You and your significant other are enjoying a day at the beach. You both decide it’s a great setting for a photograph. So you pull an unsuspecting stranger from the crowd and ask him to snap a few with your phone. Then comes the request to remove your sunglasses. You are about to embark on one of the oldest controversies in eyewear history.
Should you leave your sunglasses on or take them off? If you’re inclined to leave them on, should you verbally respond to the request or keep your mouth shut and smile? Beware, dear friend. There is only one correct answer. If you don’t know what it is, talk to somebody who has successfully navigated the choppy waters of eyewear protocol.
Can’t See Your Face
There is a legitimate reason for removing your sunglasses long enough to take a photograph. Simply put, people really can’t see your face as clearly as you want them to when you’re wearing shades. And quite frankly, they probably don’t care whether you’re wearing designer sunglasses from Utah’s women’s wholesale sunglasses distributor Olympic Eyewear or a generic pair you purchased at the pharmacy.
Not being able to see your face is a valid concern if you are taking an important photograph. For instance, maybe you’re getting a group photo during your annual family reunion. This may be the last chance to take photos of family members who live far away. It would be nice, at least for posterity’s sake, if everyone were identifiable. But just a run-of-the-mill picture at the beach? That’s a different story.
Those run-of-the-mill pictures will not necessarily hold any value a year or two down the road. On top of that, will anyone even care 50 years from now? There is no way to answer that question. You have to make your choice and roll the dice.
Squinting Is Another Option
Just as there is a valid reason for taking your sunglasses off, there is an equally valid reason for leaving them on. Remove them and your only other option is to squint under the brightness of the summer sun. Future generations might be able to identify your face without your sunglasses, but that is only if your squinting doesn’t distort your features so drastically that they confuse you with that old neighbor who used to live next door.
Squinting is also sort of unattractive. It makes for some pretty ugly pictures. On the other hand, a good pair of designer sunglasses looks pretty awesome. It’s the one chance you have to look like a movie star in family photographs. You want to seize the day – and the opportunity, too!
If you are the type of person who would prefer to keep your sunnies on your face, you have a choice to make. Either be prepared to defend your willingness to hide important facial features that could be used to identify you for all eternity or suck it up and squint.
The Whole Mask Thing
The age-old sunglasses-in-photographs controversy has been made much more serious over the last 14 months by the prevalence of face coverings. At the height of the coronavirus crisis, people were wearing face coverings and oversized sunglasses with huge frames. Now that’s obscuring your face. It’s a wonder we didn’t see more armed bank robberies.
Posing for photographs outdoors leaves plenty of room for adventure. You want the right backdrop with the right angle. You want the color and light balance to be just perfect. And of course, you want to see everyone’s face. So it’s off with the sunglasses and on with the squints. Just don’t forget to say ‘cheese’.