Photogenic
I’m not very photogenic. It’s not a complaint; just a fact. Most pictures of me are not very flattering. This reminds me of a famous quote of golfing great, Lee Trevino when assessing golf clubs. He said,
“It’s not the arrow; it’s the Indian.”
This Indian (I am 1/128th Cherokee) is not very photogenic. The best pictures of me are when my attention is on something other than the camera. When I see candid shots of me doing something, the pictures are easier on my eyes. Reminds me of a story . . .
I remember having a picture taken for my website http://johnmorganseminars.com I went to this photographer who had a high end digital camera and she took several shots of me. We looked at them right away in her camera’s preview window and I didn’t like any of them. I had what my friend Howard calls the “coat hanger” smile. I came up with a solution. I told Diane that I was going to pretend I was at one of my seminars and just deliver my message the way I would if I was actually in the seminar setting. I asked her to photograph me in action. The strategy produced what I deemed a representative photo.
I got to wondering about what the difference was. The answer came quickly. It was the false face of the ego.
My definition of this mask we wear is: “The person you made up and got comfortable with.” The photographs I didn’t like exhibited this façade. There was a lot of trying on my part when being photographed – trying to put my best mask forward. Every time I did this, I failed.
This recognition goes deeper than photographs. How many times do we put on a face that has nothing to do with who we are? We always taint an interaction when we do this. The base fear is that we are not enough, so we have to add something. That’s like adding two teaspoons of sugar to a can of Coca-Cola. It’s always too much, not original and leaves a bad taste.
What would happen if you brought the real you to the picnic? I think you will be pleasantly surprised. It’s a matter of allowing yourself the freedom to be vulnerable and show the underside of your belly. The benefit is you become more human and more approachable when you take off the mask, and your interactions become authentic. Not only that, you’ll look great in the pictures.
All the best,
John
http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan
http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301
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