These Two Selfies Show the Power of a Well-Prepared Portrait

Kansas-based hair colorist Ursula Goff recently shared these two selfies side-by-side to show the same things can be presented in drastically different ways with a carefully planned photo.

“So I didn’t edit either one of these photos, but they were taken just a few days apart,” Goff writes. “I think it’s important to note that lighting, angles, facial expression, and make-up make a huge difference in photography and presentation (especially in my case!).”

“Social media can make it easy to feel like everyone else is awesome and perfect all the time, but that’s really never true,” she continues. “We should keep in mind that behind every pretty face or perfect lifestyle is a regular person, and that there’s really no point in comparing amongst ourselves because this is all cultivated.”

Her Facebook post has since been liked 30,000+ times and shared 16,000+ times:

So I didn't edit either one of these photos, but they were taken just a few days apart. I think it's important to note…

Posted by Ursula Goff on Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Goff believes that people behind picture-perfect online photos can help people build self esteem by being more real more often.

“Part of the solution, I think, is more people opting to take a moment here and there to be real and show what’s behind the smoke and mirrors, because it’s relevant for y’all to know that this isn’t reality,” she says. “In reality, nothing is perfect, life is messy, and people are flawed.”

“Do you. For real.”