Beauty is Not Static...

I was asked by an older co-worker to take some pictures that she can place on an online dating site. This woman is a tad older than 50, and has quite a dynamic personality. She would likely be considered attractive by most men older than 50. However, when taking the pictures, most of them turned out poorly. Her smile was too strained. Her eyes did not have a twinkle. The skin tone was off. etc. I have thought about this before, because there are very attractive people who are not photogenic. I think the true beauty in a person is in the non-static characteristics. It is the way they flash a smile, not the smile itself. It is in the way their eyes twinkle and squinch as they smile. It is in the way they move their heads as they laugh. If you take a picture of someone in the middle of laughing, it almost always turns out looking ridiculous. Maybe these dating websites should allow for a small video clip to show what people really look like. :) And, if you are a person who is not photogenic, embrace the idea that the camera is a limited tool to capture the true beauty of a person.