I had to shoot some video recently for promoting my new novel series and after I’d gone to the trouble of setting up the flood lights and getting the window blinds just-so to capture the best sunlight in my office, then rearranging things so no plants or coffee mugs were growing out of my head, my husband suggested that he may as well shoot some new headshots for me while I was all dressed up with no place to go.
Even though my most recent headshots weren’t that old, I agreed because my hair had turned out pretty good that day, and the chances of me having another good hair day before 2017 are slim to none. Ken took 65 shots and I narrowed it down to 40-plus pictures that I actually liked. Many were almost identical since Ken had the camera set to motorwind (10 quick shots with each click of the shutter).
I ran the best of those by my sweet friend and critique partner Tammy, who only gives me a little bit of a hard time for being so vain (not to mention I’d played the same “which one of these 482 shots do you like best?” game with her a few months earlier.)
We landed on one favorite of the bunch, and I waited until 10:30 at night to post it as my new Facebook profile photo, hoping not too many people would notice. (Does anyone else get embarrassed having people comment on your mugshot?) I tend to read things into the comments.
• Cute = “does the best with what she has to work with”
• Pretty = “will never be beautiful”
• Good picture = “notice I didn’t say YOU look good.”
• Hey, you have a new profile picture = “ugly as mud, but I had to say something.”
But, I digress… Anyway, never mind the 10:30 p.m. ploy, the comments come flooding in. And while they made me feel really good on the one hand, they made me feel super self-conscious on the other—like I was fishing for a compliment. And then they made me feel a little guilty because, after all, that photo, while it really is me, it’s the very best of me. Maybe even a little better than the very best of me.
Many years ago at one of my first booksignings, I mistook another author I was signing with for a store clerk because she did not look remotely like the glamorous shot on the back of her book. I decided right then that no matter how humiliating, I would always try to use a photo that actually looked like me on the back of my books.
Most days, I look more like my driver’s license photo. But when I do have a photo taken, I want it to be the best possible version of me. While I don’t mind PhotoShopping out a zit or bruise (that will eventually go away), my wrinkles, alas, are here to stay, and I need to own them. Now, anything makeup can hide is fair game, and lighting is my friend, as long as it’s aimed at the right things. Hence, in the interest of reasonably full disclosure, below left is the original shot, uncropped, straight out of the camera. On the right is a super PhotoShopped version that smooths every wrinkle, deletes the bags under my eyes, eliminates the crepe that is my neck, and even blots out the freckles on my nose. (Don’t I look 30 again? Is it any surprise that this is my favorite version?) In the middle is, hopefully, a happy medium—a photo that looks like the very best me I can be, wrinkles and all. Oh, you can bet I made sure my hubby had the camera far enough above eye-level to make me stretch and smooth that turtley neck, and I made sure the lights were bright enough to “burn out” and minimize the worst of my wrinkles. And yes, I did PhotoShop the shine off my chin, and one row of bags under my eyes. Because really, who wants to look at that?
I bet you didn’t even notice that I have one eye that’s much smaller and lower than the other and that my eyes tend to be beady. That my nose is huge and smooshed flat on my face, and that my nostrils are extremely uneven (thanks to my youngest daughter for pointing that out a few years ago. LOL!). Did you notice that my hair is pathetically thin, fine, and straight-as-a-stick? (But I wrestled it into submission with half a can of hairspray for this occasion.) …And that’s just the above-the-neck stuff!
Here’s my point: we are all far more critical of our own looks (in photos and in the mirror each morning) because we’ve had a lifetime to inspect and critique every inch. But the truth is, when most people look at you or a photo of you, all they see is your friendly smile, or your kind eyes, your beautiful skin, or fill-in-the-blank-with-your-GOOD-qualities. And if they know you, they’re seeing even more. They’re seeing your gentle spirit, your compassionate heart, and your humble attitude shine through.
