I did a photoshoot for a friend this week.
The photos came back and within what must have been 30 seconds, I had found at least five things I didn't like.
My nose looked weird. (I’ve been looking at it for over three decades now. Still gets to me.) There was cellulite visible. I didn't like the way I was standing. Etc. etc.
Then I showed the same photo to my friend. Her first reaction was: “Oh my god, this colour looks so lovely on you.” And for a second, I was like - Oh. She didn’t see my thighs!
None of the things I had managed to notice within the first 30 seconds were even part of what she saw.
And then I wondered, am I the only one who does this?
Because the strange thing is, I don't think I look at anyone else's photographs this way.
If a friend sends me a photo, I'm not zooming in on her nose either. I'm not inspecting her thighs. I'm not thinking she should have stood three degrees differently.
But give me a photograph of myself and suddenly I’m an expert in every department of what could be wrong with me.
