Thursday 8 January 2009

Picture Perfect

When I was small, whenever the family members gathered together to take photographs I would go missing. They’ll search for 2 minutes, give up, go ahead & take the picture without me. As I grew this quirk remained with me. As soon as somebody brings out their camera to take a picture I would find some excuse & vanish from the scene.

My sister was born almost 5 yrs after me. As soon as she was able to sit unaccompanied [& if I’m not wrong it was also my Birthday that day], our parents took us to the studio to take a photograph. I still remember standing on a table, in the studio next to my little sister who was sitting in a tiny bucket like chair. Both my parents & the photographer were busy arranging the scene & making sure my sister would not fall off. Nobody really noticed the 6 year old standing next to her who was worrying how she was supposed to pose.

Finally when the photograph came after 3 days, it pictured a cute little baby sitting smartly & her elder sister standing next was holding her shoulders so stiff & hands so straight that it looked like her fingers were straining to touch the ground. That picture is still there in a small frame in the dining room showcase in my parents house. Every relative on my Mother’s & Father’s side also takes pains to show it to me whenever I go to visit them.

Some people, even though don’t look so good in real life look great in pictures. And for some, their photographs don’t do them justice. As for me, I cant lay claim to either of these…….I am perfectly ordinary looking & look extra lousy in photographs.

When I turned 22 my parents convinced me to get my pictures taken from GK Vale[almost all women in & from Bangalore will know this place] so that it could be handed over to certain connected people for matrimonial reasons. I went unwillingly but with a faint hope in my heart.

GK Vale didn’t let me down. I almost didn’t recognise myself …I mean the girl in the picture was me but she looked beautiful…...could it really be me??????

For the first time in my life I walked around with my pictures tucked into my Literature books & it sort of fell out unknowingly & my classmates or acquaintances who picked it up gaped at the transformation. I took many passport copies of it & used them everywhere. Yeah they went into my passport also.

After that, my wedding pictures were again taken by GK Vale & they were not too bad either.

Then all went downhill from there. Today, whenever we go out of the country the person at the immigration looks sharply at the picture & then at me & then again at the picture & finally hands the passport back very hesitantly.

I clearly see the question in their eyes “whatever happened????"
I so badly want to answer “A steady diet of junk & 2 kids happened”

Our family album has a lot of pictures of our kids, parents, siblings, even visitors all taken at various occasions. Nobody really notices that I’m there in very few of them. Only my mom & my sister will complain that there is not much of me. I field their questions with “Well, somebody has to take the pictures”.

The funny thing is, when I look back now & see the same pictures……they don’t look so bad…..well ok I was a bit skinny & had a few spots on my face but other than that I was alright…..almost pretty.

Going by the above logic, I have slowly started letting my better-half & kids take my pictures, joining people to pose for photographs…...comforting myself that few years down the lane they won't look so bad to my eyes.

What about you? Do you like posing for photographs? Do your pictures make you look good???? Do your pictures make you FEEL good about yourselves????

48 comments:

  1. Ah I am not picture perfect myself.. and yet I don't mind pictures taken with friends.. in group.. mostly I would have some weird faces ;) I mean really!

    posing come naturally to me ;)

    And yet.. I dont like being clicked.. infact get totally put out.. but coz of my height.. (5 ft :( ) I end up being in front row in any group photos..

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  2. :)
    I love taking pics of everything! Pics of others and myself, nature...Almost anything...

    But alas! The light doesn't quite reflect right on the contours of my face. So no matter how many pics I take, I really don't like the way I look in them :( I have seen my friends miraculously transform into beauty queens in a photograph! Sigh!

    But that doesnt' stop my enthu for photos. If I take 10, I might look good in 1! No?

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  3. :) I`m no looker and you can tell by my pictures! I hate having my pics taken! I have always hated it! :) But of late, I have kind of started liking my pics - atleast some of them. Pbly becos my hair looks almost decent now - no longer a scarecrow!

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  4. I am also very conscious abt how i look in the pictures (rarely its good :D)....but as you said...i wl like these pictures after some time :D

    GK Vale...are really good!

    I think picture is a moment captured in the camera..which wl remain there forever...with a certain story to tell :)

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  5. I loved this post!!!! I smiled about the picture in your literature book 'falling out' - I love a good photographer!!!!

    It is great you are allowing yourself to be captured more by the camera- just think bout your grandchildren and great grandchildren- they will want to see you and know who you were and how you looked.

