Full disclosure (well, almost...)

Well, not everything is picture perfect.....but the world doesn't necessarily need to know that.

As much as I love social media, it does have a down side. It gives the users not only a veil to hide their imperfections behind, but it also exposes us to the "perfection" of others. Interesting, huh!

It's kind of a paradox how WE compare ourselves to others, and a lot of that is based on what others CHOOSE to show us. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm linking up with Marcia from  Marcia's Healthy Slice  for the Runfessions link-up. I've had a lot of positive comments on some recent photos (which I appreciate) ...but I'm coming clean and 'fessing up, and disclosing the truth behind them. I invite you to head over and check out what else is being Runfessed...

First of all.....Selfies. I must Runfess that I take several pics of the same (or similar) pose before I actually choose one suitable for posting. Sometimes the wind blows my hair goofy. Other times, a car does a drive-by and I glance at it...just as the timer goes off. Quite often, the timer simply fails to function, or I forget to turn it "on"..... and the camera snaps a pic of me "setting" the timer.

#timerfail (Actually, this pic garnered a LOT of positive feedback on Instagram for the spontaneity of the moment)

Secondly, I runfess that it can be a challenge to find that perfect angle. Being the art geek that I am, I take this photography stuff kind of seriously. I like more of a minimalist approach. Instead of elaborate locations, I prefer to do a simple setting but use an interesting camera angle to make the shot interesting. Sometimes I get a great composition, sometimes not....

Ok, this angle of the bow pose seemed like a good idea.....

Thirdly, there's the timing. My phone's camera has the options of three seconds or ten seconds for the timer. Often times, three seconds is just not enough time to get in position, and ten seconds can feel like an eternity if you're trying to hold a difficult yoga pose....or if the sudden urge to sneeze should strike you.

oops! here comes the sneeze

A forth thing to runfess is the setting itself. There's nothing more disappointing than capturing a great pose, with ideal lighting...only to notice a mess in the foreground of that "perfect" picture.

Decent pic of the pose....but would you look at the dust on the floor? #housekeepingfail

And what about our less-than-perfect bodies? All of us have certain features we'd rather not share with the world. But, it's those very features that make us real and they showcase our humanness. But, even though I strongly believe in "keeping it real," I must runfess that I don't always like sharing it.

I like the halo of light behind me...but, ummm, the tummy is kind of sagging over the waistband...

So, what's a runner (who also enjoys striking a yoga pose now and then) supposed to do?  There are a few tricks I have learned to tweak a less-than-perfect picture and make it much better.

For example, I liked how the pic on the left turned out with the light over my shoulder....zooming in for a closer shot and using a filter (sorry, I forget which one!) to further brighten the light gave it a more pleasing composition.

Have you ever attempted to hold a crow pose? It's very difficult, especially for this balance-challenged gal.  I was, however, able to hold it long enough for the split-second capture of the timer on my phone.  The pic on the left was alright, but a filter (again, not sure which one I used) helped to enhance the color.

Why not do a Chaturunga pose in the snow?  Outside, in the bright daylight, though, the khaki pants almost looked like I was not wearing anything from a distance. How about we zoom in for a closer look, and brighten up the colors a bit? Much better!

Remember this pose? A sideways shot better showcased the pose, and changing it to a black & white pic made the background less distracting.

A different angle of the Chaturunga pose, from earlier in the day, inside the house. A little bit of a zoom-in, and some color-brightening helped give this pic a little more pop.

Just finishing a glorious run in very cold temps made me feel ever-so-victorious! But the pic looked a little dark...so I brightened the colors and softened the focus, giving it a bit of a dream-like quality.

And most have seen this image of myself and Max, taken on his birthday recently. I was having a difficult time getting a pic of the two of us because he kept trying to kiss me instead of "smiling" for the camera. After several failed attempts, I realized this pic actually was pretty perfect in its own right. By changing it to black and white, the focus was drawn to the actual subjects in the photo...and not the background stuff. Honestly, I think it evokes a lot more emotion, and the details are a lot more pronounced without the distraction of color.

So, there you have it. A few runfessions for now...stay tuned, there will be more to come. Do you have several "failed" attempts at selfies? Do you keep them or delete them? Do you play around with filters and photo editing?