Why do I look so much better in the mirror than in photographs?

Is it like this for everyone? And what is truer to life?

Everybody thinks that but it''s not true -- you''re backwards. EVERYONE looks weird when their photo is printed backwards even if they think they "look better." See link:
http://luizcore.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/beatles.jpg?w=343&h=450
You don''t. You are used to looking at yourself in the mirror. That''s what you think you look like.\ \ But people aren''t symmetrical.\ \ The photograph is more like what you actually look like. It just looks "off" to you alone.
OP, it''s because the real you is simply hideous! Has no one ever told you that before. Trust me, it''s true. Your true visage is monstrous.
Some mirrors can hid your true self.
Your mirror lies to you. Photographs don''t.
My mirror tells me the truth\ \ -Snow White''s Queen\ \ I just put a picture in the attic and then look in the mirror\ \ -Dorian Gray
R1 ''s link is not about this topic...\ \ it''s a picture of the 60''s Beatles.
I''m just the reverse, OP. I am very photogenic, have been told that my whole life. But in person, I guess I''m kind of ordinary.
I wondered this for a while, and then I realized that when I look in a mirror, I pose at flattering angles without realizing what I''m doing. I hold my head in a way that covers my sagging chin, I stand up straight and suck in my gut, and I suppose I put the mirrors in places with good lighting. \ \ I suspect that what I see in the mirror and what other people see are very different.
MARY at r9. LOL. Who the hell besides a big ole MARY would pose in front of a mirror?
Another thing is that some people just aren''t photogenic. I tend to freeze up and be self-conscious. My father was the same way.
I look okay in the mirror, and I look okay in photographs that are taken full face-on.\ \ But man, I hate my profile. Even in the mirror, if I turn my head, I start to hate what I see.\ \ It''s really bad in photos when I''m in full profile. UGH!
It''s just so frustrating. I look in the mirror and think I look kind of cute, then I take a dozen pictures because I want to put one up an a dating website, and each one is more hideous than the other.
OP
I always think I look good in the mirror, but then see a photo someone''s taken of me, and it is always ghastly.\ \ If it''s a group shot, I think everyone looks like themselves, so that must be what I really look like.
It ain''t pretty.
I am not photogenic at all. People often remark that in person I look nothing like my photos - not more or less attractive, just different.\ \ One of my friends is a very plain-looking woman, but the camera loves her. In photos all of her plain features are strikingly transformed.
The camera loves some people, and hates others.\ \ OP, I''m like you... the camera hates me.\ \ In all my life, there are only maybe four or five pictures post-puberty that I actually think aren''t all that bad.\ \ At this point, I just avoid cameras wherever I can.
R7, that link is of a REVERSE image of The Beatles. The topic is mirror images. Capishe?
Cameras DO lie. Due to defection, refraction, conflection, and infliction, cameras always make my dainty features look larger in the wrong places. (An important scientist at a big university in a famous place discovered this.) Because of all kinds of strange optical things and complicated gizmos that break and give you the wrong shortstop or spoil the focus-pocus and little hairs that get stuck inside and goo on the pixels. Never forget that only you can ever fully appreciate your own true beauty. Others may try, but they so often fall short.
Price Leatherbarrow
I always look better in photos than I do in the mirror. Don''t know why, but I''ve always been too critical of myself. Maybe I really am okay looking.
I agree with whoever it was upthread who said that the camera loves some people and hates others. Sadly I''m No. 1 on its $hitlist. Really. Big nose, small eyes... I''m not too bad in real life but on film it''s horrifying, every time. Meanwhile I have a couple of chubby friends who look thin and stunning in every single photo, without fail. They have even, unremarkable features and they just translate beautifully on camera.\ \ Apparently, many supermodels'' look better in person than on film. (!?!) However much the camera loves them, they''re just THAT stunning that they merely look gorgeous in photos. Lucky bitches.
