I may not look happy in the above picture but look at my nice tan, perfect hair, natural make up and flawless looking skin. What if I told you that I don't have a tan, I was not wearing make up when this was taken and my skin was anything but flawless? Oh and when this was taken, I was in pain, tired, anxious and just back from the school run.
This is the actual picture. Notice the bags under the eyes, the wrinkles and how pale I look, that is the real me. No filter, no photoshop, simply me.
Every day, people go on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and post photographs of a seemingly perfect life. The children all happy and smiling, the perfect dish you just made for dinner, the girl looking perfect. Chances are behind the camera was a parent who begged the kids to smile for just one picture, a messy kitchen after making that meal, and a lost and lonely person behind all the make up and products.
It is perfectly fine to not be ok. Life happens, you can feel exhausted, angry, upset, the house can be a little messy, the kids crying, thing is we have all been there. As for perfect? There is no such thing.
As a mum of 2, I worry about the world I am bringing them up in and the expectations to look perfect and to do great things. Yes I would love to see them achieve great things in life, however, I will not push them to their limit as what good will that do? I simply want them to do their best, be happy and be themselves.
See Me Scotland have launched a campaign called #myunfilteredlife and to take part all I done was head over to Twitter and post the above unfiltered picture of myself with a description of how I felt at that time, and do you know, I felt great for doing it. I am not ashamed of how I feel or how I look when I am exhausted. At the end of the day I am only human.
Why don't you take part? You can do this on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Post a picture on your profile using the hashtag and write a little, even one line, about what's happening at that point. Help end the stigma and remind people, Remember it is okay not to be okay!
I never add a filter to my images on instagram of facebook. I want my children to know that life is OK as it is. I don;t want them to feel the need to filter their lifes and images.
ReplyDeleteI never filter my images (unless making them black & white) but never to change my looks, only done it this time for purpose of the post. It get's on my nerves with all these "perfect" images in magazines etc that children believe they can look that way when the truth is no-one can!! My kids will also be told they do not need a filter. x
DeleteIt's tricky isn't it? I don't edit my photos much beyond a little cropping and I sometimes lighten them a little. I guess though that most of us are guilty of only letting people see the good stuff.
ReplyDeleteIt is. Like yourself, I crop pictures to either take out strangers in the background or to make the focus better (like pics of the moon) I lighten dark pictures so you can actually see what is there lol but that is as far as it goes. Yeah we don't people seeing the chaos around us just the good in front x
DeleteMy life is unfiltered. My photos are un-edited, except for maybe cropping and a little extra brightness (phone cameras are not so good at adding light.) I think you have a point though, I don't share the photo of my daughter sulking, or the one that shows up all my flab or wrinkles. My Other half really doesn't care though, he'll share photos of his bald patch, photos of the kids with mess in the background (I'd have moved them for the shot) and photos taken sneakily of me which I hate, but you know what, they are not so bad, it's just life as it is. I should take a leaf out of his book. (yes, I've just seen the light, thank you!)
ReplyDeleteI used to absolutely hate pictures of myself and still do depending on the pic, cant be having one of my bad side lol. In all seriousness, like you, I would move the kids so there was no mess but how many people with kids have mess in their living room? all of them xx
DeleteI think your post raises such valuable points, so much more pressure to look perfect comes from these filters :( I do use them to try and lighten though only because my photography skills are a bit lacking x
ReplyDeleteThere have been times I have looked at a picture and thought "state of my skin" but never filtered it as I think "well if people can't accept me the way I am then I dont want to know them" using it to crop and lighten is as much as I do too x
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