Photo hell

Today almost everyone carries a camera in their pocket.  It's on their phone!  Who would have thought 20 years ago, we would carry a tiny computer in our pants pocket?  Any photos can instantly be shared in social media for everyone to see.  Technology is fantastic.  But this weekend, I was slapped in the face with the downside of that convenience.  Let me tell you more.

This weekend, I had two occurrences when my loved ones took photos of me that were less than flattering.  Not just less then flattering but completely degrading in my opinion.  Posting photos of me with a body shape like a Hershey kiss.  But it is better than that, I am either eating or talking or concentrating so I have a grumpy cat look on my face or I have "resting bitch face" (RBF).  Before I realized it, some photos were posted to Facebook and I was tagged before I even had a chance to roll out of bed.   This means 138 people of various degrees of my world and acquaintance and all their friends and friends of friends see that I don't always eat with my mouth closed, I pull faces when I craft, and I clearly just don't smile enough.  This doesn't account for the volume of body mass from my lower lip to my big toe....all displayed in a very unflattering and unattractive way.  I could not move fast enough to "untag" myself and delete the images from my timeline.  I am horrified that people actually saw them.  I was not the only one that was captured for all time and eternity in a less than flattering pose or facial expression.

So my public announcement here is just my opinion but I think we all have to be kind and gentle to our loved ones.  If you take a photo, it only takes a second to allow someone some notice so they can look up and smile and present their very best self possible.  For me, I don't post photos of anyone if they could be perceived as less than flattering.  You will never see a photo of someone sitting with their feet up taken from a lower position at foot level from me.  No one wants to see a close up of the crotch of someone's jeans as the primary focus.  No matter how beautiful you are, that is just simply not a good photo composition.  I also rarely tag people on social media without their permission first.

Here is my motto about this.....just because you can take a photo, doesn't mean you should.  And if you do, please be thoughtful about how that represents that person.  Put yourself in their place and think how you would feel if that was your mug in the photo.  If you have a terrible photo of someone, crop it.  Shape it.  Or delete it.  You don't have to share every photo you take especially if it wasn't a good one.

I'm not mad that my loved ones took these terrible photos, I just wish they wouldn't have been shared in such a public way when it is an incredibly poor representation of me.  I know I am over weight.  I know I have faces I pull.  But please don't share them with the people I went to High School with that I no longer have a relationship with beyond Facebook "likes".

Later today, I will be making an appointment to get my mouth wired shut and gastric bypass surgery performed.   I will also be having liposuction and a facelift.  I am kidding but boy my self esteem took a huge hit this past weekend.