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  6. WOW, a post finally!! I was so scared you will actually stop blogging. :) I am pretty conscious about getting pics too, especially post pregnancy, when i have become a pig. I had the same experience with the passport photo, the guy at Sharjah immigration told me, it was not me. hehehehe.
    Keep blogging lady, I love reading it.

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  7. OK, now I am dyeing to see a picture of you!!!! I am so curious!

    I am very used to having my pictures taken. I don't necessarily like all of them but who cares.

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  8. While going through the pics of our last family vacation, my dad inquired after sometime: Shalom, why does it look like you were the only one who went on this trip??!!

    I've never really felt conscious about having my photos taken, though I always worry about how my hair will look, and there was a time I was eager to be photographed alone in nice locations for Facebook reasons :P Now don't go thinking that I'm oh so photogenic....I need to take that many so that hopefully at least 1 will turn out the way I like it!

    Nowadays that urge has dimmed.....I'm more keen on taking group shots whenever our families get together.....some nice memories for when its just hubs & me. And I'm also in love with my camera for pure photographic reasons as you know :)

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  9. Yay ur back! :) And i totally agree!! I hate posing for pics - prob coz i am totally not photogenic and the photo always turns out with me looking stupid..!

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  10. my pictures come out okay...but when some come out really good...u can find me spening hours staring at the photos and admiring myself...self obsessed u can say...and now, when ever i go visiting my parents, one of my main activities is to browse through all the albums and cherish the memories of my childhood...and yes, i dont fail noticing how young my mom and dad looked...

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  11. nice post nance. loved the passport bit:-) i like spontaneous pics more than posed ones. nowadays i think kids will appreciate seeing us alongside when they look back. i used to spend hours on end gazing at the rows and rows of framed photographs of immediate and extended family in our home imagining each telling me a story. reason enough to want to leave something similar i guess...

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  12. He he, you won't believe this. I'm up at 8 am on a weekend commenting on your blog while my wife just walks in the hall and gives me that look :)

    And ya, there are magic photographers aren't they? pictures falling out of literature books :D lol...

    Well my pictures make me feel I'm in the wrong profession - Model maybe :-) he he, jokes apart I love clicking pictures more than being in them coz. I feel, nobody would do justice to my look or the scenery :P

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  13. That way i am very lucky:), anybody who sees me first time says...cant believe u have grown up children:)
    and same for the photograph...I come out totally different from what I am:)
    Even i faced the same thing at immigration, officer in india told me...is it u?

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  14. I personally hate my profile pics. The nose seems like pinnochio's. Also hate close ups. All the blemishes show up and makes it appear as though I have some skin issues. But the ones taken from a fair distance work out just fine and if the pearlies are showing, it's fabulous. I could say that I am rather photogenic, but I have to be mentally prepared to take pics. Only then do they work out fine. :D

    I have some pics of me that u can use to scare the kids when they misbehave!

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  15. I mean the girl in the picture was me but she looked beautiful…...could it really be me??????

    So without Photoshop technique those days they did wonders auh?? Just kidding.

    Thanks for making me nostalgic.


    This brought memories of my tantrums and crying to take my photograph. When my aunt ( Mum’s younger sister) got married and came to visit us, my mum took them to a photo studio( in their place there was no studio at that time). I accompanied them. After they took the photo, I asked my mum for a photo, but she refused. We came home and I cried like anything ( that’s what my mum told me- I was 9/10 yrs old I guess) then they had no other choice except to take me again to studio. Believe me, that is the ONE AND ONLY childhood picture of mine I have it now. Infact I was looking at them this morning along with my daughter .She was teasing me when I explained, under which circumstances that photo was taken

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  16. Well I like to take photos and I did take plenty of it in India but now at home in Malaysia, I just don't seem to find time.

    I was a skinny lad when I was younger but as you age, one tends to get rounder....but I still do admire my college photo's...

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  17. After you cross the 20-25 age. The best you will ever look is now...:) so dont miss any chances for snaps.

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  18. first of all,so good to read you again..I was beginning to wonder your previous post was a sign of a long long long hibernation:)
    Secondly,I do like to pose for snaps,Nancy..although I never am satisfied with the outcome.I hve always been the camera savvy person,always putting on that plastic smile the minute I see the cam being focused.
    Even today when I see my old snaps I sulk when I realise I had such lousy dress sense and much lousier hairdos!

