Tue, April 26th, 2005 by btezra
I hate my picture being taken.
Really, I run from the camera, I usually stick out my tongue like a water-starved animal when the lens is pointed at me and my legs were not fast enough to get me out of the picture. I have always been that way, yet, I am addicted to taking pictures of other people and never hesitate to just walk up to a complete stranger, shoot the breeze, and then always ask to snap a few frames of them, and if they are less than willing I add additional pitches to sell them on the idea of me taking their picture.
I believe I know of one other photograph of me that I actually like, and did not mind being taken, and now there's a second to that single one image that exists currently...an image that Matt Matt took of me recently. I must say that I really liked how he portrayed me, in b&w as well, perfect choice. I always was a fan of Matt's images, how he had the knack of presenting his subjects with such ease but also a comfort level in his subjects that is apparent in the results.
*Thanx out to Matt from the narrative.net
But, regardless of my addiction, I still just don't like my picture being taken, no matter what. I have a sneaky suspicion, from chatting with other photographers/bloggers that they too do not like their picture being taken even though they snap all the time images of other people without hesitation...
What do you think?
Do you shun the camera, run from it when it's pointed at you? Or are you the opposite, do you ham it up all the time for the camera?
Also, any links to portraits that others have taken of you where you liked the results? Hated the results? If so, leave 'em behind, it would be a pleasure to place a face with the website and name.
April 26th, 2005 at 3:18 pm
that is a great portrait of you, to be sure.
April 26th, 2005 at 3:33 pm
~I was impressed Ian...Matt just caught me was I was completely unaware of the camera, maybe that's what I need to do, just ignore the camera...the same thing I tell my subjects to do (lol)~
April 26th, 2005 at 3:54 pm
It's a great shot for sure but I'm with you Craig. I'm addicting to taking people's pictures, especially when they're fully aware of the camera and looking straight into it, but I detest having a camera pointed at me.
It feels like an odd contradiction but the two things aren't really at odds. I fully understand when people don't want me to take their picture and I admire those that acquiesce.
There are no pictures of me anywhere that I'd post up but I recently had to complete a self-portrait project and I ahted every minute of it. It's done and it'll be up somewhere in the near future.
April 26th, 2005 at 3:56 pm
I have one self portrait on my photoblog. One. And one it shall likely remain.
http://www.aleclong.com/photos/235.html
Yeah, I think many photographers (at least the ones I've talked to) have an inherent dislike of seeing themselves in photos. Not sure why.
April 26th, 2005 at 4:00 pm
I used to try and hide from cameras, because I didn't like at all what the pictures showed. But I learned to accept the camera finally. What did the trick ? A lot of self-portrait work... (but even now, I don't show any of this self-portrait work, so there's no pictures of me online).
(On another note, I so much don't like my image that I hate mirrors and don't look at them... but yet, I don't run anymore from the camera.)
April 26th, 2005 at 4:10 pm
I don't run from cameras but I do know no one can take a better picture of me than myself. Well actually maybe some of you could but I am really talking about the snap shooters in my life, their shots of me are crap.
http://swardraws.com/fotog/archives/2005/03/02.html
April 26th, 2005 at 4:13 pm
I used to hate having my picture taken, but after having recently had it taken (wonderfully) by Jessyel (http://www.dailysnap.com/), I've had a change of heart. While it was awkward at first being on the other end of the lens, it's given me a much better perspective when approaching others. I think I'm better at it now that I've been on the other side.
April 26th, 2005 at 4:15 pm
I know the few photographer friends I have believe that they belong behind the camera, and not in front of it.
I, however, really have no problem with my photo being taken. Though I prefer to do it myself.
http://www.unaspiring.com/archives/2005/04/this_is_me.html
April 26th, 2005 at 4:15 pm
I don't mind really. I'm okay with how I look. Michal Daniel took a rather good one of me recently, very much in his style:
http://www.640x480.net/album.php?posn=04_18_05_03_04_56pm&size=large
April 26th, 2005 at 4:19 pm
I think you're pretty.
