Take My Pic! "Click, Click"

What do they say; a Picture is worth a thousand words? I tend to agree. When you look at a picture, you see that image where time stood still. That single snapshot brings you back to that moment, that memory, where you were smiling, maybe laughing, or maybe shedding some happy tears. It is a window into some memory you want to keep. The Chinese say, “One Picture is Worth Ten Thousand Words” which makes sense because with pictures there is always a story to tell or place you have been.

I love having my picture taken.  I love laughing, posing, and sometimes just being silly.

How about when you are taking pictures with your children, that is an ordeal in itself and you want them to be smiling at the same time, and not to fidget too much. Then inevitably, you burst out laughing. Those are the best pictures those spontaneous ones that you love. 

Do you get pictures of yourself and hate the way you look? I have always disliked the way I look in pictures. I am wondering why. Does this stem from childhood the way we were raised or just in the genes? I know my grandmother did not like her picture taken because she said that your spirit was taken from you. Then she said it was only a superstition.

I asked my husband about this and he said he doesn’t like his picture taken and he dislikes the way he looks in pictures too. I have to wonder why some people feel this way about seeing themselves in pictures. 

I know I cannot be the only one who does not like their picture taken. It is not that I do not like how I look, or whether there is a particularly good side. I just don’t think that in my head that is what I look like. I have been told as I am getting older, that I look like my mother, which would be a wonderful compliment, as she was a beautiful woman, but I don’t see any likeliness to her in pictures.

Then I wondered if this had anything to do with vanity because I am getting older.

I have never been vain, and even as a child I never liked myself in pictures.

My children love having their pictures taken and they love every one that is taken of them. I do not like the pictures of myself with my children, so maybe this is a lack of self-image. If it is something like that, then mine must be shot. I dislike pictures of myself and really abhor close-ups. Have you had someone surprise you by taking your picture when you are just getting up from bed? Yikes!

Maybe it is that pictures tend to make you look heavier. Maybe, it is that pictures show every flaw you have. Is it like looking in the mirror? When you look in a mirror, you do not see yourself as you do in a picture. The image of you shows you at that moment how you were feeling and I am thinking that maybe it is what I do not like. I think it is because pictures stop time and when I look back at that picture it is part of my past and that is eerie to me.

I do not know what it is about me not liking myself in pictures, but it is “food for thought.” Maybe my grandmother was right and your spirit is taken away with every picture. As I get older, I do not know if I am going to be in any more pictures and I do not know if I agree with my grandmother’s superstitious thinking.