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  19. what an awesome subject, cus everyone has either an affair or aversion towards getting clicked
    as for me.. well,! H complians that his only job when we take holidays together is that of a photographer:) yes, i love getting clicked.. i am strictly okay looking, but taht does not stop me.. its just one of those things i guess
    and i dont believe i am saying this in public, but on weekends, since i have a lot of time in hand.. the first thing i do after waking up is click myself on teh webcam.. i know! crazy.. but thats how wierd i am
    that was a lovely post!

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  20. Winnie: Seriously???? 5ft????
    I wd have never guessed from ur pictures. I wd have thot it was an advantage coz u get to pose right in front where everybody can see u clearly...but u make it sound like a disadvantage:-P.

    Jira: "The light doesn't quite reflect right on the contours of my face."
    Ah.....a typical case of "their photographs don’t do them justice":-D.
    "But that doesnt' stop my enthu for photos. If I take 10, I might look good in 1! No?"
    Thank God for digital cameras where we can click away to our heart's content:-D.
    Seriously I too love to click pictures than pose for them....though I dont really an 'eye', I still persevere hoping the next pic will be good.

    Piper: U too???? We are sailing in the same boat.
    And u bet...having a good hair style makes all the difference.

    Prakhar: "I think picture is a moment captured in the camera..which wl remain there forever...with a certain story to tell :)"
    I too believe this......& that is why my camera is always at hand's reach to click these moments:-)).

    Anjuli: Thank U!!!
    "just think bout your grandchildren and great grandchildren- they will want to see you and know who you were and how you looked."
    U r so right...I never thought of it this way...I sure will be visible in more pics from on now:-)).

    Goofy Mumma: Thank U!!!! I'm been quite busy with guests & a toothache+removal actually...
    U too...at the airport????
    What is it with these airport staff huh:-P???????

    Agnes: U r so confident & ur pictures show tht too.
    "I don't necessarily like all of them but who cares."
    Thts just the attitude one shd have.....and I shd learn:-P.

    Shalom: So ur real name is Shalom??? LOL at ur father's comments.
    "I need to take that many so that hopefully at least 1 will turn out the way I like it!"
    This, I can relate with:-D.
    Without a doubt the photographs u take are beautiful, I love them.

    Sunshine: Thts exactly how I feel about mine + I always get impatient with the people who take them. I mean, when I click I make sure everybody is ready, I give them ideas how best to pose but when somebody takes a picture of me they click even before I'm ready:-S.

    Scribbler: Even I go thru the albums when I go home:-)).
    And ofcourse if by chance there is a good picture of me, I too take it out admire myself whenever I remember.
    I also love to click pics of my children hoping there will be atleast one where they r not pulling faces:-P.

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  21. I some times wonder that if you praise some one's photograp in front of him/her, will it not amount to offending him/her because while the picture is being praised, it carries the hidden meaning that you don't look as good as your photograph.

    I for myself am never satisfied with my photographs which always portray a different me every time. You can have a look at my mug shown differently in my blog only.

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  22. It is the person who is important, not the picture and that is what I believe firmly. I have stoped worrying about looking good in pictures because, in the eyes of those who matter, I shine!(May my belief be right!)
    Wel, N, you too do, so go on pose in front rather than hiding behind the camera...
    lol

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  23. lan: Oh for me the spontaneous ones are the worst...the eyes will be closed, the mouth will be opened:-S.
    Oh yes I too love to see those rows & rows of pics in the houses in kerala & imagine the different scenarios....seriously I find them so interesting. Except for funeral pics which I find so morbid, I dont mind spending hrs pouring over old photographs.

    Rakesh: Aaah yeah u do have a model look abt u:-D.
    Like U I feel tht I click better pictures than anybody else....atleast in the family;-P.

    Renu: Ahhh Renu, u r Lucky!!!!
    Infact I'll go 1 step ahead & say U dont 'sound' like u have 2 kids also.
    Even u??? at the immigration??? U r the 3rd person now who is telling me this on the blog:-P.

    Bins: "I have some pics of me that u can use to scare the kids when they misbehave!"
    LOL...seriously????? As far as I remember U look pretty ok to my eyes...both in the snaps & real life. I think u r being too hard on ur self:-P

    Maddy: What a lovely story...and real life story at that, thank U for sharing it with me. I loved it.
    And seriously nowadays photos without applicatin of photoshop techniques are a rarity:-P.

    sukku: I too prefer to take pictures rather than pose for them. Yeah I also look at my college pics & think I didnt look bad at all but then I wonder why was I convinced then that I look lousy. I guess my eyes & my mind are so accomodating to all the flaws now:-).