Yes, I want my headshots to be a representation of me at my physical best, but I hope I never forget that even the prettiest picture fades quickly if the person it represents turns out to be not-so-pretty on the inside. I need a reminder to work as hard making that part beautiful as I do the outside.
For discussion: What do you think about PhotoShopping portraits? Is it dishonest? Would you/have you touched up your own photos? Where do you draw the line? Have you ever met someone who looked nothing like their publicity photo? How did that make you feel?
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Fantastic piece, Deb! And another great photo, too. 🙂
Thank you, and thank you, Michael. That means a lot coming from you! (But I bet if I’d had you edit it, you could have gotten it down to 400 words! 😉 )
Thank you, Deb, for making me laugh first thing on a Monday morning!
You know me, Heidi…I live to make people laugh—not always intentionally. But glad this intentional attempt worked. 🙂
Seriously, you are beautiful in all the photos…and you might want to strangle me, but I really don’t see a difference between the left and the right photo — except the right looks like the lighting is better because the whole image is brighter. And I think your inside beauty is shining out in all those pics, so there!
I HATE having my picture taken. I am not photogenic at all. My bus pass photo makes me look like I’m a hatchet murderess. LOL I can honestly say that I’ve never taken a good picture so I avoid the camera like crazy. I guess none of us is happy with the way we look in our photos, hence the popularity of photoshop.
I honestly don’t know what to think about photoshopping — gone to extremes I think it plays into this whole shallow, image-is-all-that-matters mentality so prevalent today. Mind you, I play into that mentality simply by not posting pictures of me, so who am I to talk?!
Strangle you, Kav? NEVER! If you look at my neck in those two photos, that’s where you’ll really see a difference. Also, if you click on them to enlarge (WHICH, I’m issuing a warning right now…enlarge at your own risk!)
I agree with you about photoshopping, done to extremes, playing into the shallow image-over-substance mentality. I keep going back to the fact that once I get to know someone, my impression of how they LOOK completely changes. People the world might not consider beautiful suddenly ARE once I get to know their kind heart. And people the world might consider drop-dead gorgeous can become flat-out ugly in my eyes if their hearts are black. I’m so grateful that we are covered with a robe of righteousness so that when God looks at me, he only sees Jesus! Whew!
LOL, Love this, Deb!! Photoshop is definitely my friend, although I haven’t “retaken” my profile pic in many years, because I had another baby and, well, she was a tough one and the weight likes to hang on . (Those darn Oreo Cookies…..) I agree though, there is a difference in “fine tuning” a picture and changing it. Those wrinkles look AMAZING on you… point to what a wise, awesome woman that you are!! And you totally made me giggle at what people’s comments “might” mean… I SERIOUSLY do the same thing!
I gave myself a few years after each baby to get back to how I wanted to look. I think it took about 16 years with the last one before I quit using the “baby weight” excuse. You have a kaZILLION excuses with all you’ve been through recently, but you look great, and besides, all I see is your sweet heart shining through!
So, I was reading author bios last Friday, trying to write my own. lol! Of course, I went to Deb Raney’s website to read hers. I said to my daughter (who happened to be here at the time), “Deb Raney is so beautiful. Her smile is amazing.” I turned the computer so my daughter could see. Her comment? “Oh, man. She’s gorgeous!” I always taught my daughter to tell the truth.
If this was a contest, you’d be the winner, Lora! 😉 And seriously, thank you so much for those sweet comments. Made my day! And now, maybe I need to write a post on writing author bios? Mine could sure use tweaking! 😉
I love this article, Deb. We are our own worst critics when it comes to pictures of ourselves, especially head shots that will end up on our social media sites, web pages, biz cards, etc. The picture shown here was taken in Dallas when ACFW had their conference there two years ago. It was one of several that turned out from that photo shoot. But now it no longer looks exactly like me. I just got the hair cut short and a couple weeks ago, got new frames. Bigger and dark red. Someone told me it was a “bold choice.” But now I really do look different. I’ll wait for conference to get more head shots made, but what to do in the mean time? I’ve been cropping myself out of group shots, but I look at the picture and think meh.
