Since you’re here on the interwebs, you most likely have an avatar. I SO wish I was talking about an Avatar avatar, but I’m talking about the much less exciting teeny square box that contains a picture of your head (see mine over there), a cartoon of your favorite character, or Br!tn£y doing something naughty. —-> 
I’ve taken a few of my avatars myself with my webcam that’s attached to my precious Lappy. You’ve never seen any of these avatars because, quite simply, they blow (see: Br!tn£y).
Bad lighting, no makeup, and my 3 chins get in the way of me actually posting the pictures I take with my webcam. I’d much rather crop out my head from a picture taken on the beach, at a party, or one of me smooching on Miss Anissa and Flickrshop the HELL out of it so I have clear skin, pink lips, and no glare on my glasses. You know, the REAL me.
Here are some of the craptastic self-portrait avatar photos I’ve taken of myself over the last two years or so. You’ll notice why I don’t use these to show the world who I am in one tiny portrait. Cause who wants to show the world who you are with a giant Sonic cherry limeade next to your face?
side note: mmmmm… cherry limeade…
My pink hair that is still pink
Soda the size of my head
Just boobs, no head
Too Dark & WTF face is that?
Too dark, but kinda cute
TEAM ANISSA! but note the triple chins, over-sized boob shot from the bad webcam angle, and nostrils flaring
Do you Photo/Flickrshop your avatar?
Or do you put up the real real you?
Or are you Br!tn£y?
- BlogHer 09 in Just Under Four Minutes
- Aiming Low for Happy Accidents
- Aiming Low for Self Portraits
- Typing that non-word pains me. It burns. BURNS.
- Yes, there will be a test
{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
I basically hate every picture that has been taken of me in the last 35 years or so, and so the avatar I use is a cropped scan of an actual photo taken of me on a family camping trip in 1976, when I was a about two. I am a bald-headed, rosacea-faced baby with a cigarette in my mouth. (Hey, it was the ’70s, mistakes were made.)
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:45 pm
@rockle,
that’s high-quality parenting. your parents should write for Aiming Low.
Twitter: Amy_Urquhart
January 13, 2010 at 9:24 am
I finally stopped using the photo of my I liked that was taken when I was 27. Now my avatar is a photo taken at Blissdom by Anissa!
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:45 pm
@Assertagirl,
what? i totally thought you were 23.
Twitter: alimartell
January 13, 2010 at 9:47 am
If I knew how to use photoshop, I totally would. But since I don’t…my avatar is me. Just me. That’s it.
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:46 pm
@ali,
i cropped my current avatar and SLIGHTLY airbrushed some zits. but, come on. at 33, i’m allowed to airbrush zits.
Twitter: LovinStilettos
January 13, 2010 at 9:49 am
This is going to sound so lame, but I don’t own photoshop and don’t know how to edit pictures. LOL So mine are always just…as is. :) Maybe I need to learn how to do that!!!!
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:47 pm
@Michelle,
i don’t know how to photoshop, so i use flickr/picnik. easy peasy. really.
Mine is the real me, from about six or seven months ago. My hair is longer now.
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:47 pm
@Jennifer,
and cuteness!
Mine is me…. the real me. But um, the real me about 10 or 15 pounds ago. lol
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:48 pm
@Colleen,
i’m in a constant state of weight gain, so i’d have to take a pic every day to keep up, so i learned how to stick out my jaw to suck up the chins.
Twitter: poobou
January 13, 2010 at 10:25 am
1) I think the 2nd pic of you with the giant soda is really cute. And of course the boob pic. Rowr!
2) I think the problem is the webcam. They can never seem to take a picture at a flattering angle, and they always give a very unattractive blue-ish glow to your skin. (Hey, just like the Avatar avatars! They’re blue too! Only, you know, your webcam avatars aren’t 10 feet tall with big pointy ears & tails. Which, uh, thank God for small favors.) I think using the timer feature on an actual real-live camera (or, you know, having someone else take a picture of you) is the only way to get a really good avatar photo.
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:49 pm
@cindy w,
i have a talent for taking my own self-portrait with my friends. actually, i have one of us from TAM!
Twitter: poobou
January 13, 2010 at 10:50 pm
@Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing], I know! And we are totally cute in that pic too!
I crop my head out of stuffs.
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:49 pm
@kyooty,
same here.
Twitter: RandomBlogette
January 13, 2010 at 11:02 am
I photoshop (picnik.com) the hell out of all of my pictures. I have a tendency to have several chins as well and my skin is always a mess. I feel your pain!
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:50 pm
@Jayme,
picnik has its own “blemish fix” and “teeth whiten” – one of the many reasons i love them.
Twitter: RandomBlogette
January 14, 2010 at 9:08 am
@Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing], I actually ordered the membership for something like $25 (a year) so I could airbrush my entire face! it is so worth it! I love Picnik.com!
