photo revealed the discrepancy. My son's eyes look droopy in photos, every photo. But when I look at him, all I see is my beautiful little boy who's perfect in every way. Anyway, just wonderin'.

[Bill Douglas]

I suspect it's because photos don't have a 3rd dimension. Oil painting somehow do capture it. Just my guess.

[gchappel]

We certainly see details in portraits that we do not appreciate in real life- they are there, we just don't look for them.
That is why there are portrait photographers- the good ones make this stuff less noticeable. One eye smaller than the other?- actually quite common. The photographic solution is to turn the head a little- small eye closer to camera- and you don't notice it. Turn it the other way- very noticeable.
Droopy eyes- often they are really like that. Deep set eyes can look baggy, with shadows under the eyes with some types of lighting. Flat lighting- lighting that comes straight from camera- makes a face look rounder- fatter. Move the light off axis a little- face looks thinner. Portrait photography is a complex field- to be good. They can make you look better or worse than reality just with posing and lighting- and this is leaving post processing such as photoshop out of the discussion.
Gary

[GH85Carrera]

Yea, a good portrait photographer can do amazing things with lighting. My 1st job was working at a photography studio. The owner of the company was amazing with his ability to look at a clients face and head shape and set up the lights. Every person needed a different setup.

The main reason you see things in a photo that you don't notice in person is you don't feel uncomfortable staring at the picture. Very few people feel comfortable being stared at.

[The Gaijin]

Famous people in real life are much, much skinnier than you imagine them to be.

[HHI944]

I've got a slight eye droop in one eye as a side-effect of having marcus-gunn jaw winking syndrome, pretty much what it sounds like, I would wink everytime I chewed. In person, it's barely noticeable, but in photos it becomes very pronounced.

[Dottore]

There have been numerous studies on this phenomenon.

Some people are truly photogenic for example. They always look better in a photo or on camera than they do in real life.

Other's are stunning in real life, but the camera is always unkind to them. Very interesting IMO.

[89911]

Everytime I hear this, I think of a comedian that I saw. The joke went along the lines of "Hey don't you think this is a bad picture of me, I look terrible", to which the reply is "No, that picture looks exactly like you, your ugly".

[wdfifteen]

I look a lot like George Clooney. I'd attach a picture but my photos always look like - someone else.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by cantdrv55

I never noticed that her left eye is smaller than the right but her photo revealed the discrepancy.

Like this?

My son's eyes look droopy in photos, every photo. But when I look at him, all I see is my beautiful little boy who's perfect in every way. Anyway, just wonderin'.

My stepdaughter has the same thing. She's 23, most folks would consider her very attractive, but in pictures her eyes look droopy.

When folks look heavier in pictures, it's usually due to flash accentuating a double chin.

I agree that a lot of it has to do with the 3D vs 2D differences between what we see and what the picture shows.

[flatbutt]

none of my recent dates looked like their online pictures

[masraum]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

none of my recent dates looked like their online pictures

See above post for more accurate picture....

[looneybin]

it's also because the camera has one "eye" but you see with binocular vision that gives you a wider parallax - unless you shot your eye out with a red rider bb gun

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I suspect it's because photos don't have a 3rd dimension. Oil painting somehow do capture it. Just my guess.

I knew a girl once. That was enough. She didn't have a 3rd dimension. She was flat homely. I tried to oil paint her once. That was enough. She kept wiping it off. What a mess.

[David]

I look really buff in pictures... in real life I look like a 90 lb weakling

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by DARISC

I knew a girl once. That was enough. She didn't have a 3rd dimension. She was flat homely. I tried to oil paint her once. That was enough. She kept wiping it off. What a mess.

LOL, flat as a board sorta chick.

Actually in real life I'm absolutely gorgeous, sometimes I just can't believe how good looking I am, but there has been something wrong with every camera that's ever taken my photo. honestly, I look revolting in photos, the same with mirrors - something wrong with every one of them. Huh imagine the lack of quality control in that ole mirror factory. Probably the only reason women won't go out with me (and pretend I'm ugly) is because they think I'm too good for them.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

...mirrors - something wrong with every one of them.

Mirrors can be deadly;
you could ask ugly Smedley
(who looked far off the norm),
but for the fact that,
in a moment of despair,
in a funhouse mirror,
he contorted and died,
trying to conform.

[campbellcj]

In addition to lighting being important, using a wide-angle lens up close or directly perpendicular to the subject can create some terribly unflattering distortion. Better to use a focal length in the 50-100+ mm range for portraits, focus on the closest eye, and use a large aperture setting (low f-stop) to blur the background and isolate the subject. If you use a flash or light, positioning it a bit high and at an angle helps reduce the double-chin syndrome (which I suffer from in photos big time.)

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I suspect it's because photos don't have a 3rd dimension. Oil painting somehow do capture it. Just my guess.

Nailed it. However really Hi-res photos seem to help.

[speeder]

I've never really seen anyone who looks much different in a photo than they do in person. Sure it's possible to take a bad picture, (or a really good one), but the mark of a real beauty is that she doesn't have any bad angles and is photogenic. It has to do with proportion, bone structure and several other subtle but measurable qualities. One definite characteristic of every top model or actress/actor that works on camera is the they are very symmetrical. It's been studied quite a bit scientifically that humans and even other animals are more attracted to symmetrical mating partners. Better genes, I guess.

That said, the rest of us need to get laid as well down here on earth and most of us aren't so perfect-looking. As far as quality control goes, I'm built more like a Chrysler Cordoba than a Porsche.