Before and After Pics

[~Trixie~ 0]

Before and after pics are great. They're extremely inspirational...but I am so sick of seeing the pictures that people take at specific angles to make themselves look thinner. C'mon people! Don't just be honest with us, be honest with YOURSELF! Stop holding the camera higher then your face and sticking your neck out. You're not fooling anyone but yourself!

[Teal 0]

I just like to see the before and after pictures, period. Keep them coming you guys.

[luluc 6]

Trixie - For Real??

I don't know if I'll ever have the courage as some of those who post their before / after pictures here on the internet for EVERYONE to see - but I'm pretty sure calling them out for what you view as "camera trickery" - NOT a healthy way to applaud weight loss of any kind.

[georgia girl 35]

I don't post in the rant and raves that much anymore unless it has to do with weight loss or health issues. I seriously can't believe you posted that. I guess some people prefer to break people down instead of building them up.

[Boo Boo Kitty 3]

WOW! Have you ever thought that you are the ONLY one with the real issue?? I also can't believe you posted this. I guess you were in the need for some attention and can't get it any other way???

[vessa 1]

i echo this, yall said it better than i can, but i just wanted to add, boo boo kitty, you look awesome! what an inspiration. i started around same weight, but took 9 pregnant months off! Congradulations to you!

[green 6]

I just love those before and after pics. I think that they are all truly sensational. Why spend time worrying about such issues as the subject's pose and this biz of flattering angles? Why view the care that may have been taken in order to have that photo shot from a flattering angle as being suspect? As being untrue?

We will all, whether we are fat, thin, supermodels, movie stars, or whatever, take care to present ourselves in our most attractive light. This is nothing more than a normal human response to having your picture taken. We all want to look our best.

I think that those before, during, and after pics are wonderful. I am flabberghasted by the courage that it takes for these individuals to place themselves out there on the net in order to be examined, sometimes critically, by the rest of us who have access to a computer and to the internet.

My advice to you would be to have another look at all of those photos and to forget about flattering sight lines, etc. Examine them carefully and make a point of reading, too, the background memoranda. Those photos really are extraordinary testaments, I think. I hope that you will come to appreciate all of these wonderful shots.

[~Trixie~ 0]

Never once did I mention specific people, though I could.

My comment was not to belittle the accomplishments that people have made. If I truly were looking to do that, wouldn't I call these people out to their faces?

I'm just saying that among the many reasons that most of us have become overweight in the first place is because we have misconstrued body images (whether we believe that we are fatter than we actually are, and continue on in our vicious cycle of weight gain, or we believe that we are actually thinner than we are, and become complacent and stop trying so hard to lose weight). I really believe people need to be honest with themselves. One of the ways is to take accurate pictures of themselves.

And no, I am not an attention whore. I was merely stating my opinion, which I believed I could safely do in Rants and Raves.

Thank you all for replying.

[~Trixie~ 0]

Maybe I should also mention that I have a background in photography, so my eye is trained to scrutinize photographs.

[Gone4Now 4]

Just my .02, but when I take my pic, I'm sometimes higher/lower, depending on where I can put the camera. I'm the one in the family that takes the pics...and I'm the ONLY one taking the naked progress ones. I haven't posted any - and probably never will - but I notice I'm always sticking out my neck. But, I'v been doing that since I was in grade school. I hate the double chin looking back at me.

It's not so much trickerery, but just a habit from being fat forever, and having to rely on my best angle judgement when taking my own picture. If my daughter is taking the pic, then God help me - I know it won't be flattering from that angle! :rolleyes2:

[Daisalana 33]

I don't even see the point of your post, except to be a troll? :rolleyes2:

[green 6]

Never once did I mention specific people, though I could.

My comment was not to belittle the accomplishments that people have made. If I truly were looking to do that, wouldn't I call these people out to their faces?

I'm just saying that among the many reasons that most of us have become overweight in the first place is because we have misconstrued body images (whether we believe that we are fatter than we actually are, and continue on in our vicious cycle of weight gain, or we believe that we are actually thinner than we are, and become complacent and stop trying so hard to lose weight). I really believe people need to be honest with themselves. One of the ways is to take accurate pictures of themselves.

And no, I am not an attention whore. I was merely stating my opinion, which I believed I could safely do in Rants and Raves.

Thank you all for replying.

Oh, Trix, we all have buggered up body images, grrl! Weight issues are just so hideously complicated, especially for women. This is why we see skinny chicks dieting obsessively. This also happens to be one of the problems which many of us experience as we lose weight - we figure that we are still fatties even though our bodies have changed. This is one of the topics of discussion on this site, an interesting one for me because I am now a thin Green but still think of myself as a fatty grrl. (I simply cannot adjust.)

I really don't think that taking passport-style photos of ourselves will result in a big psychological leap forward. We are all kinda fragile but we are also all working at whittling away at our weight issues, the external and internal ones, as best as we can.

Do you really think that a misconstrued body image can be solved by subjecting yourself to one hideously accurate picture? Like I said, enjoy those pics for what they are. Each and everyone of those individuals has lost weight. That they have made other changes, more attractive hair-dos, happy smiles, a more careful pose, etc is only further evidence of the success which they are experiencing on their own individual weight loss journeys. I am nuts about those photos.

[pippinje 0]

People naturally want to make themselves look better. I say keep them coming, and if you want to poke your neck out or twist your head around like the exorcist, it's your own business and no one else's. I commend you on your courage to post the pics in the first place, and funny enough, just because of the simple fact that someone would have something negative to say about them.

[~Trixie~ 0]

Thank you Green for your sensitive and thoughtful replies to my post. I don't post just to shoot my mouth off. I actually appreciate other's points of view. An open dialog is one of the best learning tools available. You brought up many good points that I hadn't considered. Thank you for taking the time to gently and tactfully put me in my place.

[cakegal 0]

OMG! I went on this sight to see before and after pics, they are always so encouraging, no matter what angle. I didn't realize this was a rant. I appreciate the photography eye, (I don't have one) but what makes you think only fat people manipulate the camera to their advantage. We are not the only people with image problems, and coming from a fashion stand point, if I can manipulate the camera to make me look thinner, even at my goal weight, well you bet I'm gonna do it! You may have a photographic mind but I think you should leave the psych stuff to the professionals and "Dr., heal they self".