Why your selfies suck! Best focal length for portraits

Why your selfies suck! Best focal length for portraits
Selfies generally won't bring out your best side. It has to do with the focal length. In this video I show some comparisons between wide and tight focal lengths. We also find which focal length is the sweet spot for flattering faces.
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[@JonBear]

I made a follow up video teaching you how to do this with your phone! kzbin.info/www/bejne/haKuZKiVf7B_rJY

[@Buggolious]

Ty

[@TaunellE]

Jon Bear. Cute name. 💗

[@webgpu]

AT LAST!! someone came up with the explanation i always knew, but never saw anyone else explaining!! 👍 📷

[@webgpu]

4:31 - ANSWER: two eyes, several centimeters apart. brain unifies the vision from the two opposing sides of the face being looked at.

[@kibin5835]

tbh I liked the left photo better because on the right the face looked comedically small.

[@visenya8]

Minute of silence for those of us that liked our selfies and thought that's what we look like.

[@JonBear]

F to pay respect

[@GabrielRodriguez-xm8gr]

Well you're supposed to look ugly in selfies, so if you look good imagine how much more you do in real life :)

[@JHplays05]

Yes 100% right bro

[@motivateprofit]

@@GabrielRodriguez-xm8gr ugh no no no. i look thin and nice in selfies and when i see myself in the back camera and in real life my face iss more fat and my eyes are a LOT smaller *crys*

[@astrofizzy1530]

@@motivateprofit it's because it makes your face wider and fatter than you actually are in reality you aren't your probably amazing looking

[@x9147]

It pains me to know that there are young women out there who had nose surgery just because their nose was big in selfies.

[@pianoatthirty]

Hahahaha SO TRUE XD

[@brokenhumor8646]

Nooooooooo!!!!!

[@kgty1295]

Not just women 😢

[@OcnarfPro]

EPIC FAIL

[@VlLLAllN]

Press F to pay respects

[@leolapalu8298]

I read somewhere that selfies were the cause of a lot of nose jobs. Body dysmorphophobia can be pretty scary, especially in teenagers. As a teen, I was fixating on my nose and started considering a nose job, until I found these information. It's scary for an insecure teenager so we must keep sharing this information!

[@leolapalu8298]

@Tintin Yes. What I'm saying is that my nose looked fine but looking at selfies distorted my vision of it and my vision of myself. Now I like it but I can't stand it on bad selfies because it's deformed

[@OfficialGOD]

@Tintin of course but you can overcome it

[@Querviinho]

Dude, for real though, In the mirror I think my nose is an ok size, and then I open the camera and it looks massive

[@josefinarivia]

@@tintin121 of course they existed before it. But the rise of Snapchat, filters and selfies caused a surge in body dysmorphia leading to nose jobs and other cosmetics procedures. Plastic surgeons have said that people have come in with snapchat filtered selfies and asked if they could make it look like that. or showed selfies where their noses/jaws etc look bigger and asked if they could make it smaller when it reality, it doesnt match their real nose/jaw etc. It's called "selfies body dysmorphic disorder" or just "Selfie dysmorphia"

[@8Davidson]

it’s the other way around for me

[@Vespyr_]

I never understood why front facing cameras are usually ten years behind the back camera when they're used for about 90% of the photos you take.

[@JonBear]

Seriously why do they keep putting garbage cameras on the front

[@YgorCortes]

Trueeeee

[@neogabriel1320]

@@JonBear for real

[@TheRhalf]

you dont need much resolution to do a close picture of yourself, back cameras are meant for landscapes and stuff

[@neverl8630]

Because the front camera is integrated into the LCD display (limited space). And was intended primarily for video chat capability and not detailed photography.

[@CeeJay254Art]

Selfies made me so scared of taking pics with my camera. But yesterday, when i took pics with dslr, i realized there had to be some distortion on the selfie. Thank you for elaborating this in the video

[@JonBear]

Cheers! Let's all use dslr's with 50mm lenses wooo

[@danielelkins247]

@@JonBear are there any phones with a good front facing camera for this? I'm guessing 55mm is far too large for a camera phone?

[@JonBear]

@@danielelkins247 Appreciate the question. It's a matter of distance to the camera, so front facing cameras will always have wide cameras because that's how people use them for video calls. There are phones with back facing cameras that are like 55mm equivalent like the new samsung galaxy phone

[@doodoo7207]

me too, so glad someone in youtube explain how camera work , now im confident to take picture with my friend

[@bensoncheung2801]

555 👍

[@TON-vz3pe]

If someone is rejecting you just because of your looks in a selfie, you should never really feel bad.