I love your picture Deb. I always think you take a great picture. Little did I know you have 400 plus pics taken to find that right one LOL. I’m just teasing, but seriously, your beautiful smile can’t be photoshopped. That is genuinely who you are (I never noticed that you have asymmetrical eyes, which is common with a lot of people, by the way.)
I know what you mean, Pam! Just before I cut my hair much shorter, my hubby took a photo I was using for an author photo. My hair looked so good in that photo (never mind the ONLY day it looked good was the day of the photo…which was WHY I had him TAKE a photo…) But shorter hair really changed my look, so I had new ones done then, too. Ordinarily I don’t think hair changes should count for a woman, but if it does change the way you look quite a bit, then, yes, you get to do new head shots! I love your glasses and now that I’m wearing mine more often, I probably will soon need a new head shot taken with my glasses. It’s never ending!
Thanks for a great blog post! I recall seeing a photo on a neighbor’s wall and wondering who it was a picture of. It was a “glamour shot” of the neighbor I was talking to. It didn’t even look like her. That is such an extreme. I love the pictures of you – esp. the unedited! Your smile and your eyes tell us so much about you!
Love your pic, pretty lady! A friend took my head shots and refused to tell me what she “did” with them. “Hardly anything” is all she’d admit to. I can live with it, especially since she wasn’t charging me.
My eyes are old enough that I couldn’t see the wrinkles anyway! Knowing you and your wonderful family, all I see is beauty.
Ah! That’s the great thing about getting older: our friends are getting older too, so we share the wrinkles, and besides, we can’t see them anyway! Great to hear from you here!
You are beautiful in ALL the pictures because your inner beauty shines through, my friend! And I’m not just being nice. Honestly, I can’t tell much difference in the pics except for the lighting.
I’m totally with you on the photoshopping, though. And yes, I have met authors who have looked nothing like their publicity photos. Drives. Me. Nuts. LOL Especially when they are about 30 years out of date! 🙂 Photoshop out the temporary things like zits or bloodshot eyes, but other than that, be real!
Hugs!
Thank you, sweet (but just snarky enough) Linda! 🙂 And good to hear your take on PhotoShop. I jokingly told someone that as soon as I could no longer take a headshot I liked without photoshopping it to pieces, I was going to stick with the last good one and just quit appearing in public. 😉
Love this! Sadly, even though I don’t remember as a young girl hearing you talk out loud like you wrote in this post, I somehow inherited the “super critical of my appearance” quality from you–and the mismatched eyes (which I never noticed in you, btw). This post was just what I needed to hear today! Love you!
Love you, too, gorgeous daughter. And all I’ve ever noticed about your eyes is that they are BLUE. So jealous! 🙂 As for “super critical of our appearance,” I think sadly, that’s a woman thing. And we all need to JUST STOP IT. 🙂
Oh Deb!
You cracked me right up with your comments. Have you noticed I haven’t put my photo up at all on this blog and neither did I on WoP. I’m waiting for my friend Kav to post hers first! LOL
Seriously Deb, your photos are lovely and I can tell you have beauty inside and out.:)
As for wrinkles ?… I can’t see any but what I do see, is a lady who writes great books and enjoyable posts and has the ability to put a smile on my face. That makes me feel beautiful so a big “Thank You,” from me to you:)
Cheers from “down under”
Rosie
Rose (and Kav!) I’m going to INSIST that you guys post your photos! I already KNOW you’re both beautiful because I’ve seen your hearts again and again in the things you post on this blog. We’d all love to have a face to put with your names! And it doesn’t have to be a perfect face. 🙂 Thank you so much…your comments always ARE “cheers”!
I smiled as I read this, agreeing how many of us are critical of our looks. We forget others have the same insecurities. And you honed in on an important truth when you said most people look at a headshot and see kind eyes, a friendly smile, the person’s spirit. I know that’s what I see. And I like your pictures – all of them. The one on the left is maybe a little less bright. I probably like the one in the middle best, because of it’s highlights and it seems to have a little more depth of shading also.
