Thursday, January 28, 2016

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?

52 comments:

  1. I love that pic of you and Max! I hope we all know by now that nobody's Instagram is intended to portray reality. Like you I aim for what is visually pleasing to ME. It's fun but gah it takes so much time jacking around with the camera. Thanks for linking up!

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    1. I LOVE your link-up!! Gah is right! It does take a lot of extra time getting the pics just right....and that's just the "capturing the moment" aspect LOL

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  2. I am so not photo/tech savvy! Admittedly, I don't even try to learn more. I use picmonkey to crop things but that's about it! I do enjoy looking at cool pictures on blogs though. :)

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    1. I use PicMonkey a lot, too! I make most of my memes, etc. there because it's so easy adding text ;-)

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  3. This is a great post ! I love taking pictures but don't spend enough time on it... even though I feel I am pretty good with the basics. I have just started using a timer and so far ? Yeah, I suck ! Head cut off, not even in the picture, etc.
    Thanks for sharing what really goes on behind selfies.

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    1. I have only been using my timer for a couple months, and have not experimented much with the abundance of apps...yet. Baby steps. I'm a little scared to have so much available to enhance my stuff...it kind of goes against my minimalist ideology (yeah, first world probs)

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  4. I love this breakdown. Half the time I end up not sharing a photo because I couldn't get it "just right" and I have a hard time capturing poses that could be appropriate in a non-fitness setting!

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    1. Someone told me a long time ago to just take a bunch of quick pics...and go back and crop them down afterwards. It'll drive you nutzo if you try to have everything perfectly centered, etc. as you're taking the pic LOL

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  5. I need to up my selfie game in a big way. I'm trying, but you have far more prowess and I feel inadequate.

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    1. Funny thing is...my kids gave me a selfie stick for Christmas (probably as a joke), and I have not used it much (other than on vacation when we were trying to get some group pics of the five of us).

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  6. I'm not a huge fan of selfies to be honest. I do it for some workouts, but it's like, who wants to see my mug every day? LOL I love your shot of you and max, hehe

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    1. I agree....I'm not taking as many selfies as I used to (at least with my face and my arm awkwardly extended). I have been trying to use the timer more, and capture more of the "mood" and the setting rather than the sweaty results on my face. #aworkinprogress

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  7. So funny. It's true! We are our own worst critics and I edit my selifes with filters a lot.

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    1. The filters really are a lot of fun. I find it interesting how some filters work great for some pics, and look terrible on others. And the good old black & white is always a great last resort ;-)

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  8. You pics are great. It takes me several takes just to get a picture of myself standing still LOL.

    I wish I could do any of those poses well enough to photograph.

    Keep em comin.

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    1. Some of those poses (that you have seen) are the ones I have been practicing for a couple years. Every pose is kind of unique to the person doing it...so don't be shy! ;-)

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  9. Seriously I have so many selfie fails I feel like I keep posting the same pics everyday!

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    1. I'm gonna do another post on selfie fails someday. There are some pics that even several filters (over-lapping LOL) cannot fix ;-)

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  10. Fitness selfies are always a tricky beast. I don't think I've mastered them just yet, but I'm working on it! haha

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    1. Oh, I am definitely a work in progress!I need to play around with some different apps and venture a little further out of my comfort zone...

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  11. Love your post! I'll give you the same advice I gave Wendy for phone selfies. Download a time lapse app that allows you to capture multiple shots and pick the frame you like the best. I have "Lapse It" although there are a few others available. Then you don't have that dreaded 10 second window to worry about. Your IG feed is awesome!

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    1. Thanks!!! I will give that a try ;-) I know you can make a video and use the still frames in a similar way...but I have yet to figure that out! Your way sounds much easier!!

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  12. I only take pictures with my iPhone and I don't have that "eye" so I'm pretty limited with how the picture turns out. I really want to invest in a good camera.

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    1. All of my pics are from my iphone or ipod. I'd like a good camera, too, but I don't know how (or where!) I'd carry it LOL

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  13. I love your pictures--and outtakes! I have many of the same ones, especially of me setting up the camera! LOL!

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    1. When I posted the one of me in the arm warmers and hash-tagged it #accidentalselfie, I got so much positive feedback! I think people like seeing the "fails," not to celebrate our shortcomings, but to emphasize with us ;-)

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  14. Your pictures are always great! My selfies are typically awful. I have many where I'm frowning at the camera as I'm attempting to set the timer. Thanks for keeping it real!

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    1. Thanks!!! I think we owe it to our followers to keep it real. Yes, we need to be positive and uplifting, but we also need to be real. I have deleted a lot of fitness pages that never show any "real" stuff because I don't think they're being authentic. #myopinion

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  15. Fun post! I'm definitely not as tech savvy as you with my iPhone so I end up with lots of photos that I never share.