OP, it''s very hard to take a good picture of oneself. You need to enlist a friend or go have a professional do it. Lighting is major factor in the subject''s appearance in the photo. \ \ Also, you could be feeling too self-conscious. I know when I''m aware that my photo is being taken, I feel my face change. I get awkward and if I smile, it looks stilted. In a casual setting with friends, I can stand with them and pose but 9 times out of 10, I''ll have a grimace on my face, or just an unflattering appearance. My best photos are those in which I am genuinely laughing, talking to someone, or otherwise NOT posing. Maybe you''re the same way.
r8
Most automatic digital cameras use a wide angle lens (35-50 mm), which distorts facial features. The best portrait lens is anywhere from 90-110 mm.
[quote]The photograph is more like what you actually look like. \ \ Depressing.
"Who the hell besides a big ole MARY would pose in front of a mirror?"\ \ A woman, genius.
R9
First, OP, you need to post these pictures you''re taking and let us tell you.\ \ I often look like a lesbian in photos if I''m posing for it. But I''m a guy. Somehow my angular features get lost in translation.
I''m the same way. I think I look OK in the mirror, better on some days than others, probably like most people. But I hate almost every single photo of myself. \ \ How am I going to troll for online hookups without a decent photo? Help me!
OP - Cameras take 3 dimensional images and translate them to 2 d. Depth, dimension and contours of the face all can be lost without proper lighting.
Age cannot wither me, nor custom stale my infinite variety.\ \ Sorry to hear about you all.
Whenever I see a recent photo of mine I wince. Then I''ll see the same photo six months or a year later and I will think - Oh, I look really good there. Why is that? Is it just that I see a bit younger version of myself and I can appreciate my looks from a year before? Also, whenever I see a recent photo I think I look heavier than I''d want to be. But when I look at the same photo months later I think I look slim. This, though, has to do with my being a little too critical when it comes to my weight.
OP, be grateful, I too have an enchanted mirror that leads me on to believe I''m gorgeous, as they say in cartoon land. When I actually see my picture taken with and un-enchanted camera, I''m always amazed at how canine I appear. In the real world I''m 20 pounds over weight and have a strong resemblance to the average shar pei.
The camera does see things differently than the naked eye. But that doesn''t mean that someone looks EXACTLY like they look in photos.\ \ Some people look much better in photographs than others. Some people are photogenic, some people are not. There are plenty of attractive people who look like shit in photos. And there are plenty of people who look great in photos, not so much in person. \ \ A lot of models are that way. They photograph brilliantly, when not on camera they''re relatively average-looking.
I avoid being photographed and somehow managed not to look at my recent driver''s license picture for 4 months until a bitch at HR Block kept it too long right side up...\ \ I look terrible in my rear view mirror(shows off my balding head) okay in my bathroom mirror good in my bedroom and work mirrors and fantastic in this banks outside mirrors. I go often at night and I don''t even bank there...
My mother''s line:\ \ "I wish I had her mirror"\ \ Usually said about some pig who thought she was hot sh*t!
The camera loves some people.\ \ See Marilyn Monroe. See Greta Garbo.
Because you''re a vain cunt, OP
Here''s something for you to try, OP - take a photo of yourself in the mirror, like so many countless guys do on MySpace and hookup sites. See what you think.\ \ A lot of bathrooms tend to have pretty flattering lighting, casting soft light and shadows on facial bones and muscles, etc. Lighting can do wonders for photographs. And since you''re taking a picture of your reflection, you get a better sense of how what the camera sees matches up with what you see, and how things might be distorted.\ \ But I wouldn''t recommend putting up any mirror photos on dating or hookup sites, since it''s a bit of a cliche and can reek of narcissism.
Many people, if not most, look better in person than they do in photographs. And a mirror image is more accurate than a photographic one because it''s 3-dimensional. \ \ The first thing a modeling agency does with prospective models is take quick Polaroid photos of them to determine their photogenicness. Most of the top models are not the best-looking people in person, but their looks translate beautifully on film.