[@liv_shorts]

:P

[@YoutubeCommenter1]

Cope

[@blazeinthedark]

If someone is rejecting you just because of your looks, you should never really feel bad.

[@XLegendaryAudio]

The problem is you rarely know the actual reason someone is rejecting you.

[@flyer5347]

@αληθεια its literally normal behavior in humans

[@Thunderbender18830]

This video did wonders for my self-esteem. I never knew whether the ugly version of me I see in selfies or the better version I see in the mirror was what I really looked like. I always worried it was the selfie one, so this video is reassuring

[@MGillDesign]

It's reassuring, but unfortunately with more people now working from home remotely, sometimes the camera image will be your coworker's first impression of you. Unless they've already seen you in person. Usually we want to make a good first impression (on the job). It sucks.

[@tumultuousv]

@@MGillDesign change the camera angle/focus point..

[@4SURAS]

So which is true mirror or selfie

[@lavatr8322]

DSLR or Selfie . either way i look ugly

[@ellithejoker1046]

@@lavatr8322 Bars.

[@VelvetTears216]

Thank you so much… sometimes I look in the mirror and think “wow, I could be a supermodel!” But then I try to take pictures and just fight my tears while I delete them lol! This makes me feel much better. Thank you.

[@steve4321able]

Being a bald man, cell phone selfies have ruined me. My head always looks like a long egg LOL.

[@recall2880]

Amen brother me too

[@udayraj1098]

you slap the whole seriousness with "lol" , lol

[@CristianIntriago_]

Same hahahaha

[@user-ny9kc4lm6p]

A hat will save the day 😅

[@takayasweeney]

Y’all crazy😂🤣💙

[@toot4you19]

Don’t we all secretly admire ourselves in the mirror all the time 😝

[@JonBear]

Embrace the vanity!

[@JAZZSTARish]

And flex.

[@jokutyyppi4226]

Yes but im scared of my front camera

[@samgate6523]

@@jokutyyppi4226 literally thinking about committing after I heard that’s more accurate than the mirror

[@coco-xz9zg]

Yep I do, but I’m scared of what people think of my appearance in person

[@Barni2212]

I knew it. I never really dig into too deep but I suspected that there is a big distortion on selfies. When I saw myself in the mirror, I always thought that:"Hmm, not bad. Not incredible looking but also not ugly." And when I took selfies: "What the hell is this? Why am I closer to Quasimodo than to a normal human."

[@julimartin7698]

😂😂😂

[@jackiemcquade204]

too funny, lol

[@raheemcamal998]

Facts

[@Cyberaser]

Exactly. "Can I have a new picture of yourself?" Always hated it in online dating. I wasnt able/willing to make a bad looking selfie for her that is not representing what I really look like.

[@BadThrusher]

​@@CyberaserI also think phones softwares distort it also so you think your phone is outdated and replace it. I realised this when I stand in front of the mirror, I look great then when I take a photo of me in the mirror using my phone, I look totally different and my facial features are exagerated. I notice the photos make me look sad and beat down yet I was wearing an almost smily face

[@thatmutekid4078]

You didn't inspire me to pick up a camera. But you did inspire me to take a moment to appreciate the work of other photographers. Yours, for example.

[@westfieldartworks8188]

As a portrait artist, (oil painter), it's widely known that iphone photos and most amateur photos, generally, are horrible representations of people. In a photo taken with a wide angle lens, and if a flash is used up close, this will make them practically unusable. To get the forms of the head and face closer to reality, I do as Jon said; I use a 210mm lens and take photos from 12 or 15 feet back, with a good definitive light source, and then a series of close-ups to be used for small details ONLY. If possible, a short from life oil sketch is also done. These cellphone camera selfies taken from arms length are horribly distorted....as Jon said. The extend the point of the jaw, the length of the nose, the fullness of the brow, and make eyes look sometimes rather large...or rather small, depending on the focal length used. Professionally taken photographs are way better. Thank you.

[@JonBear]

Thank you for sharing. I never considered how a portrait artist would see the world. And to get accurate photos you'd have to have a good grasp of portrait photography. Most of my photographer friends use 85mm but I actually do like to go quite a lot above that. But my home studio isn't large enough to go beyond it

[@westfieldartworks8188]

@@JonBear When I take close ups, I also use the 50mm lens...for the very reasons you mentioned. You're one of the first people on KZbin I've ever seen or heard talk about this subject. And when I said " photos are horrible representations of people, " ....I meant amateur taken cell phone photos. Professional taken photographs can be QUITE good, and very inspiring, when taken by a good photographer. I'm going to edit my statement above. Thanks again for your video. Cheers.

