Why do others look like themselves in the mirror, but they are ugly in the computer camera?

Source: Guan Siming Log

Q: Click! Press the shutter and another photo will come out. Looking around, I felt that the photo was awkward, and I was secretly depressed: Why not take a photo?

What is "photogenic"? Simply put, it is "better looking"-the face in the photo is more beautiful than the real one. Then, the model factor (regardless of beauty and ugliness) is definitely the key. Some people are not used to being noticed by the public, and being photographed is no less than being exhibited. When posing, you fall into self-doubt-this action is not good, is it not perfect, is it that your head is raised too high? As a result, sympathetic nerves began to get excited-palms and backs sweated, adrenaline secretion increased, heart rate increased, blood pressure increased, and facial movements were unnatural. Some people choose the wrong expression because of this. An eternal example is, how can you be on camera if you smile and don't smile?

Camera and environmental factors should not be underestimated. Light, layout, background, color difference, size and brightness should all be taken into account. Photography, as a three-dimensional object with flesh and blood, is to change people from three-dimensional to two-dimensional images in a certain direction. If the information is lost, it may be unrecognizable. The relationship between shooting distance and facial three-dimensional structure (distribution of five senses) should also be familiar to everyone: when shooting at close range, the photo will have a slight pillow distortion, the face will appear more rounded and the five senses will be more prominent. For people with large facial distance and convex and concave faces, it is easy to deform excessively and look not photogenic enough. On the contrary, long-distance shooting will cause barrel distortion, which will make the face look very flat and the five senses seem to be in the same plane. For people with short facial distance or flat face, the photo effect will be discounted.

In addition, our visual system is very picky and likes to judge people by their appearances. Evolution has endowed our visual system with good recognition and anti-interference ability, and it performs well in all kinds of chromatic aberration (noon and dusk), size (distance can be changed) and brightness (day and night). But it also has shortcomings, and it is easy to be at a loss when facing the images of "three-dimensional and plane" and "static and dynamic". When the human eye sees a photo, the brain will habitually restore two dimensions to three dimensions, which will naturally lead to errors. For example, in a picture of a sphere, although the sphere restored by the brain is different from the original, there will be no big error in the brain's judgment-the ball is a ball and it is round. People are different, although people are still the same person, but a little detail error will lead to a completely different judgment of beauty and ugliness in the brain. Professional photographers take better photos, because experience and professionalism let them know how to reduce or control deviation. In addition, there are still some distortions around the camera lens, but students who are not on camera are generally low-key-standing on both sides of the line-even less on camera.

How can I be more photogenic? To strengthen the basic skills, we should at least understand the functions and parameters of the camera, choose the morning and evening sunshine as the portrait light source, and the contrast between light and shadow on the face should not be too great. When posing, you can enhance your self-confidence and expressiveness. When taking pictures, you can think of some interesting things, and your expressions and actions are naturally amiable.