I completely relate to this thread. I'm great at taking flattering portrait photos of other people but when someone takes my picture, it always looks SO bad. It's the worst in pictures when I'm laughing or smiling or looking relaxed and "natural," so at this point I avoid cameras like the plague and just wince and grimace when it's socially unacceptable to refuse having my picture taken. I always worry and wonder about what other people see when they look at me: the unfortunate bridge troll from photographs or the reasonably attractive person from mirrors. It wouldn't bother me so much to know that I am ugly so long as my ugliness was indisputable and consistent. The disparity between my reflection and my photographic appearance is so extreme that it makes me feel deeply insecure and self-conscious in social situations. Despite all that, my suspicion is that mirror reflections *are* more accurate than photographs. Photographs are two-dimensional renderings of three-dimensional surfaces, so even given the best angle and lighting conditions, the geometric planes of your face will be widened and flattened out. By that logic, people with sharp/harsh angular features and thin/wan faces look best on camera, which explains why so many celebs/models have eating disorders. In person, they often look underwhelming and ordinary, or frail and unhealthy, or just plain weird.
What an interesting thread, I feel better knowing I am not the only one who hates getting my picture taken. I am average looking at best, in the mirror, but with pictures I feel that I am very unattractive. It may be the angles in my face, I am not sure. \ \ I am not overweight so I don''t think it''s the "you look 10 pounds heavier in a photo" kind of thing. My face just looks very unattractive in photographs. \ \ I frequently dodge pictures that are being taken (I would rather "take" the picture of a group then be in it). I rarely will post a picture of myself online. I''ve been in a few pics that look somewhat like I think I look in the mirror - but they are very few. \ \ My partner is the opposite - she looks identical in person as she does in photos. She can take a great pic. \ \ I probably have only a few pictures of myself taken over the past decade. I just don''t like my pictures or store/keep them.
"My mother''s line: "I wish I had her mirror" Usually said about some pig who thought she was hot sh*t!"\ \ I like this! I must co-opt it!
[quote]Capishe?\ \ Oh, [italic]dear.[/italic]
I''m the reverse. I always think I look like shit in the mirror, but I''m usually pretty photogenic.
I also think I look okay in the mirror but am shocked at how awful I look in pictures. Of course the best is when I''ll complain how I look in a photo and my mom will chime in "Why? It looks just like you!"\ \ I do think the camera doesn''t lie for the most part.
Photographs are not always accurate either. Some people photograph horribly and others look way better in photos than in real life.
This thread would be way better with pics.
Yes, I too thought that I was the only one with this problem. The mirror seems to say one thing, but photos are another story altogether; I look hideous in most pictures that are taken of me. In group shots, I generally think that everyone else looks great, or at least fine, but I stand out as simply awful.
R46\ \ Is it your features or you expression in photos that you find off-putting?
I get very depressed when I see my reflection on the tv or laptop screen
[quote]Is it your features or you expression in photos that you find off-putting?\ \ Well, R47, sometimes either one and sometimes both.
OP, I''ve experienced the exact same thing. I thought I was going crazy! I think I can look ''cool'' and good looking in the mirror, but then I want to run for the hills when I see myself in pictures. I cringe with embarrassment.
I''m fairly attractive, but in pictures I look like Shrek.\ \ I have a 13 year old pic of me up and FB and nobody can tell how old it is. I look pretty much exactly the same, but its the best pic ever taken of me. \ \ Sigh...
Over 50 replies and no one has asked if the op is Kirker?
I can''t believe nobody understands this. A mirror is much more accurate than a photograph in showing how others see you. The difference? A photo is a frozen moment in time, which is not how people see things in real life. A mirror is a constantly updated image. If you want to know exactly how others see you, get a VIDEO camera, not a still camera.
What you see in the mirror is not a static image. Every time you move your eyes to focus in on some feature, you change the image.\ \ Pictures are static images, you can move your eyes around the image without changing it. Unlike the mirror, it is you, frozen.\ \ Also, take it from a photographer: lighting makes ALL the difference in the world. Don''t ever judge what you look like from a photo if flash photography was used for the illumination.
Thanks r53, that actually makes me feel better.
You might look more animated in a mirror, but it''s a reversed image, so that''s not how others see you.
OP, put a mirror on a table, bend over and look down at yourself. You won''t comment ever again on how good you look in a mirror, trust me.