Mine is a photo taken (after much instruction) by my son, while I was very careful to suck in the tummy, glue my tongue to the roof of my mouth to avoid the double chin thing, and keep my arms as far out of shot as possible!
@Jennie, ooh! I did not know about the tongue to the roof of mouth thing – can’t wait to try it!
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:50 pm
@Jennie,
stick out the jaw is the key. i gotta try the tongue to the roof trick.
@Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing], You have to push the back of your tongue to the top of your mouth (you know like when you get an itch at the back of your mouth and you try to scratch it with your tongue…or is that just me?!?) and it kind of hauls up the double chin softness a little! You can’t breath at all at the same time, but totally worth it!
Twitter: grace134
January 13, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Firstly, those boobs hold a very special place in my heart. And on Teh Interwebs.
Secondly, you’re hawtness.
Thirdly, I don’t photoshop my pics, I just try to take good ones (eyes north chin(s) south!)
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:52 pm
@Miss Grace,
i think you meant “tongue” not boobs.
*lick*
Twitter: tenakim
January 13, 2010 at 3:55 pm
If I knew how to photoshop or take a decent picture- I could be dangerous! What you see is what you get!
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:53 pm
@Tena,
and i see hotness.
O hai! I’m a cartoon! LOL
I hate having my picture taken because I always think I look awful; however, everyone else assures me I look cute/good/great/pretty/whatevah. After some “urging” (read: blatant peer pressure) from some friends, I signed up for Daily Booth with the hope that forcing myself to take a picture every day might lessen my hate for my face. Because I’m trying to make peace with me as I am, I don’t (and won’t) ‘shop the pictures (other than, say, auto colour correction on crappy web cam pics).
That being said, Chibi will continue to be a cartoon until [enter real name here] is ready to come out of anonymity.
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:54 pm
@Chibi Jeebs,
hey, yeah. what DO you look like? or are you a myth? #DAMMITCHIBI! show yourself!
Twitter: www.mom2nji.blogspot.com
January 13, 2010 at 4:11 pm
I usually take mine with my cell phone camera, in the car. For real. Cuz I am that talented. It usually takes a few tries to hide the 4 chins, hideous scars, and eye sag, but it works out ok.
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:55 pm
@mom2nji,
you always look so sultry and hot in your pics.
I’ve tried taking photos on my web cam but it must be broken or something cos I couldn’t possibly look that hideous in real life…could I????????????????
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 13, 2010 at 10:55 pm
@Alex,
GOD i hope i don’t look as bad as the webcam makes me look.
Twitter: mommaruthsays
January 14, 2010 at 10:57 am
The only thing I tweak is the lighting when it’s bad – other than that, it’s 100% me!
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 14, 2010 at 9:51 pm
@mommaruthsays, i airbrush out the zits, cause really? i’m 33. i’m allowed to brush them out.
Twitter: mom2aroo
January 14, 2010 at 11:36 am
If I was smart enough to work anything besides Paint ( use, PAINT, not paint shop, just that little paint program that was developed in 1982, or whenever computers were born) I’d totally photoshop my chins.
I have a real issue with looking either high, fat, drunk or just on crack ( usually a trifecta of 3) in all pictures I take of myself.I’m the only one who takes pictures so this creates a problem.
I dont post them. I’m vain & shallow & like people who have never seen me in real life, or havent seen me post children to think I’m hot.
But, atleast I’m honest.
I think you should post the pink hair pic, its huggable.
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 14, 2010 at 9:51 pm
@claire, i LOVES my pink hair. also, i love your name b/c my youngest’s name is claire :)
The key to getting a good headshot without extra chins is to have someone stand on a chair and take your photo from above. Try it!
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 14, 2010 at 9:53 pm
@Beth Ann,
i totally learned that watching a photographer on oprah about 20 years ago.
All my webcam pic attempts make me look like Bob Saget. All of the girls on here (yourself included) are super effing adorable and all “it’s just me”…I would hate them but they seem pretty cool. NONE of your webcam pictures compare to the atrocity of mine! Also, my theory is that Sonic drinks are that big cause you’ll most def. need to pee before you get to where you’re going…hence, the giant cup you can TOTALLY pee in if nature calls (and no cops are around).
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 14, 2010 at 9:55 pm
@Rachel Klein,
bob sagat? not a good visual.
It’s always tres difficult to snap a good pic of oneself… it’s a good thing you’re so adorable, babe.
Twitter: alotofnothing
January 14, 2010 at 9:56 pm
@Grumble Girl,
awwww shucks….
Twitter: Al_Pal
January 19, 2010 at 5:12 am
SO, to extend on the “have someone stand on a chair” idea?
Just holding the camera up high works.
I’ll BET that the webcam shots would be better if held at an above-the-head angle.
Mine is the real me — of course, taken at a flattering angle and chosen out of several not-so-good pictures.
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