[@JonBear]

@@westfieldartworks8188 I agree with you though, I believe an oil painted portrait can be more accurate to the essence of the person :) Besides, even the professional photographers edit their photos so who is to say that a photo is more "real" ;)

[@richsimpson450]

P

[@notveryrea1]

What's the best settings for a phone to take good pictures then? The back camera?

[@godbutcher164]

On mirror: Brad pitt🧔🏻 On selfie: bad pitt 👽

[@TedEhioghae]

He actually looked more attractive in the left photo.

[@se111ina]

​@@TedEhioghae what how

[@Andrewtate200]

@@TedEhioghae weirdo😹

[@UnseenHitman-1932]

​@@TedEhioghae Leftist behaviour.

[@SeudXe]

@@TedEhioghaeAnd some people like eating dog shit with paprika

[@MiikaKontio]

"This is why i love cameras and different lenses. They let you see the world in a very different way". Thats photography in a nut shell. Really well put together

[@JC-sm4mp]

As a psych major I'm very fascinated by the way the brain perceptually contextualizes visual matter. It partly relies on mental programming and there are a few visual perception disorders that make the brain inable to recognize objects or faces despite seeing them no differently. My thought is that maybe this contributes some? If a person were to lose the perceptual part of their mental programming allowing them to essentially edit imagery frame by frame to help us perceive.

[@naninuna7440]

I saw a photo (obviously Photoshopped) of a woman in a wedding dress with the trail just melting into the highway. It was freaky because the highway is black and her dress was white but the part where it blends was the exact same color.

[@TLOH7]

This video is restoring many self-esteem.

[@CLEARR-E-]

And ruined mine. I like my selfies much more than reflection, and also hate when someone takes a picture of me with main camera from distance :D

[@KABKAKIy_KAPATEJI_DOP]

@@CLEARR-E- selfi pictures are ugly ,and not beatifuel. I am very calm now, because i know that my face is wide, and not thin

[@CLEARR-E-]

@@KABKAKIy_KAPATEJI_DOP говори за себя, ок? Не у всех твоё лицо

[@olafuringolfsson9151]

Man... I have taken my last mobile phone selfie! I have always wondered why I look like a dead fish on my selfies. Now I know!

[@JonBear]

ahahah dead fish!! People used to laugh at selfie sticks. Seems like they are a pretty good solution to this predicament!

[@Mamika_AFK]

I actually stopped taking pictures of myself 10 years ago because of this issue. Thanks for the info 👍 May God bless you and your fam always! 🙏

[@timmeegee5633]

Hi everyone! A little word of advice to those who suffers from their asymmetrical face. That's what i'm doing: Instead of avoiding looking at your face unmirrored and falling into this little depression every time you realise it's not as perfect lol - i decided to GET USED TO IT. So basically i look at my unmirrored face everyday. Take selfies, shoot videos, look at frontal camera and switching this mirror mode, not avoid videocalls with your face unmirrored etc. Yes at first it is not very comfortable, but in a few days (i do it for just for a couple of weeks) you are getting USED TO IT. It will take a little courage to accept that your face might be a little less perfect that you thougt =D , but it is really much easier to accept it now and get used to it rather than get dissapointed every time through your entire life. IMHO. I feel much more comfortable with my face now ! So i would recommend to consider it and give it a try! Cheers!

[@JonBear]

Self acceptance is the real way

[@Vespyr_]

Jokes on me I never thought my face was anywhere close to perfect in the first place. :c lol

[@Hollywood.316]

The mirror of your reflection will always be more accurate than selfie image but I'm glad you found that statergy to coap

[@Hollywood.316]

​@@JonBear would you say mirror image is how we look like in reality?

[@eftscreenshotter8817]

Thing is, everyone's face is asymmetrical. It's just that people don't really notice it.

[@Danreit]

tip from me would be to use a selfie-stick, and digitaly zoom inn to get a selfie, should be enough pixels anyway. Also, seeing a mirrored version of urself also has an impact on ur self-image, we are not entierly symmetric. Alot of good input in this one Jon! great vid!

[@JonBear]

Great tips! a BIG problem with selfies is that it's at arms reach. But if you increase the distance with a selfie stick the distortions will not be as pronounced. Good point about the mirrored self image. We are so used to seeing our own reflection in the mirror that when we see ourselves without being mirrored, it can feel off. It is clear though that phone cameras are evolving. Just last year it was odd when they had more than one lens. Now it's the norm. Might not be long until we have built in 50mm or even 85mm phone lenses!

