People are 3D. Photographs are 2D. If you want a photograph to convey what someone looks like in person, you can't ignore the dynamics.
Is it really conveying how someone looks in person when they make themselves look better than they really are through posing? After all, it's not really unheard of to meet someone in person and find out that their photographs are way too flattering...
Isn't that basically how a high proportion of online dating platforms continue to be so popular? Everyone looks lovely online, but in real life, it often becomes clear someone hired a pro to utilize some posing tricks and/or used a bit of Photoshop to "enhance" their beauty. Naturally there are exceptions to this, I just mean in general.
Yes, I'm not disputing that at all. I'm just saying, in response to the parent, this kind of photography isn't really portraying how you look in reality
That's called candid photography. You don't pose for that.
Experienced photographers (not me unfortunately) know lots of tricks to get people to look good. A popular one to hide double chins is to move your head forward by about a centimeter or two, but facing the camera so it can't see the angle of your neck.
In the military, it's common to lie down and have the photographer photograph you from above when you're older and have become a bit larger. It looks more natural than trying to suck-in your gut :)
Does this only work because everyone has short hair?