[quote]put a mirror on a table, bend over and look down at yourself.\ \ It''s you with 10 years added to your face.
the reflection in the mirror is a living thing with expressions and breathing going on. The photo is a fixed second that may or may not reflect the wholeness of you.
r56, the reversal aspect doesn''t change how one perceives the image in any real way unless you''re trying to read something on a shirt. Do a "flip horizontal" in Photoshop - it doesn''t make someone look better or worse.
My problem is that I always feel like I''m smiling brightly for the camera but then in the photo I just look like an old deer caught in the headlights. I''m clearly afraid of the camera and it usually captures the fear.
[quote]I''m clearly afraid of the camera and it usually captures the fear.\ \ Unless you always go about with a frozen look of fear on your face, your picture isn''t really reflective of your appearance.
The Mirror
I was humiliated in my senior year of HS when I had my senior picture taken, and for some reason, I looked fat in it. I was not fat at all, but my face looked fat in the picture and a teacher saw it and commented that I seemed to have lost weight.\ \ The senior pictures were set up right in front of the school, I wanted to tear the whole thing down.
Stop smiling! r61. Just be natural. Get a camera, put it on a tripod and experiment with it while you''re alone. Learn what you look like with various angles, body postures and expressions. You''ll settle on something you like.
I look okay in pics that are professionally taken, but if someone hits me square on with a flash and their instamatic, it ain''t pretty.
when you look at yourself in the mirror - it''s in reverse as others have pointed out. But also, it''s dynamic. You''re moving.\ \ With a photo, it''s a moment captured and depending on the situation, the lighting and the look that''s captured, you can "see" something you don''t like.\ \ --\ I hate in magazines when they show a snapshot of a celebrity and say they''re mad or depressed or whatever. It''s just a moment that''s captured and we don''t look fabulous during every moment of our lives.
If you REALLY want to see what you look like to others, put up a video camera and record yourself.
I''ll tell you where I look the worst: my built-in pc camera. I look absolutely horrific so I don''t like to chat with my cam on.
My friends and I have a running gag that some people just look better "in motion."\ \ I''ve been told I look great in person but wacky in photographs. Why? It''s like certain people who I''m sure that we all know who "insist" on sucking their cheeks in as soon as someone takes a photo. Except instead of sucking my cheeks in, it''s like I have the strangest ability to wait until the very moment a photo is being taken and blink, make a goofy face, have one eye open and the other closed, laugh out loud at something while tossing my head back.\ \ I just avoid photographs entirely and when I do have to take them I avoid moving my face while they''re being taken. Of course then I look like a deer in headlights. \ \ I just can''t win.
MrPerfekt
So what''s the deal with people who photograph really well? I guess it''s just people who are more beautiful than average and who have many random angles to their faces that are more attractive then the average person.
r68, some of those cameras have very poor dynamic range - i.e. high contrast. You can get the same effect by turning up the contrast to extreme levels on normal photographs. But yeah, it will send the video of you looking like that, so avoid it or get a better cam.
I learned to part my hair by myself using a mirror. It always looked off in photos - until someone pointed it out to me.\ \ I now have suburban hair. I could be a Craig, Ryan, or Brian.
I have a cousin who couldn''t take a bad photo if her life depended on it - she''s that photogenic. To see her in person, though, you wouldn''t think it. Not that she isn''t attractive, but you don''t really notice how nice her features are until you see them in a photograph. It helps that her face is actually quite symmetrical, which really comes through in a photograph.
I have a question:\ \ If my looking bad in pictures is just a result of it being a moment caught in time(rather than a realistic 3d effect), then why does everyone else in the picture still look fine?
R63\ \ Connor from CF, is that you?
It''s not just your High School picture...
Nope r75, that is not me sorry. But boy was I embarrassed.
and Im drunk
OP = modern day Dorian Gray.
When we look in the mirror we see ourselves as ten years younger.
I am plain in real life and often have the stunned look of a child brought out of the attic in photos. Occasionally I will see a shot taken of me that is not quite as horrific as I was expecting and that is enough to make me feel quite chuffed.