April 26th, 2005 at 4:30 pm
Almost 3 years ago on my blog, I posted about my enjoyment of making self-portraits. I don't turn the camera on myself too much these days, but here are some self-portrait links:
http://lanehickenbottom.com/view/020511.htm
http://lanehickenbottom.com/view/020529.htm
and recently for an engagement photo:
http://lanehickenbottom.com/view/050321.htm
but I think my fav. that anybody has made of me is this one my buddy Ryan, who is the photo editor at the Casper Star Tribune. (top photo)
http://lanehickenbottom.com/view/020612.htm
April 26th, 2005 at 4:47 pm
Well, I'd like the people that I take pictures of to ignore me while I am at it, so I try to do the same in return. Maybe that's why there's no pictures of me anywhere at all. Sniff.
April 26th, 2005 at 4:55 pm
I thought it's worth mentioning a motto here. It is not directly about taking self portraits, but somehow addresses it. It is a motto by a mentor whom I know, and it is:
"love yourself, and help others love themselves too"
assuming that this is true, perhaps in order to be a great portrait photographer, we must first like being photographed, and enjoy our portraits.
p.s./ Sorry, I do not have a self portrait of myself online.
April 26th, 2005 at 5:07 pm
I loathe being in front of the camera. However, I did a self-portrait shoot recently to challenge myself. I doubt I'll try that again anytime soon, though I did manage two shots I'm happy with.
http://www.inquestomomento.com/archives/2005/03/me_again.php
http://www.inquestomomento.com/archives/2005/03/my_first_self_p.php
April 26th, 2005 at 5:50 pm
I'm a sucker when it comes to getting my photo taken, especially if I'm the one taking it:
http://www.itsxjustxanotherxday.com/index.php?id=2
http://www.itsxjustxanotherxday.com/index.php?id=93
But it gets disturbing when other people take my photo:
http://fotomoto.net/fotos/riff
Then again, there are so many more intersting things to photograph..
April 26th, 2005 at 5:58 pm
glad you liked the pic craig, but cut out the "i didn't even know the camera was pointed at me" stuff. you know as well as i do that the shot was staged. best we come clean now before a lot of hearts get broken and ian and ross get going.
anyway, i like having my picture taken. it makes me feel better about doing it to other people.
April 26th, 2005 at 6:13 pm
Oh man unaspiring, you could pass for Adam Horovitz (a.k.a. Adrock) of the Beastie Boys in a dimly lit club.
April 26th, 2005 at 6:22 pm
~staged...I did have a 'few' pints of Guinness, I may have been foggy on that detail...~
April 26th, 2005 at 6:40 pm
Oh, and even though I rarely like a picture of myself because of my planetoid sized noggin, I am a ham and a half when you point the camera at me. I guess you could say that I don't mind having my picture taken, I just don't like the results.
April 26th, 2005 at 7:17 pm
matto and Btzerra,
Great shot.
I'm a shunner and runner.
Curiously, it also took me two pints of Guinness to pull off this promo self portrait. (it's not on my blog, so here's a toycamera.com link)
http://www.toycamera.com/profiles/Preview/user_preview_bio.cfm?Name=Susan%20Burnstine
My one major sucking it up for the camera moment.
April 26th, 2005 at 7:33 pm
Not wanting to be in photos and not posting self portaits may just be your way of showing that you arent self absorbed. Thats my excuse, you can't have it! Actually I had a really hard time choosing self portrait items for my interview on dailysnap.com. I just photographed a body double instead.
April 26th, 2005 at 8:07 pm
I don't mind being in front of the camera -- though I admit I feel more comfortable behind it -- but, with few exceptions, I'm not crazy about the results. One exception was this one taken this weekend by John Perkinson at our photobloggers meetup:
http://www.orbit1.com/dailyphotos.aspx?a=next&pid=1010
BTW, that is a great shot of you, Craig.
Susan, that took you two pints of Guinness to pull off that self portrait? We gotta get you drunk more often!
That's a really wonderful portrait of you.
April 26th, 2005 at 8:12 pm
Then there's this one self-portrait which reveals my inner demons:
http://www.outofcontxt.com/index.php/index.php?/weblog/self_portrait/
April 26th, 2005 at 10:01 pm
I don't mind it really. One night, I was shooting my sister's friend Barbara at a bar while watching a band, and she turned the tables on me. I have worked with her a few times in the past, and this night she wanted my camera (and instructions on how to use it) and she proceeded to direct me the same way I have directed her so many times. She even quoted some of the lines I use when posing.