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    1. ha ha ha ha...you think I'm tech savvy? My kids would beg to differ on that! LOL I have barely scratched the surface on what's available for smart phone photography. Actually, I'm kind of intimidated by technology, but I also don't want to enhance my "work" so much that it no longer is "real." It's kind of a catch-22

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  16. I have always wondered how people get such perfect pics for Instagram! I have always been too lazy to even try to get good fitness poses, but this is such great insight!

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    1. Like I told another gal, I try to take several quick pics, then go back and see what I've got. It's easy to crop out a wayward car on the road, or an awkward hand gesture (been there, done that), etc. and zooming in for a closer look on the focal point ;-)

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  17. These are great tips, and I'm definitely feeling you on the self-consciousness of posting photos where you as the photographer notice every little problem, but I'm starting to realize that people looking at my photos aren't as critical as I am. Just like looking in the mirror, we are our own worst critics. Still, you're spot-on about social media enabling us to pull a veil over the parts of our lives we don't want to show so freely. I've definitely fallen into the trap of comparing myself to those "perfect poses" without thinking about the story behind them!

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    1. Every pic does have a story, and a lot of pics have clever cropping/filters to enhance them ;-) I recently have seen some stuff on Instagram with the hashtag #nofilter.....it makes me wonder how many other people are frustrated with the "perfect" stuff being posted (?)

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  18. These are some great tips - and I'm impressed what you did with them. I think you look great in all of them, but it's neat how you tweaked them in some very creative ways. I tend to just delete the bad selfies, but occasionally I'm crop a bit or play with the filter. I still don't do timed selfies much - usually because I can't figure out how to get the phone to stand up properly. Any suggestions?

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    1. A lot of times my phone is leaning up against the street curb LOL Sometimes, I can find a fence rail or a park bench. Also, it took me forever to realize this...but only the lens needs to be visible for a pic. That little tiny circle at the top of the phone face! Of course, you can't see yourself on the screen to know if you're posing correctly....but there have been times when I've had to prop a rock or something on the front side of the phone (to keep it from sliding) but I was till able to see some of the screen to have an idea how the shot would turn out.

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  19. The best post I've read in awhile, super honest, funny plus I've learned a lot about lighting and photographs

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    1. Thanks! I'm very much an amateur at this, though ;-)There's a lot of info and tips online ;-)

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  20. I love all your photos! I tend to take several pictures too to get the best picture! However, I only use my iPhone for photos. I want to get to a point that I use a different camera but I am not there yet.

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    1. I'd love a better camera as well.....but the Iphone (or on occasion, my Ipod) fits nicely in my pocket, or belt. Even though I take a lot of my pics on my front lawn, it would be a hassle to get a "better camera" all set up for such a quick photo shoot LOL And my neighbors would really think I was crazy (assuming they don't already!).

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  21. I am selfie challenged! Maybe because I don't want to put the time into filters and edits. Hmmm...something to think about.

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    1. The filters are easy to use. Believe me, if I can figure it out, ANYONE can. I'm very tech-challenged. As far as editing, I just use the cropping feature (that appears when you tap on a picture from your photo library). Again, if it's easy for me, it should be for you, too. ;-)

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  22. Oh, I absolutely use filters & cropping! I always take a few, too, & yes, generally discard the bad ones.

    I have a lot of photos of me & Chester like that & I cherish them - they're real & they show that bond perfectly. Now I need to get to work on photos of me & Lola - she's a more difficult subject & I have very few pictures of her & me!

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    1. Good luck getting pics with Lola!! Have you tried dong them with the timer? Or had someone take your pic (by pressing the "button" repeatedly...thus getting several pics to choose from in a matter of seconds)?

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  23. Omg!

    I thought is was the only one who took numerous selfies just right for posting! The retake because I look a hot mess, the mess behind the picture (why are there 2 baskets of laundry over here!), the freaking sagging belly during the perfect plank (what in the world!)

    Thanks for runfessing-made me feel better about my vanity...I mean selfie-lol!

    Oh and the pic with the multi-colored arm sleeves is totally cool!

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    1. ha ha ha....I have to be very "selective" with my treadmill pics (thankfully, I'm not on the 'mill very often LOL)because the 'mill sits front and center (sort of) in our mud room...so there's always shoes, coats, boxes, etc. everywhere. #truth

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  24. I am seriously so impressed with how you get all those pictures, even knowing all the hard work you put into it still amazes me. What a fun post this was! Thanks for keeping it real, real is good :)

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    1. I agree, real is good ;-) I actually get more inspiration from blogs about struggle (and real stuff) than from the constant victories (and perfection). Thanks ;-)

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  25. It always takes me several tries to get the "right" picture, whether its a selfie or a "regular" picture. We're all always striving for perfection, aren't we?

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    1. yes, and perfection is something we all define differently....(gosh, that's profound!)

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  26. Great post! Ditch the camera timer! Take video and then scroll to find exactly what you want and screen shot it! Saves SO much time!

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    1. ugh! I have tried...but my tech skills are pretty weak, and my phone's screen-shot feature thing is not working 100% these days.... #firstworldprobs #whah ;-)

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