Seeing your image is the equivalent of hearing your own voice on a recording: you always wonder, "that''s what I sound like?"\ \ I saw myself in a video and my features were completely asymmetrical. Usually, I look alright in photos but the video completely freaked me out.
I think people tend to pose when looking in the mirror. It''s unconscious. I work in a salon and I see people do it all the time. They angle their face a certain way, maybe jut out their chin and purse their lips, etc. So, when looking in the mirror they are seeing their best self with eyes forward. The camera catches you at all angles that you never see when looking in the mirror.
Most people don''t like the way they look in photos. And they also don''t see themselves the way other people see them. It''s impossible to see yourself the way other people see you. Literally impossible.\ \ You''re not the one who''s deciding if other people want to date you. Let the other people decide. Have your friends help you pick some photos.\ \ People only see the flaws of themselves in photos whereas your friends can be more objective.
The voice thing is embarrassing too. I hate it.
I noticed the same thing too. I hate taking pics of myself because for some reason I never get good ones. I'll look in the mirror and find a decent view and then I'll TRY not to move. After the pic is taken, I'm like "WTF???" and I usually don't like how it looks. Other people take a pic of me much better and everyone says I look much better in person. At the end of the day, I'd rather look better in person than in pics though. Who would prefer it the other way around?
I think it's true because we are relaxed when we look in the mirror and anxious when we pose for photos. Most of us have photos where we think we look like we do when we look in the mirror but few of them and I attribute that to the fact that we usually get nervous, don't breathe, become very self-conscious and can't wait for it to be over when we are photographed. I also think its possible to appreciate your appearance much more on videotape than one does in a photograph but that brings up a lot of other crap as most of us don't like to watch ourselves on videotape not because we feel we look differently than we do in the mirror but because we don't act the way we think of ourselves as acting.
I look terrible in photos but when I've caught myself on live camera, usually at the drugstore counter monitor, I look fine. What's that about?
r86, I tried to explain that above.
r85
I swear to God, I look in the mirror and I look fine. In the picture I look old and fat. I am assuming that the picture tells the true story and I hate it.
The camera adds ten pounds.
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Yea same here OP i look sexy as hell in the mirror but in a photos I look different. But aren't mirrors just a reflection where as Cameras are more man made and dodgy specially with pixels. Mirrors don't have pixels they just copy ur image which is true? it seems like Mirrors to me at least i hope so
dont look in mirors coz they portray ur fake image..!! i would suggest avoid mirrors ... !! look urself in someone eyes !! they will tell u d truth
Humans tend to have a perspective of the world with two focal points. Cameras (usually) have only one. Your mirror view of yourself is a more accurate representation of how people see you than the camera is. If you ever take up graphics, you will notice that drawing your face in one perspective (a camera's view) will slightly give you a more protruding 'mousy' look. As a second aspect of the subject - we are usually more wide-eyed and attentive in the mirror and thus, our pupils shine more brightly ;) twink twink~ it's when a living being is really 'looking' into something/someone, does it look fascinating...
Jeff
send me one of your pictures. i'll tell you honestly if you are cute or not.
you%27re%20probably%20fine
Certain cameras distort faces and therefore some people look bad. Also some people tense up which makes their faces look very unnatural and weird. I took some pictures of a friend of mine and she definately looked better in reality than on camera.
Cameras capture bone structure and facial planes differently than our eyes. That's why some models who are very plain in person look stunning in still photos. People who appear fleshier or pudgier on camera may look perfectly attractive in RL, they just don't have that bone structure the camera loves.
I look in the mirror and think... "eh, not so bad..." but when I see myself in a photo I'm shocked and distraught at just how unattractive I really am.
Tip: Just spread your legs apart, people love that.
Kardashian
Put it this way, grab a friend or two, go to a mirror, look at your friend and then look in the mirror, the person in front of you, and the person in the mirror will look the exact same to you. Try this again with the same friends, and take a photo, again your friends will look identical in real life as to what they look like in the picutre. Your mind plays tricks on you. what you see in the mirror, is you, lighting will effect how you look in some mirrors, just as lighting will effect how you look in a picture. But when you're with friends, do they look different outside in the sun then they do downstairs in a basement with lights on?
Codie