While making my selfie I did indeed manipulate it to correct the white balance, adjust the exposure and open up the shadows. I did not add a filter because I don’t see the value in them and I already had in mind the look that I was after. I also used my (ageing) cellphone to make and edit the image (with Snapseed) rather than my mirrorless camera because I wanted to stick to the same approach that many (most?) people use while making selfies. As a result, the image quality is not what it could be, particularly when it comes to the resolution and dynamic range of the sensor. It’s a photograph, but it’s not pretending to be the best in any particular category.
I suspect that Sontag, Nickel and Rettberg are broadly correct: there is a particular image of ourselves that we have in mind and we are disappointed if we do not see it replicated in a photograph. We are probably less interested in seeing how we are, than we are in seeing how we imagine ourselves to be or would like to be.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that we can go quite far in the other direction, as well: there are people who make themselves look less appealing to make a personal, social or political point. Some of these images look just as contrived as the “upscaling” images and probably take just as much effort to achieve. Perhaps the point is less about whether we dress up or down, and more about what we are trying to display (given that selfies are created willingly) and its impact on the viewers.
The Self and the Other 