But I wouldn’t study a photo of anyone as much as I did these three as I considered “What do I think about photoshopping a portrait?” I think, like you, I’d prefer my photos to represent what I actually look like, because I want to know and be known as who I really am. I also think there’s probably a need for some public figures to photoshop their portraits – in the writing world that might be top sellers who remain a bit aloof from their readers. I supposed it’s a bit dishonest, like lying about one’s age. And when said public figure ventures out among the hoi palloi, it’s leads to getting mistaken for a store clerk. 🙂
Haha! That “depth of shading” is what is commonly referred to as WRINKLES! 😉 But seriously, you’re so right that we need to remember that most of the time other people are so focused on their own worries about how they look, that critiquing our appearance is the last thing on their minds. And other people are so much kinder in their assessment of us than we are of ourselves. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Cute!! Pretty!! Good picture!! You have a new profile picture!!
Honestly, all three of those photos are fabulous!! Like you, I’ve bumped into authors that I did NOT recognize from their profile pics…and vowed to never “do that! I recently had new head-shots taken and told the photographer to NOT Photoshop-out any wrinkles. But she did (and I didn’t even realize you could do this) brighten my eyes and whiten my teeth a little. (I’ve been wanting to do that in real-life…oh, if it were only that easy~! And only cost $40.00.) I figure in a tiny, square photo, that brightening will help the photo be clearer.
Let me end by saying, “You are beautiful!!!” And, remember, I’ve even seen you withOUT makeup!!
LOL, Roxy! Your comment on FB cracked me up, too. 😉 It takes more PhotoShop skills than I have to brighten eyes and whiten teeth (actually, all the “corrections” I made were in Mac’s iPhoto program) but I think professional photographers just can’t help themselves. They MUST “fix” photos or they aren’t really “art.” (I disagree, BTW, but that does seem to be part of the job description of photographers in this era of PhotoShop.)
And yes, roomie, I take great comfort in the fact that you’ve seen me without makeup and we’re still friends!
I always think “if I could look like any of the authors” you would be my pick. Maybe it’s because I know you & your personality, or maybe it’s that I feel a kindness to women when we are so hypercritical of our appearances, but all I see is your heart and it makes me smile to see you!
It is so hard to do this sort of thing and I really appreciate your honesty here. We work on looking our best because we do want to attract people to our work, but it is difficult (especially when I mostly want to destroy every photo of myself like I was in a witness protection program….LOL.) Great post!
Crystal, you just gave me a great idea for a novel!! 😉 Seriously: what if a woman has plastic surgery before going into witness protection, but she finds she’s lost the essence of who she is in the process, and she doesn’t even have any photos left to help her remember. But there’s this guy who just happens to have some photos of her from when they dated twenty years ago…before she met her husband—who is the evil man she’s hiding from. Ooooh! I’ll mention you in the acknowledgements!! LOL!
P.S. It makes me smile to see you, too! Even just a picture of you.
Deb Raney, this brought me back to our very first C.H.I.C.K.S. event! And to echo sentiments already written, you are a beaut of a girl both inside and out! Definitely someone I aspire to emulate!
There you go making me miss you again, Jennea! Thank you so much for your comment, and the feeling is mutual!
Deb, I suppose I’m a typical man. For the first few years of my life as a published author, I used a photo my wife took, one that I thought was pretty good. I certainly didn’t even think of photo-shopping.
Back when I was an officer of ACFW I got around to having a photographer at our annual meeting take some new head shots, and honestly never thought about whether she’d photo-shop them before sending the best ones. Sorry you planted the idea in my head.
I’m afraid that, with me, what you see is what you get. However, I do agree with you that’s it’s embarrassing to come upon authors in real life and not be able to recognize them from their doctored and/or five-years-before head shots.
