Why is it that some people's pictures come out so good and some people's pictures are ugly?

Question

I have seen some good looking people's photos come out looking bad and vice versa.

Answer 1

Because people look different. They pose different and all that.

Answer 2

When we judge a person we see in real life as beautiful or ugly we are not looking at a two dimensional still image of a 1/100 or 1/1000 second in time with that person's face at a particular angle and just that split second's lighting conditions or the expression on that face at the time.

We are forming a judgment based on a general view in three dimensions of a person's face as it moves through its normal functions of smiling, talking, frowning, expressing joy or amazement etc.

One way to get a feeling for what I mean is to watch a DVD of someone you think is a beautiful actress or handsome actor and begin freeze framing it. You will be amazed at how strange and ugly these beautiful people can look when a particular look or expression is caught and frozen in time as it is in a photo.

Now a photograph in doing this 'freezing' of time may capture a beautiful image or ugly image depending on many factors. It could be the look on the person's face in that instant, the angle and lighting conditions etc. For example some lighting conditions, make up, poses and angles can exaggerate or reduce the appearance of a facial feature such as a large nose. Get these things right, even by accident, and someone you may have judged as ugly can appear beautiful.

A skilled photographer can be more confident than a beginner that they can set up the best poses, angles, expressions, lighting etc. to make the most of that instant. A skilled photographer can make a fat person appear thinner, a nose look smaller etc.

A professional photograher will also use the best of equipment (and this requires experience and training to use properly) that I won't run through here that improves the chances of that  perfect shot.