Mirrors/Photos

[Anonymous]

I was just wondering if anyone knew (or if there was an answer to this question) if a mirror or photos are a more accurate way to tell what you really look like. I always think that I look "ok" in mirrors, but really ugly in photographs. Does one or the other distort what you look like more?

[-Michael-]

This made me laugh so much...

im sorry....


eash...


I just think.... a picture is always more ugly because there is no room for improvement and you cant change it (unless you use photoshop aha)

In the mirror...you change instantly at every moment...

Mirrors more accurate id say.

lol, the topic kinda amuses me too.
i agree with henson though, the mirror is much more accurate, or at least i think so. i hate 90% of my pics, but i don't think i'm an ugly guy in person... idk, pictures always seem to catch me at weird times, maybe some dumb expression or a bad angle or whatev.

[panda]

Mirrors reflect what I think I look like. It is the real me but it's filtered through my vanity.

In a mirror I'm a handsome,stylish,roguish,debonair,desirable, guy.

In a photograph I say,"Holy Crap!! Do I really look like that?....... Shit!

[-Michael-]

Originally Posted by panda

r I'm a handsome,stylish,roguish,debonair,desirable, guy.

That how i see you; a handsome,stylish,roguish,debonair,desirbale...pand a

[panda]

Originally Posted by Henson

That how i see you; a handsome,stylish,roguish,debonair,desirbale...pand a

Gosh... Thanx....

[Lexington]

Believe it or not, there IS a difference.

A mirror is a reflection. It reverses things - swapping the left and right sides. A photograph, however, shows you "as others see you". They're not exactly the same.

Try this. Get two decent sized mirrors that you can move around. Put them at a 90 degree angle, like the ones here.



Then place the mirrors so the "point" of the angle is pointing away from you, and look straight into the "seam" at your reflection. This "double mirror" ends up flopping the image twice, so it returns it to the way it actually is. When you wink your left eye, the reflection winks its left eye, too. This double-reflection will show you precisely how others see you. And it should look somehow "different" than your normal reflection. Probably a bit less familiar.

In addition, photos are a snapshot. One frame taken out of context in life. Jump on YouTube, and watch a video of your favorite actor or musician performing. Pause the clip a few times. It's pretty easy to find a frame where the actor or musician looks really silly - their mouth agape, their eyes scrunched up, whatever. But if you watch that section of the clip straight through, you probably don't even notice them having that weird look. The pause is like a photograph - it takes it out of context, and so it looks strange. Photos often do that.

Lex

[Blaz]

Wow! This is something that's been on my mind for a while though I always forget to bring it up. I'm happy to know mirrors are more accurate.

[Anonymous]

You can get mirrors which magnify and enhance everything and all that jazz.

[Maddy]

I've always thought mirrors were a better representation because photos only show what you look like during a split second, and you don't notice those split-second moments when you see someone, you see them the way you would in a mirror. At least, I hope so, I don't like the thought that I actually look the way I do in photos.

[Étoile]

In mirrors, it's an exact reflection.

In photos, something's always wonky. The room's too dim, the flash brings out all of the flaws on your face, you're snapped while talking to someone, you're too skinny, you're too fat, you're too short, you're too tall. The more you look at it, the more you see wrong with it. That's why I hardly ever take photos.

[Paul_UK]

Another thread that doesn't belong in anonymous, moved to somewhere more sensible....

[lexie]

im pretty sure photos are a better tell of how you actually look to others than a mirror. i cant explain why cause i cant remember why, but i remember people saying so. maybe they were wrong, i dont know.

YErr photos are how peopel see you and mirrors arent because like Lex said it flips it the other way round

And if you look at the mirror too long it'll change if your paranoid that is ^_^

[panda]

i don't mean to make fun of you lexie but you sound like the perfect politician.

I can't explain why,but I remember people saying so.
Maybe they were wrong.
I don't know.

[lexie]

Originally Posted by panda

i don't mean to make fun of you lexie but you sound like the perfect politician.

I can't explain why,but I remember people saying so.
Maybe they were wrong.
I don't know.

haha i guess maybe that's my true calling.

[lodiug]

Originally Posted by lexie

im pretty sure photos are a better tell of how you actually look to others than a mirror. i cant explain why cause i cant remember why, but i remember people saying so. maybe they were wrong, i dont know.

I hope they're wrong! I've always wondered why I look so handsome in the mirror and in a picture so ewww.....

[Lexington]

To sum up my lengthy post...

Photos do depict you the way people "really see you" - but they take you out of context. Frozen. Often with an odd look on your face or a weird pose. You don't look often like that, since you're constantly in motion.

Mirrors may "flip sides", but since they depict you in motion, they probably give a somewhat better representation of what you look like.

Lex

[Paul_UK]

Video is probably better still as it shows you in motion, from various angles and without the flipped sides. However video often suffers from poor lighting which means the colour balance and contrast is all wrong, and lousy camera-work which makes it blurred and shaky.

It seems there's no single ideal way of seeing yourself. A combination of them all is probably the best you'll do. And don't look at yourself too closely. Nobody else will look at you that closely, and I'm sure you don't look at others so critically.