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grayskyluna:
kichengunnet:
showerthoughtsofficial:
“The camera adds 10 pounds” is a phrase of the past. Now people look better in their pictures than they do in person
When people say that the camera adds ten pounds it’s because cameras used in filmmaking/TV production have a wider focal length and therefore subjects look wider or bigger. Whereas cellphone cameras have a short focal length that makes subjects appear thinner or smaller.
Nowadays, with DSLR’s and a variety of lenses, we are able to depict a wide range of focal lengths by using one kind of camera.
So that is why most people on social media may seem to look thinner than they do in person (especially in selfies because the front facing camera on phones especially have short focal lengths).
And that is also how the phrase “the camera adds ten pounds” came about.
this is actually so interesting I had no idea
I’m confused by the terminology, so I’m going to explain what I know. The reason people look better in photos is that we take more of them, mostly. Here’s some elaboration:
“Wider” focal length means smaller number means wider field of view. The opposite of that is telephoto.
It’s true that the traditional lenses for portrait photography of yore were always 50mm or higher. You wanted telephoto to avoid distortion.
The lower gif is more helpful, with the lens’s focal distance written right on the gif. It gives you some idea. It’s worth pointing out that the distance between the camera and subject varies widely between frames of that gif! The 20mm lens is right on top of him– note how his face posture changes; he had to look down at that first lens– while the 200mm lens is way across a large room from him. And if you pay attention, it’s clear that the 200mm lens is distorting his features the least. Maybe he doesn’t look as thin, but his nose also doesn’t look so big. With the cat, note that the widest-angle lens is so close to the cat’s face it’s casting a shadow on its nose, and there are two doorways in the background; the telephoto lens is across the room and so the background shows less but all of the cat’s body is in the photo.
Wider angle lenses are more common, and easier to come by with today’s smaller sensors. (Consumer cameras generally have smaller sensors than a frame of film, meaning that a lens’s focal distance is longer than it says on the tin, unless it’s a purpose-made lens for that application; that adds some confusion. A modern crop-sensor DSLR with a 35mm lens is exactly the same as a film camera or full-frame pro DSLR with a 50mm lens. If you take that full-frame 50mm lens and put it onto a crop-sensor camera, you’ve got something closer to an 85mm telephoto lens. 50 is classically “neutral”, i.e. neither wide nor telephoto, and is historically the lens most cameras came with.)
With a wide angle lens, you have a lot more freedom to choose a flattering angle– and a much more compelling need to choose a more flattering angle, because a minor difference in positioning the camera makes a huge difference, the closer you are to your subject.
Most people don’t know what the fuck they’re doing when it comes to photography, but the built-in equipment on cellphones gives us a wide-angle lens, and unlimited trial and error with instant feedback enables anyone to figure out how to take a flattering photo like that.
The camera used to add 10 pounds because there had to be a camera operator to use it, and the operator didn’t give a shit about you particularly. Now you’re your own camera operator, and you can do what you want, so you’re going to take flattering photos.
(Your picture was not posted)
grayskyluna:
kichengunnet:
showerthoughtsofficial:
“The camera adds 10 pounds” is a phrase of the past. Now people look better in their pictures than they do in person
When people say that the camera adds ten pounds it’s because cameras used in filmmaking/TV production have a wider focal length and therefore subjects look wider or bigger. Whereas cellphone cameras have a short focal length that makes subjects appear thinner or smaller.
Nowadays, with DSLR’s and a variety of lenses, we are able to depict a wide range of focal lengths by using one kind of camera.
So that is why most people on social media may seem to look thinner than they do in person (especially in selfies because the front facing camera on phones especially have short focal lengths).
And that is also how the phrase “the camera adds ten pounds” came about.
this is actually so interesting I had no idea
I’m confused by the terminology, so I’m going to explain what I know. The reason people look better in photos is that we take more of them, mostly. Here’s some elaboration:
“Wider” focal length means smaller number means wider field of view. The opposite of that is telephoto.
It’s true that the traditional lenses for portrait photography of yore were always 50mm or higher. You wanted telephoto to avoid distortion.
The lower gif is more helpful, with the lens’s focal distance written right on the gif. It gives you some idea. It’s worth pointing out that the distance between the camera and subject varies widely between frames of that gif! The 20mm lens is right on top of him– note how his face posture changes; he had to look down at that first lens– while the 200mm lens is way across a large room from him. And if you pay attention, it’s clear that the 200mm lens is distorting his features the least. Maybe he doesn’t look as thin, but his nose also doesn’t look so big. With the cat, note that the widest-angle lens is so close to the cat’s face it’s casting a shadow on its nose, and there are two doorways in the background; the telephoto lens is across the room and so the background shows less but all of the cat’s body is in the photo.
Wider angle lenses are more common, and easier to come by with today’s smaller sensors. (Consumer cameras generally have smaller sensors than a frame of film, meaning that a lens’s focal distance is longer than it says on the tin, unless it’s a purpose-made lens for that application; that adds some confusion. A modern crop-sensor DSLR with a 35mm lens is exactly the same as a film camera or full-frame pro DSLR with a 50mm lens. If you take that full-frame 50mm lens and put it onto a crop-sensor camera, you’ve got something closer to an 85mm telephoto lens. 50 is classically “neutral”, i.e. neither wide nor telephoto, and is historically the lens most cameras came with.)
With a wide angle lens, you have a lot more freedom to choose a flattering angle– and a much more compelling need to choose a more flattering angle, because a minor difference in positioning the camera makes a huge difference, the closer you are to your subject.
Most people don’t know what the fuck they’re doing when it comes to photography, but the built-in equipment on cellphones gives us a wide-angle lens, and unlimited trial and error with instant feedback enables anyone to figure out how to take a flattering photo like that.
The camera used to add 10 pounds because there had to be a camera operator to use it, and the operator didn’t give a shit about you particularly. Now you’re your own camera operator, and you can do what you want, so you’re going to take flattering photos.
(Your picture was not posted)