VERY interesting that you use the term “doctored” in response to this, Doc! 😉 I definitely don’t think men are as vain as women in this regard (though I’m sure there are always some exceptions) but I also don’t think women are as critical of men’s physical looks as men are of women’s—present male commenters excluded, of course!
You said you used a photo your wife took. My best photos have always been ones Ken has taken. Not only do I feel most comfortable with him, but he knows how to make me smile like none other.
Good morning. Great post. I had the great privilege and honor recently to meet Debbie Macomber in Italy of all places. I was standing in line to see the DAVID in Florence and looked up and did a double take. I could not believe it was really her! Flashing through my head were the usual…Is it really her? No way…could it be? It looks like her….I knew it was her! I had recently read her book, One Perfect Word. Her picture is on the front. Not in a million years did I ever think I would be meeting a gifted author in Italy. But God is gracious and good and full of mercy. I knew I did not want to bother her in the museum, so I had to go up to her then, if at all. I did. I am so glad. She exudes joy. One thing she said to me…”How did you recognize me? I do not look anything like my publicity photos.” “I don’t know…you are Debbie Macomber!” It was a sweet moment. Again, she is full of joy and kindness. I was proud of the fact that no one else was the wiser. She was on holiday and I did not want to bring attention to her. It was a gift from God. I thought she looked just like herself. I look forward to the day that maybe my path will cross with yours. I will look for the sweet smile. Blessings.
What a great story, Gail! I’ve met Debbie Macomber too (not in Italy! THAT was extra special!!) and she is just as sweet and kind as you say. And I DO think she looks just like her publicity photo. By the way, you are very thoughtful to choose a time to talk to Debbie that wasn’t interruptive and that didn’t draw attention so that she could enjoy her vacation.
LOL about my photo Deb! I’ll let you into a little secret.
If you go back to WOP to Kim’s post on April 11th 2013, you will see a couple of photos that were taken with Kim, Judy, Patti Jo, Carol and myself when we stayed with Kim and Don. They were good photos of all of us. We had the most wonderful time and as you can imagine Patti Jo’s husband(Hugh) and my husband (Pete) took shelter in Don’s man cave LOL It was such a special time with all of them.. ..an awesome holiday and one I will NEVER forget! 🙂
Ah-ha! I found you! And now that you mention it, I remember those posts (back when I was only a READER of WOP). Those ARE great photos of all of you. I’ve been to Kim and Don’s King’s Inn several times (it’s only about 45 minutes from us) and it is a beautiful place!
Now, you need to zoom in on one of those wonderful photos of you and add it to your profile! Just sayin’! 😉
Hi Deborah!
Thank you for being so honest! I don’t care to have my picture taken very often, though I do manage okay for the requisite family and group photos. I’m usually the one blinking, or sneezing, or making a weird face at something someone said. 🙂
I’m not sure what to think about photo shopping. I hate it on magazines and commercials, because I know most of those are horribly fake, but there’s a young lady out there somewhere who believes it’s real and now feels awful about her appearance. The entertainment industry has taken it so far that almost every young woman I know has struggled with believing she’s ugly, or that she doesn’t measure up.
But there’s also the flip side where you use it to slightly enhance your photos, but don’t make major changes or adjustments. I think it’s kind of like most things in life – it’s mostly context and intent.
I’m not sure I answered your question, but that’s the best I’ve got right now. 🙂
~Sarah
Oh, Sarah, that is SUCH a good point about what the sleek, perfect, Photoshopped models on the covers of magazines do to the self-images of young women. There’s no way anyone could possibly achieve such beauty because it’s not even REAL! Not to mention, it places a value on physical beauty that is not God’s definition of beauty by a long shot. Oh, that we could learn to look at people with His eyes: “…the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7b
I personally like the first one, straight from the camera. I don’t like photoshopping. So many young girls are fooled by them and try to achieve the impossible. Everyone should be real. I appreciate what Jaime Lee Curtis is doing in this area. My current Facebook profile was taken on a camping trip, sans makeup and even though I shudder when I look at it, it IS the real me….funny though, I got no comments at all when I posted it, good or bad…ummmm
I know what you’re saying, Gail, but at the same time, I don’t see anything wrong with making ourselves look as good as possible. We all (hopefully) bathe and comb our hair and put on decent clothes before we go out in public. That’s just thoughtful for the rest of the world who has to look at us. LOL! Just because we comb our hair, put on a little makeup, or wear a color that is flattering, or add a pretty necklace or earrings doesn’t mean we’re not being our “real” selves. But like you say, it’s when we try to give an impression that’s not even possible, that we might do harm.
