Your profile image: Is it really YOU?

What's your opinion?

What does your profile pic say about you? Is your choice of image important?

Is it better to have a real photo of yourself, or artwork that expresses your personality?

Sound off on the Duel below!

THE REAL ME ...

well, sort of ...

Many prefer an icon that captures their personality, that has nothing to do with what they truly look like.

Others put the real, raw, unedited truth right up there for the world to see. This is me, and I don't care what you think.

I wish I could be so confident. I like to think that I look better in real life than in every photo ever taken of me ... seriously. I can't stand most photos of me.

Now, I don't think I look like a model or anything -- don't get me wrong -- but some candid shots of me make me want to torch them!

I guess I am rather vain. But it isn't in a "I'm better than you" kind of way ... just in a "I want the world to see the best of me" way.

YOUR TAKE ON PROFILE PICS

Anonymize? Stylize?

Your choice of profile photo tells a lot about you in just a tiny 100 pixel square.

What do you want yours to say about you?

Does having a real photo of yourself give you more credibility?

Does a stylized photo -- rather than other digital art -- combine your need to express your identity and also your creativity? (If you hadn't guessed, this is my choice.)

Let's hear you sound off on YOUR profile pic:

REAL OR FAKE?

Fetching blurbs now... please stand by

Faking it is fine.

Rock_The_Ice says:

I'd pick stylised photos over real any day. I prefer the air of mystery.

Posted May 09, 2008

XP says:

I'm an artist and a perfectionist. I look at things and see ways I would like to improve them.

Besides, a digital nosejob is way less expensive, and painless!

Posted April 22, 2008

I'm real as they come.

animal_lover79 says:

People always tell me I look better in person than in pictures, and I agree - damn Italian nose! Although I'm not photogenic, I decided to use the least offensive photo for my profile pic.

Posted July 18, 2008

Pastiche says:

I yam who I yam, but my hair she's gone grey ...

Posted June 23, 2008

poddys says:

I find it a bit confusing because when I correspond with a person or look at their work, I imagine that they look like their profile pic, so seeing a young girl when the profile is for an older woman or a man for example gets my brain confused. I would generally prefer to see the real person behind the lenses.

Posted April 23, 2008

RyanRE says:

I work in real estate and people like to see what you look like. I guess that I am just used to posting my photo, so in this case I am going to fall on the real side.

Posted April 23, 2008

trueprosperity says:

I like who I am, so I put up a real photo of myself on my profile pages. I think it gives off a more positive first impression to people, but you can also gain that by great content (website) and conversation (socializing). I like your portrait, because it's still you.

Posted April 23, 2008

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Extreme Makeover: Rockstar Edition

Cancelled due to profound lack of interest.

Do you LOVE playing around in Photoshop?

Yeah, me too!

But, I understand that I am going to see myself differently than others see me.

So, I'm going to give my AWESOME fan club a chance to MAKE ME OVER ... digitally, of course!

Snag the original unedited pic by contacting me, do your Photoshop (or other photo manipulation or illustration software) magic on it, and enter my latest rockstar contest!

I thought it might be neat to let others try their hand at making me look less like an old hobbit and more like the happily imbalanced soul I am on the inside.

I'll be happy to pay you back with a stylized version of your own photo.

But more than that, for your efforts I'll put a link to YOUR favorite lens up with your submission(s) ... and the WINNER who offers up the BEST Rockstar Digital Makeover will get a permanent link on my Lensography!

Once you join my fan club and use the Contact Me link to send me a message stating your sincere intent to enter this contest (and enter a binding agreement with Satan not use my likeness for any nefarious reasons; he's jealous) I'll send you a few different recent portraits to choose from.

Be sure to submit a finished art file that is at least 300 pixels wide, as well as a 100 pixel square icon version; both in GIF, PNG or JPG format. You can upload your entries to Photobucket and just send me a message with the direct URL links, to make things easy, Steve.
link to XP's lens

I took the artsy sketchy profile pic, and added it on a layer above the original photo, then set the layer mode to Overlay and adjusted opacity for each layer until I got what I wanted.

The one entry in the original contest came from Adez7 so here I play with her profile image a bit ...

Here is my 5-minute Photoshop touchup of her profile pic ...

I think her photo is great as is (image on the left) but I like to try out Auto Color and Auto Levels in Photoshop, and fade them if they are too extreme (the middle image) and finally I browsed through the installed filters for an effect I liked that accentuated the colors in the photo, and tweaked the filter settings until I had a result I liked (image on the right).

My lensography

XP's wicked cool Lensography

XP is short for xpButtercup which in turn is short for ex-Princess Buttercup, derived from The Princess Bride movie. (For this reason, I'll often refer to my husband as the Dread Pirate Westley.) More people call out "XP!" when they see me, than my...

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Graphic design artist

and legend in my own mind

Please understand that in these CafePress shops, you will only find a fraction of the designs available ... I really enjoy making the art, but I despise the repetitive behind-the-scenes shop management.

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I'm a Cafe-crackhead. And I've turned others onto the habit. It's sad but true. I have friends who are now addicts because of me. And they have friends, who picked up the habit from them, due to my own addiction and bad influence. The shame. (Joi...

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Welcome to OOPTEE on CafePress! These designs were developed by kids aged 9 to 15, and they (with proper guidance) run the show.

BOW IN REVERENCE

You can argue the niceties of alternate programs all you want...

Photoshop is as necessary to me as my F key.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended

Amazon Price: $999.00 (as of 07/25/2008)

I don't even care that after more than 10 years of playing with it almost daily, and getting a 4.0 in college in all of my basic and advanced Photoshop courses, that I STILL don't know 78% of what this program can do.

It's mine and I love it. Back away from the Mac. S-l-o-w-l-y.