[@shahan484]

Lol i mirror every friggin selfie of mine to look like that or my bathroom mirror

[@thesushimess]

I take pictures using the mirror because it's the most "true" form I'd get for myself. I am aware of the asymmetry, I'm not too bothered by that anymore.

[@paulwaltersheherfeministvl521]

should i skip school for youtube video making? i making good stuff but i need much time to making. maybe replace school with making videos. i have two girlfriends. thanks for your opinion dear dan

[@shahan484]

@@paulwaltersheherfeministvl521 lol

[@Immortalshortie]

Made me feel better because everyone says I have a model face and defined cheeks but in my selfies I look fat in my face so thank you

[@ifykyk679]

And in selfies i look wayy better but in the back camera just ew

[@eden20111]

For me it’s the opposite. I’m a skinny male but I have a round face irl it makes my face look fat. But in my selfies, the camera makes my face look skinnier and symmetrical and I find more comfort taking selfies, than going out irl because I’m self conscious.

[@xxpatrick204xx]

They're just saying it

[@Arado159]

Same except my phone camera made me look like a skinny goofball rather than fat. I've been told by a few times by people that I'm handsome and sometimes when I look in the mirror I sort of understand what they mean but when I one day decided to have a go at the selfie thing it basically came out like the scenario in this video (big nose, long face) and I got depressed indeed.

[@renebleu8711]

@@xxpatrick204xx na, this happens to me. I’m ugly as hell in photos but in person, I’m very attractive

[@Marina-nt6my]

I knew about this a bit before, but this comparison really makes it clear how big of a difference it really makes. I'm glad I prefer my mirror face over close up camera face... its gotta be further away then. but then you get less pixels of your face. oh well

[@RiasatSalminSami]

I always hated selfies ever since phones started having front camera. The camera quality is not decent in most phones. I'd rather just carry a regular camera and take photos with that, which I usually do. But the problem is, all my friends and family memebers switched to phone cameras and use those even during events, and the picture quality as a result, straight up sucks compared to our older photos on events.

[@crashofthemoons]

After working at an optometrist for 5+ years I’ve learned that how the eyes and brain interact is very complex and interesting. 👍🏻

[@artpereira]

Someone I work with only approves selfies of her. Even though I had a camera with me and showed her these differences she still said “but that’s not what I look like”. She honestly thinks that the selfie camera depicts what she looks like! I think this may be an actual psychological issue that people have. She honestly preferred a selfie with her eye looking like it’s 3x bigger and her jaw being all massive instead of the ones I took with my 50mm lens. NUTS

[@dingomatic]

I'm assuming a good amount of that has to do with expectations the media sets on what is considered beauty, based on celebrities' cosmetic choices and unrealistic expectations that focus on the youthful, and combination of almost baby-like, feature sets. Peer pressure then spreads it like the new norm. I do agree it does create certain unhealthy mindsets, and in some cases, straight up delusion.

[@cabbage-soup]

self-perception is just a very tricky thing. we don't actually see ourselves the way other people see us, and so we move throughout life without an actual ability to properly perceive what we look like. if the only "self" we know is the one looking back at us from selfies and mirrors, we can grow accustomed to that image and come to know it as natural and normal. it's the same reason why some people can overfill with botox. they grow accustomed to the "self" with larger lips or cheeks, their brain normalizes their own features, and they suddenly start perceiving their lips and cheeks to be smaller than they actually are. then, they might believe the botox has worn off and return to their cosmetic surgeon for a top-up. we are, as a species, terrible at self perception. we rely on heavily other people to tell us what we are and how we look.

[@SoulDelSol]

I think that happened to me. I put selfies on my page and someone saw profile before mtg me and said I catfished. I have not understood until this moment. Those were recent selfies I took of my self (hence selfie) and I thought that's what I look like. What do I really look like???

[@vacafuega]

Women are supposed to have bigger eyes and lips (at least in current "fashions") - when I see myself in non-selfie mode I am horrified by how fat my face looks and how tiny my features are in this shockingly huge expanse of flesh... so I try not to think about it, haha. I'm guessing she has a similar effect going on.

[@n9s3nse10]

So true my mom thinks that taking a picture from a good camera shows edited photo but that's so wrong

[@rvdandmarcoom]

Not a big fan of photo or video, but i really love this format : no silly edit, no bullshit, no time waste. Just a cool guy explaining interesting stuff !

[@robdabanks]

And just like that, my confidence just shot up by like 4 points. You legend. Thank you!