    Abraham Menacherry: Very funny...I consider myself in my prime now;-D. But u didnt say whether u liked being photographed??????

    Deeps: Thanking for asking:-D...was a bit busy, thts why.
    "Even today when I see my old snaps I sulk when I realise I had such lousy dress sense and much lousier hairdos!"
    LOL, I can just imagine;-D...even when I see some pics of mine, I want to tear them off but my mom never lets me:-P

    Ish: "the first thing i do after waking up is click myself on teh webcam.."...thts not weird, that's so cute:-D.
    And thank U....but where are u nowdays?? Come on even we dont see around on weekends also:-(....work cant be taking up so much time. Or are u busy freaking out;-D????

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  24. Thanks for the compliment, I still want to see a picture of you!!! :-)))))))) (Don't think I didn't notice how you skipped that part)

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  25. hey....
    Actually.... I dont mind my picture being taken as I know I dont look that good.... and I have accepted the "fact of life" that my face is just not that photogenic.... :)
    good one............

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  26. Hey, hope your tooth is all better now, or removed maybe. Get well soon and get blogging regularly, miss your posts dearly. Get Well Soon!!

    Yes airport - Sharjah, the last time I came in. For a moment I was scared they really thought it wasn't me, God!! It is quite likely though if you see my photos from 3-4 years or more back, so I don't really blame them. However they laughed later, and I breathed.

    And now I am all curious to see you and your photos!!

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  27. My husband's and my biggest fights have been because I do not let him (or anyone else but other's don't notice) take my picture. He loves photography and it is always a challenge for him. So I can completely understand.

    On top of that, my wedding reception make up was AWFUL (Wannabe can testify) and I have thrown that album somewhere it cannot be retrieved from.

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  28. he he, but what's with that :-D???

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  29. Firsty to your blog and quite impressed too! Read a few blogs and its pretty nice! U fit in humor quite subtly but making its presence felt too :) Good ones :)

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  30. Balvinder Singh: "if you praise some one's photograp in front of him/her, will it not amount to offending him/her because while the picture is being praised, it carries the hidden meaning that you don't look as good as your photograph."
    Wow, I never ever thot of it tht way........but really... come on, I dont think it will be taken tht way. Coz ultimately the picture taken is of you, right????
    Yes, maybe the light was good, the moment was right, the photographer clicked at tht exact point....& all culminated into a wonderful photograph:-D.

    Sindhu: "It is the person who is important, not the picture and that is what I believe firmly."
    Yes ofcourse U r right...but....but:-(
    "Wel, N, you too do, so go on pose in front rather than hiding behind the camera..."
    I'll try but no promises;-P

    Agnes: U r beautiful...that we all have already agreed on so many times but you are way too sharp;-P.
    Ok I'll make a pact with u...the day somebody clicks a good picture of me, I'll put it up the very next day. What say????

    Ajit: Oh like U, I accepted long back that my face is not at all photogenic. Its just that I hate to take pics & prove the fact over & over again:-P

    Goofy Mumma: Yep got the tooth removed & its healing Thank God!!
    Why do u want to see my pics when U can see me in person anytime U want:-D.

    payi: At last...at last....1 soul whose reactions match mine:-D. Welcome to the club!!! Do u think we should start a seperate blog on this topic;-D????

    Rakesh: Oh nothing, nothing at all;-D.

    Blindwreck: Thank U!!!! U r very kind:-)). Please do come again.

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  31. Agnes: I've finally got my broadband connection but I can't seem to get into ur blog...it says "we can't find the iWeb page you've requested".
    :-(

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  32. its a funny combo for me - while i love being photographed, my pics dont come out good enough...and well i also love taking pictures...so there you go...In most holiday pics i am missing since hubby hates to take pics himself, and whenevr he does, its so half hearted that it almost never comes out good...so well i am sailing in the same boat as you :)

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  33. i love clicking pictures and being clicked. I simply love looking at albums esp of yesteryears, althought some of the teens and childhood pics can be embarassing. I do miss the hardbound albums now that there is so much of online space to host pics. The weird thing is I like looking at anyone's pictures and not just of my own family and friends. I can browse endlessly for pics.
    show show show your pic :)

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  34. This one touches a cord. I had a hard time as an adoloscent. I got over the complex in college when suddenly I was called photogenic. And I had the officer question me and I had to tell him I have straightened my hair.Ehh
    N U R Blogrolled.
    Keep writing!

