But I don’t like how I look in photos. And the camera most definitely does not love my face. Now, stating that I think photos of me don’t reveal how attractive I look in real life could be a sign of either (a) incredible vanity or (b) incredible confidence. However, I’ve had my sad failure at being photogenic confirmed many times. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve met someone who has seen my author photo, only to hear that person say, in complete shock, “but ... you are so much better looking in person!”
Umm ... thanks?
Anyway, because of such experiences, learning about the Panasonic Lumix FX77 made me so excited because it has two fabulous features: the Cosmetic and Beauty Retouch modes!
Just take a photo of yourself (or someone else), and with the Cosmetic mode add, well, cosmetics: blush, lipstick, eye shadow and so forth. And the Beauty Retouch mode is even better: Whiten teeth! Lift and thin faces! Do away with dark circles under the eyes (a particular bane of mine)! Erase those wrinkles!
I set off on an Internet search to see where I could get such a fabulous camera, and how much it would cost and learned ... I can’t. At least, I couldn’t find a U.S. retailer. The easiest way I discovered to acquire a Panasonic Lumix FX77 was through the Amazon.co.uk portal, where the camera costs 249.99 pounds and “dispatches in 1 to 3 months.” And that’s in the U.K. By the time the camera dispatched to me in the U.S., I’d really have dark circles from waiting for the device to arrive at my door.
Frankly, I’m surprised the camera isn’t readily available in the U.S. (Or maybe it is, but my lack of camera mojo keeps me from finding it.) I’m also surprised there isn’t a version that has modes for Shed Weight, Add Height, Poof Hair, Couture My Clothes, Augment Curves. There could even be an Oh-What-The-Heck-Just-Make-Me-Look-Like-Gwyneth-Paltrow Mode. But, truth be told, I never got around to figuring out what 249.99 pounds is in U.S. dollars, or the cost to dispatch this camera to my house. Because while doing this research, this thought snuck up on me: are photos, the photos that really matter to us, really about vanity over how we look?
Or about capturing moments from shared experiences with beloved family and friends: commemorating a birthday or holiday or special event, visiting a new place, or just laughing and being goofy ... in all our wrinkled, droopy, unmade-up, double-chinned, dark-eye-circled glory?
I think they are about the latter. Because, truth be told, browsing through photos shouldn’t evoke picking apart how people look in them, but instead feelings about the people caught in that moment of time and memories of whatever inspired someone to pick up a camera and take the photo in the first place. That, I think, is the true beauty of photographs.
Sharon Short’s column runs Monday in Life. Send e-mail to sharonshort@sharonshort.com.
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