[@thesupernova4023]

Same here. Hehe

[@JustinW7111]

Although I was aware that camera lenses can distort the shape of faces quite markedly, this video is just so funny, and so brilliantly done, that not subscribing would be an insult! Thank you so much for the good laugh, especially as I had such an experience with my camera yesterday!

[@JonBear]

You made my day Justin! Glad I managed to make you smile and thank you for the wonderful comment!

[@paulwaltersheherfeministvl521]

WHAT THE WHAT??? i am over 100 years old and still making youtub videos? oh yeah baby. why? because i am the ultimate youtuber. woo woo woo you know it dear jus

[@4kumetsu]

@@paulwaltersheherfeministvl521 ramble.

[@robbykidman]

thanks for bringing back my confidence lol

[@JonBear]

You're a handsome one!

[@soukainamokhtari2007]

Hahahaha yeah thank you !

[@Coconattsuu]

Another important thing to mention, is the mirror is a reversed image of your face and you're used to that image, it's not just the focal length

[@fmmmmmw4638]

Mirrors dont reverse you, wtf

[@Coconattsuu]

@@fmmmmmw4638 I'm sorry you had to find out now Maybe the word isn't exactly "reversed", but it's called a mirrored image for a reason

[@DrMonty-yr1kc]

@@fmmmmmw4638 …wtf?

[@BullyMaguire387]

@@fmmmmmw4638 What you see on mirror is what you look like, it's just an inverted side version of you, some people really think inverting images makes difference? If you look bad you will also look bad in mirror if you are good looking then you will be good looking in the mirror, that's how it is. If you have a low self esteem then that's your problem even if you are good looking you will see yourself as bad.

[@Coconattsuu]

@@wetfart420 It makes a huge difference in some cases, especially for your own self that you're used to seeing yourself in a mirror. If you have any sort of asymmetry on your face or your hair, there will be a noticeable difference

[@filmmagic6687]

Very good explanation. I also like the way you pause between the sentence and important points. It is so rhythmic and pleasant to listen to. Thank you.

[@ravennexusmh]

Plus we have 2 eyes. Spaced apart, unlike a camera that was 1 central point of view.

[@JonBear]

Yeah! Our brain creates an image from two inputs :O!

[@ASHERUISE]

So what you're saying is that to people with only one eye, we all look like goofy weirdos.

[@RizalBudiLeksono]

@@ASHERUISE long distance: no, short distance: yes

[@BA-kk4ls]

Bro finally I found a really good explanation, now I can die peacefully.

[@Awesomesauce0096]

RIP

[@fayinkajohnson18]

Rest in peace, bro; rest in peace.

[@kagame6524]

RIP bro

[@usernameisunavailable8270]

😂💀

[@miltondas1839]

We will not miss you RIP💀⚰️

[@meta671games]

its literally me after the shower. uf what a handsome gigachad infront of me. Then i take phone and like "OK, not today"

[@User-xw5zk]

I am periodically called handsome by unknown girls, but I still feel like a freak.

[@janjanl1812]

Oh my god, you are so right about the mirror experience! I was like, “so my reflection looks better?” Thank you so much! Subscribed! And time to bring out my Olympus camera with 45mm lens for selfies (I was too lazy to do that lol).

[@HelamanGile]

A moment of silence for those people who thought they were going to get the perfect focal length information but didn't

[@GabrielRodriguez-xm8gr]

I love the humor that you have combined with all the useful information you gave, I am very scared of non-reflection ("real image of myself") photos and now we'll you helped me to love me a bit more

[@JonBear]

Thank you Gabriel! Loving yourself is the most important thing

[@borg9355]

So glad I found your video. I recently used the information you provided to change the way I take head shots to use online etc. and I believe it is a game changer; because now I think the pics I take actually look like me. All these years I thought I was ugly; because of the photos I took and used online really looked different then how I thought I looked. Although I am no model I have a higher level of confidence in my online presence. Thanks.

[@KoolKat_YT]

Thank you. This video made me feel so much better about myself.

[@bran_rx]

Finally, an explanation. I've always wondered why I look good when I use the main camera instead of the selfie.

[@Doodsinho]

DUDE! This is so true! I used to film all my videos with a webcam, which I guess has a really tight focal length, and I always felt really handsome when I did so. But for my last video I decided to use my phone's frontal camera to film myself, since it's really nice, 1080p60 and all, good quality. One thing I noticed is that I looked 10x worse in comparison to the webcam, my nose was HUMONGOUS, my jawline, which has always been something that gave me confidence IRL, looked weak, everything felt so off, and I got really sad because I thought that's what I actually looked like since it was a "better camera" than my webcam.

