A note on photos in personal ads
A funny thing about photographs is that, despite the fact that they are actual pictures of actual people, they're still not the same as looking at someone in real life. Oh, sure, there are the problems of the out-of-date photograph, from five years or many pounds ago, or the photo from a special event, showing him doing something he never really does (motorcycles, anyone?)
But even a good photograph only gives a snapshot of a person, which can be a fine stand-in with someone I know, but I often find that pictures don't really look like the person I meet, not because they're misleading, but simply because no one ever looks, in life, as still as they do in a photo. And sometimes the look that's captured on his face is one that's often there, and sometimes, it's not. And there's no way to know before getting to know him!
I suppose it would be too much to ask for guys to put together five minute audition videos, huh?
Comments
Translating from photos to what someone will look like in person is a learnable skill. After several years of meeting people after first seeing their photos online, I've gotten reasonably good at being able to predict. Part of it is also being able to tell how high a confidence level I should have in my prediction - that is, being able to see how good a job the photo does conveying what someone will look like. And of course, the more photos, the easier it is.
Posted by: Cos | October 11, 2006 1:50 AM
Truism about the photos. People tend to look similar to pic, but not the same. I'm not too hung up on the photo details if I like the look and the responses seem to work out.
Posted by: Rosie | October 11, 2006 8:01 PM