Bonsai that look good in photos vs real life - Thoughts?

[Paradox]

I should have clarified that I meant it as indirectly optimizing for a 2D image. Yes, obviously nobody would do that intentionally.

But if a design decision is made based on how a tree looks in an image, it seems plausible that the outcome may look better for an image but worse for real life. For example, if a branch looks too heavy in a photo and we decide to cut it off, it could simply be that the angle of the branch was pointing more towards the camera at an angle just off perpendicular to the frame, making it look a lot thicker than it actually is. In that case, the outcome would look better in photo but not necessarily in real life.

Again though, I have no evidence to back this up because I have not yet tried to refine my trees by studying their photos.

If you blindly use only the image and not verify with the actual tree.

The image can indicate a spot that needs adjustment that isnt as obvious with the tree directly in front of you. Its hard to explain but the picture makes it easier to see sometimes, maybe because of the perspective of the photo vs the tree right in front of you.

The photo is a tool to see the whole image from a distance. I have noticed things from a picture that I didn't with the tree right in front of me.