I love this post. It’s so true!! Because I work with graphic design (when I’m not writing or planning Disney vacations for clients), I am well aware of the impact and influence of photoshopping. I edit almost EVERY picture, but there is a difference between altering a photo and altering the subject of a photo. The first makes up for mistakes in lighting, focus, contrast and color exposure. The second tries to make up for perceived flaws in the person.
Notice I say “percieved” flaws. We can all find a million things we “wrong” with ourselves, but some of those “flaws” can actually attract others to us. Your freckles, for example. I have ALWAYS wanted freckles on my nose. I love them! I think they’re adorable and would (as a child) draw them on face all the time. My mother hated it and, eventually, I grew to be (somewhat) content with my fleckle-less face.
And there’s my point, I guess. We are who we are and people love us for being just that. Hiding the “real” us is more trouble than it’s worth.
Excellent point, Tanya, about much of photoshopping being about lighting, focus, color, cropping, etc. As an example, for whatever reason, my photos straight out of the camera almost felt like they had a fog over them. Changing the brightness, exposure, etc., actually made them look MORE like the light in my office actually was the day we shot the photos.
I actually love freckles…unfortunately, at my age, they’re called “age spots” so what I would have loved at 20, I now want to cover up. (The hips and thighs I hated at 20, I’d give anything to have back. LOL!)
Here’s the thing: I wish I had my daughters’ blue or hazel eyes, because mine are brown. I wish I had my sister’s curly hair because mine is thin and stick-straight… Something in us seems to want exactly the opposite of what God gifted us with. And again, we need to STOP IT right now! (I’m yelling at ME, as much as at any of the rest of us.)
I’ve so appreciated everyone’s well-thought-out comments!
Love your honesty–and your humor, Deb! I don’t feel that it’s dishonest to add some digital artwork to a headshot, as long as it doesn’t go too far. After all, most of us ladies wear makeup when we go out so we can present our best selves to the world, so it doesn’t seem that much different to make sure our professional image looks the best it can be.
In the spirit of disclosure, let me add that that I’ve worked for a professional portrait photographer for over a decade, not as a photographer but as a writer. So I value a well-done portrait. I’ve had friends come to the studio for headshots, and once I made the digital artists back off on the artwork. I wanted my friend to look like the beautiful, mature woman she is, not a 70s leftover glamour girl.
I believe that we all do the best we can with what we have, so we may as well be comfortable in our own skin. I’ve heard people come along with friends or family members to pick up up portraits say they can’t get their portrait done because they have to lose weight or grow out their hair or any other excuse. That’s unfortunate because those who care for them would value having them in a portrait or simply having a portrait of them. You never know how life will twist or turn, and a portrait of a loved on becomes a cherished treasure. We need to lighten up on ourselves and enjoy being us. Don’t duck out of snapshots or untag yourself because you think you could look better. My point — and I’m sorry for the ramble — is we need to just take a deep breath, relax, and smile for the camera. In my humble opinion, the purpose for a professional portrait is to help us to connect with others, it’s not to immortalize ourselves. So, it’s not really all about “me.”
Good points, Megan, and you reminded me to encourage those of you who are photographers to not be too shy to ask someone to take the camera from you and make sure that YOU are in a few shots! Too often, the family photographer looks like they were never even at family reunions because they felt too vain to ask someone to please get a couple of shots of THEM.