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  35. ahhh i hate having my photo taken nowadys and anyway its always me who takes the snaps anyway and i end up not being in any family get togtehr pics and so on...well dont think that i am sad about it now coz i have gained so much weuight and am terrified to c myself in snaps...

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  36. No straight forward ans to the q...:( Sometimes I love being photographed(mostly when I think, I am looking good...:D) and sometimes I run away when I see the shutter.

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  37. Now that I think about it, I do have a lot of weird childhood pics, I wonder what was going on in my mind hehe but now it's safer to go by numbers -- the more pics that I am in, the better the chances of selecting at least one good one! Besides, pics are like frozen memories to be cherished for a long time and all that stuff :D

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  38. What a perfectly honest post! Liked it a lot!!
    I always have this big smile in almost all my photos.Very rarely I dont smile :) But--i'm like that in real life too heh heh.
    Cheers and a very happy new year!
    Preeti

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  39. DeeplyDip: "its so half hearted that it almost never comes out good..."
    U knw this is exactly wht I was think also....when I click I make sure everybody is ready, I give them ideas how best to pose but when somebody else takes the snap, they click not really bothered about how the pic will turn out:-S.

    A: I too love the hardbound albums...nowadays everybody just sends u links ...while it is a blessing in some ways I do miss the proper photographs.
    I have a hardbound album for the kids sake but it is rarely been updated nowdays:-(.

    Spontaneous Mini: Oh it really matters during those adolescent & teenage days....the blots & blemishes are magnified;-P. Lucky U...turning into a swan at the right stage.
    And thank U, I'm honoured!!!!

    Enigma: Yeah I knw....I too hate to see myself in snaps....infact eachtime I'm surprised at the way I look. Yes by taking the pics I too escape with a valid excuse:-P.

    Abraham Menacherry: Oh then, thts nothing to do with photographs....its everything to do with ur mood:-D.

    Snow: "I wonder what was going on in my mind"
    U knw I too wonder & there are some pics which makes me relive the same mood:-o.....I mean I still remember how I felt then.
    "the more pics that I am in, the better the chances of selecting at least one good one!"
    LOL this makes total sense:-D!!!!

    Spontaneous Mini: WIll be doing it:-D. Thanks!!!!!

    Preethi: Thank U!!!!! It doesnt surprise me 1 bit tht u smile in all ur pics......U are way too pretty & a smile only works in ur advantage;-D.
    Happy New Year to U too..tek care!!

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  40. Yes, my site is down... I lost it :-((
    Can you email me a picture? I won't show it to anyone, I promise.

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  41. and you skip the part about your pic. show show....i too want to see you. lets trade pics :)

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  42. Agnes: What do u mean u lost it???? Like gone forever....ohmygosh what will you do now???? Get some expert to check it out....I'm sure it can be retreived....take a second opinion also.
    Ok I'll mail u a picture, after all I've seen urs...just gimme some time to click a nice one:-D.

    A: U r crazy:-D.....ok fine a deal is a deal...when I send u my pic, u've got to send me urs....say promise??????

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  43. I cannot pose naturally! :) I have a natural tendency to hate every photo of mine and for a long time was stuck with 'im too fat' kinda image which actually, a few years ago wasnt the case! I still cannot get my photo taken without some tension about the posing. :)

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  44. promise promise promise....i won't back out. cross my heart and tongue hee hee hee (that reminds me of school). my ID is colormesunshine@gmail.com

    drop me a note on my blog when you email and I'll shoot mine right away.

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  45. Yay!!! My email is cosmictreehouse@yahoo.com

    P.S.:
    It's probably easier at this point to start a new site... guess I am too lazy to get started again :-) I'll let you know what the new address is, for sure -- ok?

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  46. The Idle Devil: U knw, I understand exactly wht u mean tensions abt posing...even today I cannot relax. The worst is natural pics taken look even worsen:-(.

    A: Heeeheee....email is noted down....now to click a good picture:-P.

    Agnes: Email is copied down safely.
    I'm so sorry abt ur site....but all ur info is safe, right???? All ur post, pics, etc?????
    Was looking forward to reading all wht I missed, now tht I got my ADSL:-(.

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  47. I guess it's all "safe"...
    I moved to http://agnespages.typepad.com

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