Do You Hate How You Look in Photos?

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We live in a world full of smartphones, and most of us always have our phone—and its camera—right at our fingertips. We’re always ready to capture a moment with our kids, our pets, our family and friends, our co-workers.

Maybe you were in a group photo at a family event. Or you and your friend took a selfie together, which your friend later posted on Facebook or Instagram. How do you typically react to seeing photos like these?

It’s fun to go back and look at your photos, right?

Well, maybe not.

What’s the first thought that pops into your head when you do?

If you’re anything like the clients I work with, I think I can guess the answer.

I’d bet that most people, women especially, no matter their size or shape, feel a little insecure when they see themselves in photos.

And it can be especially uncomfortable to see yourself in photos while you’re in the process of trying to lose weight. You might be putting a lot of pressure on yourself to make progress as fast as possible, hoping that all your efforts will result in changes that everyone can see sooner rather than later

You may feel awkward and unattractive when you see yourself in a photograph because it isn’t how you think you look.

You might have an image in your mind of what you would like to look like—maybe it’s a younger version of yourself. Maybe it’s a version of you wearing a certain size of clothing. And you’re comparing it to what you see in the photograph.

You might have a vision of yourself as you once were at a certain weight, and you’re stuck on that number. You compare your weight and size now to the weight and size you were in the past and come up lacking. Even if those old numbers are no longer realistic for you.

It can be hard to see yourself rationally or in the same way as others, so you focus on the negatives. And that’s why sometimes we hate seeing ourselves in photographs: the images don’t always reflect how we feel about or see ourselves; or how “we imagine” what others may see in us.

Let’s all remember that photographs are not about being perfect. They’re about communicating a feeling and freeze-framing a moment in our lives. Please don’t let vanity be the reason to avoid the camera. Life doesn’t wait until you get “slim enough” to capture it. Be in photos. Far from being a constant reminder of how much weight you want to lose, they’ll hopefully be images you’ll look back on for years to come and think, for example, “Wow, wasn’t that the trip of a lifetime?”

Life is happening right now, and the only moments we are guaranteed are the ones we are living. And don’t you want to leave behind pictures of your life with you in it?

Everyone looks different in photos than in real life.

And everyone, from time to time, feels self-conscious about how they look in a photo.

Yes, mirrors do reflect an image of ourselves back to us.

But we can CHANGE the image.

Start now.