And those of you who have someone in your family who always takes the photos: don’t make the photographer ask! OFFER to get behind the lens and take a few photos so the person who usually has the camera can be in a few pictures. My sisters are both so good about this—if I’m the one with the camera, they will always offer to take a couple of photos so that I can be “present and accounted for” too! I SO appreciate that!
Loved your post, Deborah!!
I agree with some of the other comments – I think you are beautiful in all three of the photos!!
I agree that beauty truly is “in the eye of the beholder” and the heart of the person being viewed. I’m thinking of a lady whose facial features were unattractive to me when I first met her – now that she is a friend, I don’t even notice those features that I was initially drawn to.Too bad that often we have been programmed to automatically look at the attractiveness of one’s bodily features when meeting them for the first time and tend to “judge a book by it’s cover” rather than what’s inside. We could miss knowing some true masterpieces by doing this. Re: PhotoShopping – I prefer to view a person as they truly are.
Blessings to you, Deborah – love viewing your posts on author’s gardens!!
Bonnie, thanks for those insights. Sometimes—especially when I’m in a room full of “beautiful people”—when I’m worrying that I don’t measure up to the other gorgeous women in the room, I try to remind myself that I can INSTANTLY become more beautiful by smiling, being friendly, asking people about themselves, helping someone in need, etc. I can only do so much with makeup and even PhotoShop, but if I do my best to reflect my Creator, that goes a long way toward making me “look” better.
I’m so glad to know you’re enjoying the authors’ gardens! I’ve had so much fun collecting them on the blog!
Oh Deb – – you are beautiful!! 🙂 I have never, ever seen a bad photo of you, and the times I’ve seen you in person you’re even prettier than your photos (I am serious—this is NOT flattery!).
But your comments DID give me some chuckles today, so I appreciate your frankness (is that a word?). 😉
I think we all tend to be hard on ourselves when we view our own photos, but as you mentioned above – – it’s SO important for us to be beautiful on the INSIDE, and I keep working to improve on that. 🙂
Hugs, Patti Jo
Right back atcha, Patti Jo! But I could show you a couple of photos of me that would make you eat your words! LOL! I am VERY leery of people with these big ol’ honkin’ telephoto lenses at conferences who take photos when you don’t know they’re shooting you, and don’t give you time to crane your neck and smile purty, and make sure you don’t have spinach in your teeth!!! Ugh! 😉 Always love to see your comments here!
Talk about hilarious timing! I just got back from another state where I visited my new grandbaby. Both my girls live there with their families. One is a professional photographer with her hubby and I told her since “grampa” cannot take a decent picture of me and I cannot keep taking pictures of myself in the mirror (as I was always on the camera end of things), then I needed a picture just like you did. So after the new baby got his cute pics with his family then they did a short photo shoot with me. After a bunch of scary DL and Passport photos I wasn’t looking to be impressed. But when my son-in-law took the pics, I was impressed and I told them not to take out wrinkles, etc. I said EXACTLY what you mentioned. I saw myself at a book signing some day and the women grimacing and saying “She is OLD.” Don’t want to shock anyone. This blog came up after I just got home. Too funny.
And all the pics of you look great and I don’t honestly notice any big difference.
I used to tell my girls…People do not see your nose or your chin or whatever…they see you as a whole picture and that picture is nice.
That cracks me up, Sandy! I love the timing! And I’m so glad you were happy with the photos your son-in-law took! (Now why don’t you put one of them on your profile so it shows up here when you post!?)
Congrats on that new grandbaby too! So glad you stopped by the blog.
Funny and refreshing, Deb. Loved it and can so relate! Thanks for the chuckle and the reassurance that I am not alone in these womanly worries!
Thanks, Julie. Glad it made you smile. 🙂
Hey! I saw this post this morning and it made me think of the conversation we all had here. The before and after cracked me up, but the points she makes after are so good, too. Enjoy. 🙂
http://momastery.com/blog/2014/06/08/beauty-routine/
Tanya, that was fantastic! The before and after cracked me up too. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing the link!