'Zoom out': unflattering tagged photos and why we should keep them
We've all been there. You spend ages picking the perfect lighting, getting ready for an event, feeling fabulous.
The bomb selfie is easy to capture, a bit of filtering and you're Beyonce.
But then, the tagged photos start appearing, and it's instant panic- a rush to untag any picture were you don't look 110%.
Body positivity blogger and activist, Megan Jayne Crabbe, knows this feeling all too well.
"I remember a time when seeing 'your friend has tagged you in a new photo' would make my stomach hit the floor. I would drop everything and rush to untag it."
The tagged photo was not the version of herself she wanted people to see, rather the "selfie-perfect" one:
"The only version of myself I wanted people to see was the carefully selected, highly edited, what I believed to be the most 'flattering' (read: thin) version. I was so convinced THAT was the only version of my reflection worth seeing, and what other people thought of it, was everything."
So to tackle this, she posts two pictures, side-by-side. Both were taken on the same day, where she was wearing the same clothes. Crabbe says that both represent her. While the selfie might be more flattering, both pictures are equal in their worth, even though it might be difficult to see it:
"Neither one represents me more or less than the other. Neither one is better or worse. But I know that's hard to believe about yourself. I know that when you see a photo of yourself the first thing you do is zoom in on all the parts you believe aren't good enough."
So instead of zooming in to all the parts we don't like, Crabbe encourages us to "zoom out", to remember the time the photo was taken, instead of obsessing over the parts of ourselves we don't like:
"I want you to remember what that photo was for. It wasn't for the cover of a magazine. You weren't expected to look like an airbrushed supermodel. It was taken to capture a moment. That's it. How your hair looked or the size of your body doesn't matter.
"Remember how you felt. Remember that sight, that smell, that feeling, that joy. Remember the living. Zoom out (swipe…) and you'll see that the whole picture tells a much more important story than how you looked. And that every version of you is worthy of being seen."
We love this, instead of focusing on the that double chin or the crow's feet, try to remember the day, the event, the lazy afternoon that the picture was taken. Especially as social media doesn't tell the whole story of who a person is.
Crabbe has received bucket-loads of positive comments for her refreshing honesty:
"I used to cry about tagged photos. I would feel shame swelling in me, cold sweat and heart racing. Thank you for declaring the truth. Reminding me that any angle of me is worthy of being seen and known. This is a huge breakthrough for me."
"I cried a few weeks ago after seeing candids of myself – even though they were taken on a very special day. Thank you. I need this."
"This is so what I needed to hear! Thank you so much for the reminder. I love it. Zoom out!"
You go girl!