I find shows featuring makeovers for glamour shots on TV amusing… not that it’s a joke that these makeovers do give some greater practical social confidence. The shows would depict the subject struggling with new hairdos, clothes, and most of all, trying to pose well, such that they break free of their past personas as much as possible, to be ‘reborn’ with a new attitude. In the end, only a few ‘revolutionary’ photographs are selected and screened, which are so amazing that they surprise the audience and the subjects themselves.
But what is a glam shot or two about? Are these moments capturing the ultimate truth of who the photographed person really is… or is not? These are just moments in time. Are they ultimate illusions instead? Are they truly representative or truly unrepresentative of the person’s character and style? These glamourous moments, are actually just as transitory as any other – for there are no fixed forms, even if we imagine we are able to cling to some of them as being more real than others.