Selfies

To filter or not to filter (or how much to filter) is a serious question to ask oneself when taking photos that you hope will ultimately be of some interest to the viewer. I consider myself to be very good at taking appealing “natural-like” selfies without extreme filterage. But, I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I’d (usually) rather look at a photo absent of red eyes and blurry objects.

No big secret that when you practice anything enough, you get better at it. I’m not going to lie; I’ve practiced, a lot. In fact, years ago I remember telling a close friend that I had so many selfies of me in my computer that it looked like I was stalking myself! 😂

Taking a selfwie is not much different than taking a selfie except when the “other” hasn’t practiced as much as yourself and then you are struggling to take a natural looking, exceptional selfwie with someone who has no idea about lighting, where to look, what not to wear, or where never to snap the selfwie! Those of you who are adept at taking selfies know what I’m talking about. Keeping it real, even if you decide to use filters, they can only do so much!

The buzz I’m hearing is that there are many out there who want to see completely unfiltered photos. Yet, interestingly, there are hundreds of apps with filters for your photos. The question I have then is whether to filter or not to filter? Do you feel that filters are for those with the need to feed their egos or that it’s cool to live out a little Hollywood? Would you rather see the cigarette-stained front teeth or have them whitened for the photo?

The photo above is unfiltered, no make-up, end of night, after a few drinks and a lot of laughs. To me, I see value in leaving the photo as is. It’s captured the moment perfectly. That’s what photos are supposed to do, right? But there are other moments that—in my opinion—don’t need to be captured. Like the one my sister took of me on the dance floor with my arm around a friend’s shoulder doing the can-can with my tummy peaking out beneath my shirt; THAT I’d rather not remember, or even have lived. I’m perfectly fine with filtering out my tummy fat. In fact, I wish my sister had before she decided to post on FB. 😩

So, what do you think? Au natural or Hollywood? Curious minds want to know. Well, me, I want to know.