Arm's Length Photos With A Disposable Camera?

[justaguy]

I'm one of the few people in existence who do not own a digital camera, so I rely upon disposable cameras essentially (Fuji Quick Snap).

Recently, I decided to take some pictures of myself. I wanted a picture that would be as true to life as possible and had thought taking a picture at arm's length out in the day light would provide myself with a picture that would give a true representation of how I look in real life. I had theorized that a picture taken 5-6 feet away by another person would be too far of a distance to see what a person truly looks like in real life and had thought an arm's length shot would provide a more accurate view of who I am.

It seems as though when I take pictures at arms length with a disposable camera, I look very different from when someone else take my picture at a short distance. It left me wondering, when people see me, do people see the guy in the pictures my family have taken of me from 4-6 feet away, or are they seeing the guy in the pictures that I've taken at my arm's length?

I know little about photography, so I wanted to ask something else as well. One thing I noticed is that when I take a picture of myself outside with the flash, the result is better then when I do not use it. I noticed that pretty harsh shadows are cast along my face at times without the flash in the day light. At the same time, I don't want a picture that looks better than what I actually look in real life, and I know that the flash tends to soften my face a bit, which made not want to use it. My fear is that I'll create a picture that isn't a true representation of who I am and want people to be able to recognize that it is in fact me in real life.

 

[OMG I ? PONIES!!1]

Disposable cameras mostly have wide angle lenses. When you take a self-portrait at arms length, you might fill the frame nicely, but you're too close to achieve a flattering perspective. Or rather, the close range creates a bit of distortion (big nose, small ears.) This is not how people actually see you.

Professional photographers use lenses that require them to stand at roughly 6 feet (2 meters) to take a head & shoulder shot. That provides a much more natural perspective.

As for the fill flash, that's a great technique. Again, it's not cheating to eliminate harsh shadows - those are a distraction, not part of your face!

It's one thing to spend hours retouching an image in Photoshop to make you look like a super model, but quite another thing to use proper camera techniques that avoid making you (or anyone) look like something the cat dragged in!