i hate seeing myself in pictures!?

Not that it will make you feel anymore photogenic, but I think most people are insecure about how they look.

Two things:
* Don't be so hard on yourself. I'm sure you look fine. I doubt everybody would be pressuring you to put a pic up, just so you embarass yourself. Confidence does a lot for a person even if it's fake it til you make it. Obviously, hygiene and a little grooming help. Let people compliment you and take it for what it is, a compliment.

* Don't go overboard, but take a bunch of pictures of yourself. Experiment with the lighting, your posture, and the colours you wear. Also, picture advice: hold you head slightly upward. Not overly so, but it helps with to make your chin look better (if that's something you're insecure about. Lastly you just want a picture of your face, it's better to take the picture slightly farther away and crop the picture rather than take a super close selfie. I sound like a selfie whore :lol:

 

I'll agree with HM03. I also dislike my picture being taken, mostly because it usually portrays me in a very awkward position (I'm not a good fake smiler or poser) when I'm forced to pose. What I've found helps is:
1) Taking selfies. I got to choose when/where to take the picture, and the angle, and the lighting, and basically got a lot of control over something that I previously had no control over.
2) Candid photography. Don't let them make you pose, unless you really want to pose yourself. My posing smile is fake fake fake. But when people take pictures of me smiling from a joke, or a funny situation, then I really like getting my picture taken, because it's not me just smiling at a camera, it's the real me.

 

I don't really have any advice, but I understand completely. I've started to take some pictures of myself to ease into it, but I have yet to purposely post a picture of myself online. I've never done it, because I loathe pictures of myself, and I guess that might be related to anxiety but idk.

Anyway, I know it feels weird but gasian has some good advice about candid pictures, and I've been doing something similar to what HM03 suggested and it has given me a little confidence boost.

 

I don't have any advice on this matter as well because I so do relate to what you are saying because just like you, I too hate seeing myself in pictures. I recently was out with a group of people whom I have not seen in years and once the evening got underway, there were two guys from the group who pull out their phones to take pictures. I did not want to be included but they insisted. They wound up taking tons of pictures and everyone from that group wanted to pose with me for pictures which made matters for me even worse.

One of the guys notice my reaction and pulled me to the side to inquire why. I explained to him that I am not fond of seeing pictures of myself and was stunned at my response. He went on to say that he felt I was a really nice looking guy and have I noticed that everyone in the group wanted to have pictures taken with me. Yet, this information did nothing for me...the fact remained that I did not like seeing myself in pictures which by the way, everyone sent me copies of the pictures that were taken.

A few days later, one of the guys had met me for lunch and he mentioned to me that he his sister and a couple of her friends had came by for a visit and he had shown them pictures from that evening because they knew a couple of the guys who were there and had not seen them in years and wanted to see the pictures that were taken. He went on to mention how all the women there were talking about the pictures that included myself. He told me that they all thought I was good looking and wanted to know where he was hiding me because he had never mentioned or talk about me to them. They even wanted to have a dinner party and invite me so they could meet me in person which I totally declined that offer altogether.

Anyway, I guess people see us differently than how we see ourselves but out of all the pictures that have been taken of me over all of these years, I too do not post a lot of pictures of myself on social media. The few that I have posted either I have on sunglasses or a cap or hat over my eyes and I too have been questioned a lot about why I do not have more pictures posted? So...you are not the only one who feel this way...you have company!!!!

 

I have the same problem, but I also think a lot of people do. HM03 has a lot of good points, and I'm probably going to take a few notes myself. I use to hate it more than I do now though, try taking a lot of pictures and you may just get use to it. I've taken a lot but scrap most of them, the ones I can't stand to look at (like 95% of them). I've always been nervous on not passing well enough, which I think is my main problem.

 

I recommend you take pictures with a friend or two. Thus you won't get all the focus in the photo and it should also be a confidence booster.

Filters and edits are also useful. I've always told myself that editing an image up to the point where it actually looks like me is not called cheating.

 

I have always hated being in photos and I still do, but recently my only grandfather died and as my family looked through photos with him in it. We found that the most recent picture with him and me together was when I was about five. And I have a really bad memory so from than on I decided that if someone I'm close to wants a photo together or I don't have a recent one with them in it I'm going to do it so that I have their image long after I remember by memory what they look like and so I have a photo that will prompt my memories of them.

 

Okay -- I apologize if this is "long", but I dealt with this for a LONG time... and I beat it. But, it was not easy.
The trick? It is all, truly, in your head.

You take a picture of yourself. When you look at it, what do you do? You begin picking things..."My teeth look crooked." "My face is shaped weird." "I don't have clear enough skin." and the list goes on.
But, take a step BACK.

What, in the First place, made you even think that? Hmm? Don't skim... Think about it.
What made you look at your picture and say, "My skin is not clear enough..." or "I'm too pale..."?
Well...Something, a type of advertisement (Magazine, Television, Online, Shopping...Everywhere)..we are latent with "Images" of what "Good" is. What "good" looks like. Kind of weird, and also scary too, right?

You...yourself, curate how you feel about you. And I know...your mind has been so trained to just start tearing and ripping to shreds your self-image like Madea in that Closet in her first movie!

STOP IT.

Now. Next time... take a picture and the first thing you start "tearing", write down. Then work on it.
Let's say its.."whiter teeth." Slowly begin working on whitening your teeth with means you have. No..it doesn't have to happen over night..or even a week! But while working on that "one", the rest you ignore. You conciously tell yourself the opposite when you think negatie.
Yes...This will truly be HARD. But, you will begin to notice your thinking pattern change..
You'll move on to someting else...
Slowly but surely, you will find you are taking pictures and you may "see" imperfections...but you just see it and think, "Hmm..I'll work on *blank*.." and move right on. Not negative, not positive, just nuteral.

I hope this helps and if you want more explained or detailed let me know.

You are YOU...Not someone else. Love yourself. <3

MJay