[@Doodsinho]

Also in my 3x4s, which are professionally taken portrait photos for documents here in Brazil, dunno if y'all use this format in the rest of the world, I always found that in those photos I look pretty much exactly like I look in the mirror, strong jawline, big, but proportionate nose, and everything. I always liked those portraits.

[@marmota7615]

Foto 3x4 é o que mantem minha confiança em dia, sempre fico bom nelas kk

[@VeganoGuy]

Thanks for this. As soon as I started watching this video, it made sense. When I accidently click my phone to front camera, I always think, "Jeez! Yuk!" and think I look terrible but when I see myself on birthday party photos, etc. I think I look okay. You've just explained why! Thanks. Oh, and as for the mirror, the reflection makes the distance double even though you're usually fairly close.

[@NiniZim]

Thank you for explaining this. It's always boggled my mind, how different I look in different photos, and not knowing which is the "real" me.

[@user-dm9ho2xl2i]

When you already have a wide face but you realize that your camera has been making it thinner

[@senecajackson]

Lol

[@alandpal79]

It really is wild how much the brain does as far as interpreting information and creating our realities. Interesting video

[@MikeTheTruthThatMatters]

This highlights the importance of making a really good first impressions. If you make a strong first impression with your looks or personality the other person is more likely to hold a positive image of you even when you objectively change.

[@cinemartin3530]

Thank you very much for telling all this! I've always wondered why I'm so bad at selfies, but I'm good in the mirror or in a photo when another person takes a picture of me. Now I know everything, and my social networks will soon be full of photos with my beautiful face! I wish I had watched your video earlier. 😅

[@samu9601]

4:50 ok bro i came here to learn how to take a good selfie and now im having an existential crisis

[@JonBear]

whoops

[@nobodyhere4667]

Thanks Jon, I couldnt figure out why I hate all my selfies but now I do :).

[@olliviermae1644]

There’s such a difference! This helps me feel better

[@daisyshinyweather]

But also, if you see someone's face really close to your own face (like when kissing for instance) then you can start noticing the distortion of theirs faces. I guess that's why closing your eyes in those scenarios is recommended.

[@theprettygoodgatsby]

I dont think anyone would prefer a set of eyes staring at them when doing smth as intimate as that either bud xD

[@elitestar]

Except your eyes are equivalent to approximately a 50mm lens, not a wide angle, so you won't see their face looking distorted when you get closer.

[@BullyMaguire387]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@My_Spiritual_Journey.]

😆

[@francescob.3019]

what really boggles my mind about this is that i’ve seen phones do some crazy shit after processing photos. Some of them even attach a detailed moon image on the moon if they detect the moon in your shot. How they’re not addressing this issue with AI processing or something, or maybe just changing the lenses of the SELFIE camera, i mean, even the name says it’s supposed to take selfies…

[@blubblub3786]

Because normal angle lenses get tricky if you try to take pics with friends. Wide angle is just better.

[@francescob.3019]

@@blubblub3786 I still don't see the point if everyone looks bad tho.

[@seancurtis1199]

Actually a huge boost to my self confidence, I look whack in selfies and was starting to worry :D

[@adamstrachn]

Being a former photographer and now just a hobbyist, I'm happy someone is finally addressing this. I've disliked selfies for so long. Especially, because they are mainly just low key narcissist posts. How many pictures of the same bad angle shot do we need?

[@notthesamecc1927]

i think this is 100% true. I had a brain injury and that was exactly what the docs came up with - my vision was not impaired but how my brain interprets my vision was/is. Excellent video.

[@conlie23]

The brain is your interface... Thank you Jon for explaining the connections that makes it really very vivid to explain the benefits of different lenses. It gives everything a philosophical food for thought to ask: How real is reality?

[@JonBear]

Thank you! Yes I believe preconceived beliefs makes the brain put a certain 'filter' over your image as well. Reality exists but we don't have access to it 😂 cameras help us see it differently 💪

[@toot4you19]

Reality is very real. Our perspective of it... not so much. I would like to argue that camera’s don’t lend us a different perspective but a more accurate one

[@DarkFuryKH]

I read your comment as soon as he said "The brain is your interface". What a coincidence

[@vicbasces]

Really love the final bit about our brain fixing the distortions.

[@BKing007]

although i look ugly in all cameras this was a really fun to watch, intresting and informative video, learned a lot about cameras and definitely see myself going through more of your content for sure, great work 👏🏻👏🏻

[@julimartin7698]

I bet you’re not ugly at all!! 🌺

[@Zim5.0]

So it's all about the distance... Thank you for this video! I've learned many things.

