Tuesday, January 31, 2012

A grey experience



Apologies for the lack of original content, but she is lovely isn't she? And I must admit to not being quite up to a nude shot. Knee coverage or otherwise.

It does bring me to the subject of the leveling effects of grey hair, and what I mean by that is the risk of looking washed out. She doesn't, but I have. In fact, had a rather depressing experience going into a local photo shop to have the ubiquitous professional photo taken for the ubiquitous LinkedIn profile. No, you will never see it and I have been thoroughly warned off this sort of nonsense by friends in l'age. What can I say? The professional woman of a certain l'age must pretend (at least) to keep up. I hate the whole thing and believe you me, it showed. What an awful photograph! Lots of grey, frankly, lots of lines, and too much honesty. I need vaseline on the lense or at least a somewhat bad exposure. Anyway, suffice it to say it was $30 I regretted spending. One of those photos I tore up.

And so, what have I learned from that humbling experience?



Keep your photographer at a safe distance and pay attention to hairstyling, plus



Slap on some serious makeup. This is no time for the faint of heart or the natural look.

And when all else fails ...


(thanks to the Sartorialist)

distract 'em with a great outfit.

12 comments:

  1. Excuse-me, Madam... I would have gladly taken your picture and for zéro pesos. What were you thinking? Still excited to see the hair, the make-up and as always, a great outfit.

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  2. Sorry to hear that you feel unhappy with the results.
    It sounds to me like the photographer could have done a better job.

    Love those glamorous gals with silver grey locks. If it's any consolation I am not photogenic in the least.

    Veronica is willing to give it a try.

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  3. I agree with the good hair styling and you do need stronger make up for a photo . I agree with hostess the photographer could have done a better job with the lighting. There is always the option for a bit of photoshoping!

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  4. This photographer had no idea of lighting!
    My husband is photographer since Pre-digital times, where it was a must to know how to "built" a lighting.
    Nowadays each guy who can press a button on the camera is thinking, he is an artist.
    Maybe you can soften the pic a bit with "Picasa".

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  5. Yes, Mrs. V. what was I thinking? And you work so cheap!

    Hostess: Having seen photos of you I know it not to be true - I think the biggest job of the photographer is to make you forget you're being photographed so you don't look like you just want Scotty to beam you up. The best picture ever taken of me was by a professional photographer who didn't let on she was taking my picture.

    Chic: I agree - they should have been ashamed of themselves and if I hadn't been so mortified while being concerned of being vain I might have complained.

    Barbara, if you're referring to the top photo, yes, it isn't the best lighting but I suspect it's a poor resolution which is what you get for downloading for free from google! Lighting is everything!

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  6. Oh no, I meant the photographer which whom's work you haven't been content with!
    Sorry for this misunderstanding.

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  7. Barbara: My apologies - I misunderstood. Yes,he was frankly useless.

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  8. Given the fabulousness of you as demonstrated in many photos on this blog, I think you just need a better photographer. And yes, possibly makeup.

    Looking forward to seeing a better photographer's work, here, in the new future.

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  9. One of my favorite grey-haired models is featured in the Guardian magazine every Saturday, in the 'All ages' style section. She's called Pam, and she invariable looks the best out of every model featured.

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  10. I'm a 21-year old who got her first grey hair at 16 and has been terrified of going grey since. You showed me that beauty has nothing to do with age, and that grey hair is, quite frankly, very classy. Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you found inspiration and confidence in this post. It's all - could hope for. My only wish is that there were more real-life examples to make it perfectly comfortable for our younger selves to see themselves in grey and feel good about it.

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