Anyway, it's all here between IMG_5421 (me, right in the center of the page) and then followed by 10 images of Barbara and/or my siter Jill.
http://www.tapdig.com/gallery/deli020505?page=2
April 27th, 2005 at 1:19 am
some good looking mugs on here!
i don't mind being photographed. especially if its with other people/family/friends.
i did a photoshoot with a photographer in Cincinnati (Andrew Nicholson) last summer. it was weird posing - didn't feel natural. felt like a dork.
you can see them here:
http://www.bldg13.com/photos/other_images/DSC_0087_fix.jpg
http://www.bldg13.com/photos/other_images/DSC_0091_fix.jpg
http://www.bldg13.com/photos/other_images/nathan5web.jpg
April 27th, 2005 at 1:38 am
I hate it when I am aware of being photographed, otherwise I don't mind. Pretty much the same policy I follow when making photos: make them so the subject is not aware.
Self portrait with my son:
http://www.640x480.net/album.php?posn=01_01_05_01_50_08pm&size=large
April 27th, 2005 at 4:29 am
I seem to be the opposite - I don't mind having my photo taken at all - but I have very little interest in taking photos of people.
April 27th, 2005 at 6:30 am
There are hardly any pictures of me that I like because the ones photographing me have no idea of photography. They end looking like crappy family snapshots. I'd like to make some selfportraits but I don't know how to do them (focusing, framing, etc...)
April 27th, 2005 at 8:02 am
since everyone is sharing, i often take mirror shots at the end of a roll to knock out the last frame and remind me where i was when the shots were taken.
http://www.fiftymillimeter.com/article/505/az-hotel-self
http://www.fiftymillimeter.com/article/374/boston-mirror
et cetera… i don't mind these so much.
but this is what happens when i let someone else take my picture:
http://www.starkitten.com/08/index.php?fpp=10&fid=314
(before you think that i am more of a freak than i really am, someone else (a complete stranger!) did that and sent it to me).
April 27th, 2005 at 9:51 am
I don't really like having my picture taken and I'm only getting into taking photos of others.
That being said, here are two that I can deal with:
http://www.girl-inchoate.com/photoblog/weblog/smile/jan033.jpg
http://www.girl-inchoate.com/photoblog/weblog/smile/mar13-029.jpg
April 27th, 2005 at 10:29 am
John Perkinson took a fabulous potrait of me that I LOVE. I don't mind being photographed, as long as it doesn't my nose look big. Which is hard.
http://orbit1.com/dailyphotos.aspx?a=prev&pid=1010
April 27th, 2005 at 10:43 am
john perkinson, the movie
[subtitle]photoblogging the photobloggers[/subtitle]
[voiceover] marvel as he meters; watch in awe as he pulls polaroid after polaroid; gasp with each snap of the shutter. john perkinson - the man who photoblogs the photbloggers themselves. coming soon to a website near you.[/voiceover]
i'm just jealous because the only person who wanted to blog my portrait made me put on a jacket and tie and ride a giant bulldog (no that's not a euphemism, pervs).
April 27th, 2005 at 11:04 am
ian, I woud have made you ride a horsey naked (with cotton candy, not balloons)...
http://www.orbit1.com/dailyphotos.aspx?photoid=922
April 27th, 2005 at 11:50 am
~hehehehe, John...remind me to book a portrait session with you...~
April 27th, 2005 at 12:02 pm
Not a big fan of being in front of the lens, unless I'm the one doing the shooting, hence the self portraits:
http://www.jyoseph.com/photoblog/archives/2005/04/1st_shot_w_cano.php
http://www.jyoseph.com/photoblog/archives/2005/02/one_eye.php
http://www.jyoseph.com/photoblog/archives/2005/02/ipod_part_ii.php
April 27th, 2005 at 12:16 pm
I don't particularly care for having my picture taken, although I'll tolerate it. For awhile. And I have only rarely taken photos of other people. Annie Liebovitz had a great quote about people not wanting to have their picture taken. She said that almost NO ONE, from presidents, to actresses, to Mick Jagger, likes to have their photo taken, although most public figures know it comes with the territory. Then she said: "I'm pretty used to people not liking having their picture taken. I mean, if you do like to have your picture taken, I worry about you." After reading that, I felt a little vindicated.
April 27th, 2005 at 12:34 pm
I wouldn't like having Annie Liebovitz take my photo either. I'm sure I would love the end result, but the process would be gruelling. Her shoots are quite long and laborous on her subjects.
April 27th, 2005 at 1:45 pm
I avoid having my photo taken at all cost. I have travelled to places and returned w/o a single photo of myself. But like the rest of you, I can't stop taking photographs of others.