[@JonBear]

Yeah exactly! So mirror selfies are the best :)

[@VikasdeepSingh]

this is happened with me. Once a "new" friend of mine wanted to take selfie with me. After taking selfie, he was in shock looking at me and then at the photo as my photo was totally different than what he could see me with his eyes in front of him. He didn't say anything but deleted the photo silently. haha

[@usernameisunavailable8270]

😂

[@duane_313]

Damn 💀

[@Dezzs]

You were so goofy at the beginning, i didnt expect to learn something interesting from you. Very nice vid, liked this so much.

[@jeevan1326]

My man got my point ! It happened to me ! I looked really good in my mirror and I looked like crap on my phone, thanks for clearing that out brother !

[@dante340]

This is heartbreaking because I actually like how look in selfies MUCH more than I do in regular photos 😭

[@DakshPratap-qh3cn]

Than be happy because we looks less attractive in selfie than real life now you understand how much attractive you are in real life selfie also shows a very good representation it's not totally different person

[@JanneSala]

Interesting factoid about eyes focusing at an estimated 50mm focal length. It starts to make sense now why on my DSLR, with a 50mm lens, I can look through the viewfinder with one eye and outside of it with the other, and the view kind of "syncs up" and neutralizes - I'm seeing more or less a normal view through the 50mm and my brain just interprets that as regular vision. Neat!

[@mavitoor2732]

Thanks man for the insight and info . Was struggling with the concept since ages . 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@amit.exe_stopped_working5373]

Thank you very much,I gained some of the confidence back that I lost after taking a selfie from my back camera

[@Krishnapriya.]

You deserve a 1Million subs and more views and all

[@JonBear]

You are amazing! Thank you so much 🙏🙏

[@samhyde8684]

You’re the GOAT bro. Stepped up my tinder game 1000%

[@JonBear]

MY MAN

[@samhyde8684]

@@JonBear no joke made a new account with proper photos and got 5x the likes I had before in just 2 days lol crazy results

[@JonBear]

@@samhyde8684 Presentation is everything in life. Good stuff!

[@BeforetheStorm.]

I always wondered why I looked better in the mirror than in selfies. Thank you great video 👍

[@carld1480]

Ahhh... thanks a lot. I never take a selfie because when I do, I look ugly & I thought I was ugly! Never did I think it was a mechanical problem. You changed my mind. Thanks!

[@wingopingo]

Love the comedy thrown in with the content. Great stuff🙂

[@valdemarkjaer]

I prefer a lens “between” the focal distances you chose to talk about (7mm ultrawide and 50mm), i.e. the 35mm full frame mount ( 17mm micro four thirds). It seems to fullfil the balance between optical distortion and the feeling of a “human field of view” in screens at the same time it preserves central, important, details. The 35(17)mm is a good bet for both small rooms and open/large spaces (travel, street) . It is versatile enough to make a youtube personal setup, shooting both inside small places and outside, large open spaces. If I had to pick up only one lens, I would take the 35mm(17 mft)

[@petouser]

35mm is a excellent focal length. Especially why you shoot horizontally, the face doesn't look very distorted. Even with my phone, I set at least 1.5x zoom (which is similar like 35mm) for portraits. It's a great organic feeling focal length.

[@henrycartier]

Interesting. Would you consider a 50mm (on fullframe) for a head and shoulder portrait vertically? Or would that require too tight space between camera and model (thus introducing distorsion) or is it a safe zone? I know the 50 is considered as "normal" but I guess it is possible to mess up with facial distorsion if you get close enough.

[@shmvon]

@@henrycartier It's not so hard: wide angle gives context and narrow angle gives focus. Between 35 and 50 you're shifting from compositions to portraits and that's why these angles are popular for street photography. Distortion will be limited.

[@thetinglessasmrtist]

This explains everything!! Every time I get my picture taken by a professional photographer, I'm in awe at my facial features because they look nothing like what I usually see in selfies 😅

[@ellobopoderososdl4596]

So the professional photographer's camera is at 200mm+ focal length.

[@Huy-mh8ym]

yo, I've been struggling with selfies and don't know why ( maybe I'm kind of stupid ). This video just poped up at the right time though I barely watch this genre. Thank man, you make me feel more confident!!

[@itz_zed]

Finally my questions are answered. Thank you brother. This video was really helpful 🙂

[@vonpheusarts6948]

I love how clear and fun you talk about this. I actually learned a lot and never got bored. Thank you! New Subscriber Here! More power to your channel!

