The below sentence I have to tell to someone else who is just acting to be stylish.
"It (his photo) seemed not to be your natural look "
Is that ok? Specifically, is “natural look” correct in this context?
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"natural look" is OK, but "seemed not to be" sounds off. Can't really explain why; I would have used "did not seem to be".– Mr ListerCommented Dec 28, 2017 at 16:37
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This sounds good. Why "natural look" Is not correct?– user67212Commented Dec 28, 2017 at 16:38
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@user67212 - Nobody has said "natural look" is not correct.– J.R. ♦Commented Dec 28, 2017 at 16:47
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The expression [one's] natural look has a pretty vague meaning at best. Many people would say it means what a woman looks like when she's not wearing any makeup, but in practice the term is mostly used by beauticians who very definitely expect to use makeup in order to achieve the effect. Or a portrait photographer might use it to indicate that he's managed to use carefully-controlled lighting, subject posture, etc. to obtain a photo that looks as if it was a snapshot taken unawares, rather than the result of much effort in the studio (and/or photoshopping! :)– FumbleFingersCommented Dec 28, 2017 at 18:41
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2 Answers
It is perfectly OK grammatically. It does not, however, seem quite idiomatic to me. Why "seemed" rather than "seems"? Why "be" rather than "have" or "capture" or "evoke"? And yet these questions may merely reflect my personal preferences on style. You should feel quite free to use your proposed language if it fits your personal style of speech.
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I am just commenting on his profile picture not his real appearance. Commented Dec 28, 2017 at 16:12
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@JeffMorrow This sounds like a comment rather than an answer. Commented Dec 28, 2017 at 16:38
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2@MrLister when someone asks whether a grammatically correct sentence is correct without specifying in what regard the sentence may be incorrect, it seems to me that the answer can do no more than specify that the answer is grammatically correct while mentioning in what regard it may not sound idiomatic. A very general question is likely to elicit a very general answer. Commented Dec 28, 2017 at 17:05
"Natural look" is perfectly idiomatic, but not as in your example. I've heard it more often when talking about cosmetics:
Achieve a natural look with "You-Won't-Believe-I'm-Wearing-Makeup" makeup by L'Oreal!
Instead use "look natural".
Your photo doesn't make you look natural. You should try to stop posing and just be yourself.
