Picture imPerfect
There is a new phenomenon and it is concentrated amongst the:
working class to the aristocrat
consumerist
certain (economically stable) parts of the world
and it is used/practiced by those who are:
trained to believe that a certain mould of 'good looking' exists
vain
prone to assume that a blotch in the picture is to the detriment of everyone else featured in it, and therefore must be immediately corrected
even if no one else is featured, posterity warrants certain degrees of 'perfection'
used to posing in a manner deemed most flattering to them
Welcome to the era of the Photo Whore! A prime feature in this age of digital cameras, when bad shots can be instanteneously removed, bad poses corrected with two clicks of the finger [one to delete shot with bad pose, and another to capture improved pose which does not look too dissimilar from former bad pose]; leaving people looking marginally more photogenic and feeling a hundred times more assured of their physical appearance on screen.
The generous amount of storage space on digi-cams (abbreviation) has allowed consumers the world over the privilege of snapping and deleting and printing, snapping deleting printing pictures till they are satisfied. But! as we all know full well already, satisfaction is never fully attained in this consumerist age. Maxed out a memory card? Insert a new one! No new ones? delete old pictures where you looked a tad chubbier, with smile and eyes less brilliant. Perfectionists can be vicious.
Just like movie stars, we all presume, practise their smiles and poses privately to prepare for public display; the Photo Whore respects the need to set aside time to put into action this movie-star work ethic. I have noticed this one female who got someone [or was it herself? Note the Photo Whore tends to have longer arms as he/she takes shots of him/herself in private (and gosh! sometimes even when there are others around)] to take a picture of her. The shocking thing was how in two totally different settings, she adopts the Exact Same Pose, from tilt of the head to corners of her smile to how wide her eyes were open. Being able to do the Exact Same Pose is rather damning evidence of being a Photo Whore [for when does nature see beauty in replicas alone?].
Another characteristic of the Whore is his/her insistence on taking photos whenever, wherever even if other parties are not that enthusiastic on taking photos. The prime focus of the picture, is not beautiful scenery or cute animals hanging around; it is rather the Photo Whore. His/her presence and domination of the picture landscape has negated most of the significance of what lies in the background to the point that the latter becomes merely a backdrop, a mere incidence. You only realise what the background means when you scroll through the inventory of pictures and see the pictures without humans in them. Conversation may sound like this:
'Ohhhh, I see, you went to the Great Ocean Road... that's one of the Apostles. And look! You're standing next to it. I almost thought it was your uncle you were posing with.'
For all we know, Anonymous' uncle may simply be apologetically un-photogenic and in need of tips from some Photo Whores as to how he may improve his appearance in pictures. When he has perfected the skill, he can join the group of Photo Whores and take endless pictures with them, snapping and deleting at will.
But note the hesitation to stereotype females as being the sole perpetrators of this crime. There are Closet Photo Whores which includes any and everyone who has ever used the digital camera to forward his/her agenda to look and feel better [even if and especially when it comes at the expense of others].
In addition, people from certain parts of the world has grown increasingly more photogenic. And this is all that truly matters because when it comes to preserving objects for the sake of posterity, it is important that grandchildren and great-grandchildren understand that they have inherited great genes.
Of course there are those who are photogenic even without practise in front of the lens. However this is no excuse for the less photogenic of the very photogenic to be lax or take a back seat. Better work on it otherwise all will be lost to the Whore who works hard at achieving the fruits of pixelated perfection.
Resolute? Resolution =)
working class to the aristocrat
consumerist
certain (economically stable) parts of the world
and it is used/practiced by those who are:
trained to believe that a certain mould of 'good looking' exists
vain
prone to assume that a blotch in the picture is to the detriment of everyone else featured in it, and therefore must be immediately corrected
even if no one else is featured, posterity warrants certain degrees of 'perfection'
used to posing in a manner deemed most flattering to them
Welcome to the era of the Photo Whore! A prime feature in this age of digital cameras, when bad shots can be instanteneously removed, bad poses corrected with two clicks of the finger [one to delete shot with bad pose, and another to capture improved pose which does not look too dissimilar from former bad pose]; leaving people looking marginally more photogenic and feeling a hundred times more assured of their physical appearance on screen.
The generous amount of storage space on digi-cams (abbreviation) has allowed consumers the world over the privilege of snapping and deleting and printing, snapping deleting printing pictures till they are satisfied. But! as we all know full well already, satisfaction is never fully attained in this consumerist age. Maxed out a memory card? Insert a new one! No new ones? delete old pictures where you looked a tad chubbier, with smile and eyes less brilliant. Perfectionists can be vicious.
Just like movie stars, we all presume, practise their smiles and poses privately to prepare for public display; the Photo Whore respects the need to set aside time to put into action this movie-star work ethic. I have noticed this one female who got someone [or was it herself? Note the Photo Whore tends to have longer arms as he/she takes shots of him/herself in private (and gosh! sometimes even when there are others around)] to take a picture of her. The shocking thing was how in two totally different settings, she adopts the Exact Same Pose, from tilt of the head to corners of her smile to how wide her eyes were open. Being able to do the Exact Same Pose is rather damning evidence of being a Photo Whore [for when does nature see beauty in replicas alone?].
Another characteristic of the Whore is his/her insistence on taking photos whenever, wherever even if other parties are not that enthusiastic on taking photos. The prime focus of the picture, is not beautiful scenery or cute animals hanging around; it is rather the Photo Whore. His/her presence and domination of the picture landscape has negated most of the significance of what lies in the background to the point that the latter becomes merely a backdrop, a mere incidence. You only realise what the background means when you scroll through the inventory of pictures and see the pictures without humans in them. Conversation may sound like this:
'Ohhhh, I see, you went to the Great Ocean Road... that's one of the Apostles. And look! You're standing next to it. I almost thought it was your uncle you were posing with.'
For all we know, Anonymous' uncle may simply be apologetically un-photogenic and in need of tips from some Photo Whores as to how he may improve his appearance in pictures. When he has perfected the skill, he can join the group of Photo Whores and take endless pictures with them, snapping and deleting at will.
But note the hesitation to stereotype females as being the sole perpetrators of this crime. There are Closet Photo Whores which includes any and everyone who has ever used the digital camera to forward his/her agenda to look and feel better [even if and especially when it comes at the expense of others].
In addition, people from certain parts of the world has grown increasingly more photogenic. And this is all that truly matters because when it comes to preserving objects for the sake of posterity, it is important that grandchildren and great-grandchildren understand that they have inherited great genes.
Of course there are those who are photogenic even without practise in front of the lens. However this is no excuse for the less photogenic of the very photogenic to be lax or take a back seat. Better work on it otherwise all will be lost to the Whore who works hard at achieving the fruits of pixelated perfection.
Resolute? Resolution =)
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