[@JonBear]

That's great to hear! Would love to hear what you think about my recent content

[@EthemD]

I'm guessing that's why lenses can also be referred as 'objectives' 😁 kudos on how logical you presented this!

[@CorpusLael]

I don't know why YT has suggested me your channel but your video is great! Now I consider learning more about photography as a hobby. 😀

[@JonBear]

That’s awesome! It’s a great hobby and you can start with your phone 👍

[@user-vr4nz2io9q]

I'm gonna cry, oh my Godddd. This whole time, I hated the way I looked. Even considered plastic surgery.....

[@user-vr4nz2io9q]

And I can't even see what I look like without my camera because I'm blind as a bat.

[@jungdjouhaina6578]

Same here😭i feel better to think that the mirror version is the real us😭😭

[@JonBear]

Yes in fact, if you do a mirror selfie you will get really good results!

[@aayushzedx1357]

@@JonBear bro i look good in normal selfies but looks ugly in mirror selfies🙄

[@triumphnissi2280]

@@aayushzedx1357 🤣🤣🤣🤣 that's hilarious though... Stick to selfies then, 😁

[@George19906oficcial]

The virgin selfie vs the Chad DSLR

[@JonBear]

😎

[@justaregularcat5411]

Thank you for giving hope to humanity

[@LadyMekona]

Wow this is so cool! I really did not know how much focal length does matter. Very neat!

[@katpage9378]

I was already aware of this but I didn’t realize the difference was that drastic. Yay now I’m less insecure and I’m gonna get myself a 50 mm camera

[@LegendoftheGalacticHero]

1:46 I came here to resent my photgraphy, not be seduced 🤣

[@Amaankhan-qj9rk]

Exactly what I was suffering from, this made me feel good about myself

[@XAdriMine]

I really loved the end about of the world looks like. Very poetic and humble

[@marconeyu]

I laughed through this entire video while learning!! I can relate to everything you are saying @Jon Bear Thanks for the excellent video and the hilarity!

[@rohitchaoji]

That part of brain reconstructing an image based on known information to avoid distortion of faces as you get close to them reminded me of something freaky I experienced recently. While I was asleep, right next to my partner, and we were practically stuck together, at times, when she was in my peripheral vision, it would seem like her eyes were open. But when I looked at her face directly, they would actually be closed. I already guessed that it was some peripheral vision phenomena, but it makes more sense now, that our brains do a lot of interpolation and extrapolation of information that is incomplete.

[@RodolfinhoGamer]

This video saved my life, thanks

[@SewTubular]

It's not about focal length, it's about distance. You never want to be shooting closer than 5 feet from your camera. With a Full Frame camera at about 5 feet, you will need a an 85mm lens to frame a portrait correctly. If you shoot further away say 7-8 feet, you will need a 135mm lens to frame your subject correctly for a portrait. Also shooting closer to your subject will "expand" their facial features ( so people with flatter faces will look better with an 85mm lens on a Full Frame camera ), where people with large facial features ( big ears, big nose, etc... ) will benefit from the "compression" of shooting further away with an 135mm lens.

[@TheWorldnUs]

“All of a sudden I’m dm’d from hot babes” 🤣🤣🤣

[@JonBear]

Just like magic! 😂😂

[@Tomi101_]

1:04 RELATABLE LMAO

[@professorwattson3840]

man I cant even tell u how much happier I am with myself after watching this xD such a great video

[@terrymckeel5094]

Came for selfie tips, left with an existential crisis

[@m-4682]

So what is the best way to take the best selfies? Selfie stick? What can you do about the focal length? Great Video by the way!

[@JonBear]

Photographers tend to prefer 50mm or 85mm. They'll usually refer to these lenses as portrait lenses. Many many movies are also shot with this focal length. However it's really all about the distance. If you have a selfie stick, that will make you less distorted. Mirror selfies are also a great alternative. But the best is to ask a friend to take a photo for you using your phone's portrait mode :)

[@m-4682]

@@JonBear Cool, thank you!

[@a.b.creator]

@@JonBear I use the timer in my phone's camera setting and set it on a window sill or something and stand back. My phone does have a portrait setting, maybe I'll use that next time.

[@kzin4464]

Quality video keep it up man... one day we will see u having 1 million subs cuz you deserve it

[@JonBear]

That's super kind! I will work hard to deserve it!

[@AlexAmellal]

Thumbs up for unexpected matrix deep-dive into the nature of perception mid camera tips video

[@iriselisa946]

Thank you for the great information with the perfect amount of humor.