myface

Photography I hate having my photograph taken. Actually no, I don't hate having my photograph taken. I hate seeing the photographs of me after they've been taken. It's not a low self esteem issue, it's just that the camera puts at least a stone on me and in group photographs I always think everyone else seems like they're having a better time. Plus from the side? Big nose.

Something I used to love doing was joining the group photographs of near total strangers at parties. The kinds of parties I tended to go to usually featured many people I hardly knew and I always imagined that when they got the pictures back, having had many drinks, they'd be looking at me gurning at the back or side and wondering who the hell I was. Or even years later they might imagine that I was someone really important.

All of which sort of explains why there are so few pictures of me online. They're there if you want to go look for them, but none of them are terribly flattering, particularly the ones in my flickr account. But it has become apparent that actually, nowadays, if you can put a human face to yourself online it can be seen as a good thing, the idea being that its better to show what you've got than hide it and have people wondering exactly what it is that you've been hiding.

So finally, I've decided upon a photograph to add to profiles if I need to. It's not a candid, some artsy shot of me looking out of a window with the rain slashing against it or me in the city at night only illuminated by a street light. It's the inevitable passport photo, which was taken in a Photo-Me booth at the Tesco Metro for my new staff ID card. It's still not perfect, but apparently it best captures who I am now ...



... whatever that means. I happen to think it looks like two different photos edited together in the middle, especially with the sort of half smile on one side and the grin on the other. At least I'm not winking. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I had shaved that morning. Which possibly means that I need to stop using disposables.

Is it what you expected those of you who didn't know what I looked like? Comments? Ideas?

4 comments:

Keris Stainton said...

It's a good picture although it does look a bit like one of those pics photoshopped to show what you'd look like if your features were symmetrical or something (except the mouth!).

For some reason, I always thought you were fair, so I'm a bit startled by the lustrous locks and eyebrows, but all in all, very nice!

spleenal said...

You look so normal.
But then they always say that don't they.

Lara said...

Hey Stu, I think you look like John Cusack!

I hate photos too....

A x

Stuart Ian Burns said...

Wow, John Cusack's not bad. It's certainly better than Rowan Atkinson or Patrick Moore which is what I used to get as a teenager. Not that I'm saying that either of those are unhansom chaps.

Keris -- that's funny. Or as we're supposed to say in Liverpool 'faiiir-aiiiir'