I think one problem is that whenever I am in a photo, it happens to be the casual photo at a wedding or some event where I am in the usual pose and self-conscious. And when I see the photo, I can more than anyone else recognize the discomfort through my body language. The only photo of me that I like was taken when I was a young lad of 5. Sad, I know.
Here's my self-portrait (this is as far as I can go):
http://bliss-street.my-expressions.com/archives/1944_1553816508/55757
April 27th, 2005 at 2:18 pm
This is a huge dilemma for me. People totally freeze up with they see the camera..pointed at them. I work at a newspaper and one of the photographers told me that patience is the key. Hang around, spend time, especially if you're at an "event". People get used to the camera and soon relax. I can't get anyone to sit for a portrait, so I'm pertually stuck with self portraits. Good luck for me that Heather Champ has an extremely successful site devoted to self portraits.
Here are my entries on that site, including a very brave one taken without any makeup! (Warning - I'm old and this might be too scary for young children or those with a weak heart).
http://www.mirrorproject.com/search/results/?term=Suzanne+K&x=14&y=4
April 27th, 2005 at 5:00 pm
if i am photographing myself it is ok. but others sometimes can bother me because they won't photograph me how I think i should look. my angst really comes from the fear that they will capture a truer version of myself than I want to see.
g.
April 27th, 2005 at 8:06 pm
Aha! Farmer's Wife. That one with the chi hua hua and flag is funny as hell.
April 27th, 2005 at 9:40 pm
i forgot about his self portrait I did awhile back:
http://www.bldg13.com/photos/index.php?showimage=74
April 28th, 2005 at 9:43 am
P.S. "One of the risks of appearing is public is the likelihood of being photographed." -- Diane Arbus
April 29th, 2005 at 4:10 am
I love taking portaits and you know what - I think people who don't like having their photo taken - or are nervous in front of the camera, are the best subjects - there's nothing as satisfying as sticking them in front of the camera and taking hundreds of shots whilst chatting away - before you know it, it's as though the camera doesn't exist - like everything - do it for a long time and people soon get bored ....
April 29th, 2005 at 4:12 am
Ah .... bored of everything apart from drinking Guinness that is ..... ! ;o)
April 29th, 2005 at 8:58 am
I love being behind the camera but I normally don't like to have my picture made, or the results after the fact, but this is one shot that my fiance took that I really like. http://rvalley.blogspot.com/2005/03/portrait-of-me.html
April 29th, 2005 at 10:25 am
Something for people who don't like looking at pictures of themselves to do:
Look at the reflection of the photo. Hold it up in the mirror and look at it. It's a closer resemblence of the face you are used to seeing.
April 29th, 2005 at 10:03 pm
I have never seen myself as an attractive subject. I can tell others which way to hold their head, turn their shoulders, etc to make THEM look good, but I just can't seem to get it down myself. Every now and then, however, someone (okay, Diane - my fiance who commented above) makes a good shot of me.
This one she took at Tybee Island Light is her favorite...she says it expresses my personality in my eyes....okay, sure...whatever....I am no judge of me in a photo...all I see is...well...me....
http://rvalley.blogspot.com/2005/03/art-from-his-eyes.html
I personally like this one:
http://rvalley.blogspot.com/2005/04/i-see-sea.html
April 30th, 2005 at 2:17 am
Well, to add to the collection of mugs gathered in this thread, here is mine...
http://jui.cc/200
PS: I also don't like my picture taken unless I do it myself..
Like some other people said previously.
May 4th, 2005 at 8:49 am
Depends on what mood Im in but I do have the goss on the fabulous tracey of shutterbug:
BIGGEST HAM ON THE PLANET.
Get her IN FRONT of the camera, and she id the biggest goof around. Its quite amusing to watch
She's so gonna kill me
http://www.lyptonvillage.org/shutterfly/archives/001126.html
May 7th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
I don't really like posting pictures of myself, i like being behind the camera, personally. But that's why I'm a photographer, right?
Strangely, when I do take a self portrait, it's always only a part of my face! odd habit...
http://www.eightyfour.net/mt/archives/pixelprints/000448.php
April 9th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
i love this pic it looks amazing.. i am curious have you taken any more of this person? if so i would love to see them
April 13th, 2008 at 1:22 am
I love the "giving" I'm doing something similar on a local level...