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Which lies? The camera or the mirror?

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Yixian

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This fucking question drives me nuts.

I look in the mirror man, I look great. Someone takes a photo on holiday, I see it, I can't even recognise the fucking person in it :lol It's like... my complexion is utterly ruined by the camera, with or without flash, I lose all my facial definition, my hair looks awful. Even my facial structure seems to change.

I realise mirrors give you a reversed image but that shouldn't really matter, I can't get over the differences. Every now and then I get a decent photo, but 99% of the time I want to tear it up, get the camera and chuck it into the sea :lol

It's not even in the bathroom with the flattering lighting, I seem to look good in all mirrors, but bad in all cameras. I don't just mean a little better in mirror, a little worse in photos, the difference is vast!

I know a lot of peeps complain about this but I wanna know which is the more accurate record.

Wote the fook is going on chaps? Which one lies? Are either a good representation of what people see day to day?
 
Actually I have the same problem. So I want an answer, GAF ! But I guess we'll never know how others truly see us .
I'm sure the mirror is the biggest liar of the two, especially if we don't have a perfect symmetric face.
 
A mirror mirrors your image, so is not how others see you.

Having said that - a camera never actually captures 'reality'. It's not what cameras do - they take pictures...and every camera takes pictures differently. Colours, perspective, field of view, depth of field... they can approximate what a human sees, but often don't. What is reality anyway? Is it how YOU see the world? Who knows how saturated your bran translates your 50mm, f/3.5 eyes.

There is no correct way to capture an image, just examples.

Truth be told, your brain interprets the images your eyes receive. You get two upside down images on the back of your eyes, which your brain processes to be a 3D scene the right way up. Your eyes scale brightness by narrowing pupils, instantly focusing on whatever it us you are looking at. None of that is reality - all processed after the light enters your head.

I would say your body/eyes/brain is the biggest liar.
 
Actually I have a similar problem.

People say I'm good looking. In most photos i see of me, I disagree, but in the mirror (without sounding arrogant) I actually have to agree that I'm not half-bad.

I don't think a mirror can't be a poor representation of how you look - after all, if you have a symmetrical face, then it's pretty much what other people see.

edit: here's me by the way (sorry i know i look bad in photos):

m_586a49cce4869191bb393cd2d2c53d68.jpg
 
lol, as expected, nobody agrees :P

Obviously the mirror shows your image in reverse, I acknowledged that in the OP, but I don't see why that should have a huge effect in the end. Whether you have a spot on your right cheek or your left cheek doesn't particularly matter no?


Anyway I'm hoping the truth lies at least somewhere in the middle.
 
A photo with or without flash? Photos with a flash can really create some fake lighting that makes you look different. For example I have bags under my eyes and I look just awful.. but any photo with a Flash, and I look God-like. But is that how I really look? No.
 
the mirror. When I was a fatass I thought I looked great in it too.

But in pictures I couldn't understand why I looked like a fatass
 
Mirrors, because you really only see yourself from one angle, whereas cameras can capture you from various different angles you'd never be able to see yourself in unless you put a whole buncha mirrors reflecting each other.
 
Do you recognize other people in photos? I suppose you do... Do other people look like you know them in photos? Yes again?

Makes one think, doesn't it?

It's just that you are not used to seeing yourself in other angles but up front.
 
_Alkaline_ said:
Actually I have a similar problem.

People say I'm good looking. In most photos i see of me, I disagree, but in the mirror (without sounding arrogant) I actually have to agree that I'm not half-bad.

I don't think a mirror can't be a poor representation of how you look - after all, if you have a symmetrical face, then it's pretty much what other people see.

edit: here's me by the way (sorry i know i look bad in photos):
Click to expand...
You clearly have a self-image problem.
 
both of course.

it's not rocket science, simple fact of the matter is that if you view yourself through different mediums, you'll look different each time. mirrors/cameras/the human eye are all incredibly different from one another. then you have things like lighting, environment, and how you look on any given day.

chances are you don't see yourself the same way other people do, anyway. mirrors probably have the most "influence" on that, since you see the same person from the same angle for however many years you've been alive when you look in your bathroom mirror in the morning. so everyone has this idea of how they "should" look.

so when a photo is taken and they look different, they freak out. "it's a bad pic, it looks nothing like me." maybe to you!

just be happy with yourself, that's most important!
 
the mirror lies because it's a rehearsed view of only one aspect of you. Camera captures an different perspective by a different person and there for unrehearsed.
 
I don't know what lies. People look at me and often underestimate my weight by something ridiculous... like 50 pounds.

In the mirror, I look about what they estimate... but in photos, to me, I look like my real weight!

I need to lose weight :(
 
I don't have a subscription to the major psychology journals now that I'm out of school, but there's significant research on this. Once a human recognizes that it's looking at its own image in a mirror, it does all sorts of realtime touch-ups corrections. Presumably it's an instinct to boost self ego; maybe our primitive ancestors would lose the will to fight after seeing their ugly selves in water's reflection.

Sorry people. You just don't look as good in the mirror as you think.
 
a photo is a still image, whereas a mirror shows a constantly updating reflection, in realtime. in a mirror your reflection moves around when you do, and in a photo it does not. it might just be certain angles. camera flashes will also alter your image in a way that a mirror will not.
 
Juice said:
I don't have a subscription to the major psychology journals now that I'm out of school, but there's significant research on this. Once a human recognizes that it's looking at its own image in a mirror, it does all sorts of realtime touch-ups corrections. Presumably it's an instinct to boost self ego; maybe our primitive ancestors would lose the will to fight after seeing their ugly selves in water's reflection.

Sorry people. You just don't look as good in the mirror as you think.
Click to expand...
Ouch.
 
Flat images don't show the whole context of a person who looks good in some angles/poses/lighting and bad in others. I would say you look closer to what you see in a mirror than what you see in a photo.

Also, people tend not to really see you after they get to know you unless they really make an effort to examine you. Otherwise they just hold a general idea of you in their head based on an aggregate of impressions.

Edit: Also you automatically adjust how you look as soon as you look at your reflection if you notice something amiss (you change your posture, run your hands through your hair, etc). If you stop before doing any of that you'll see what a photo would have captured.
 
You also unconciously choose your most flattering angles (for example, your "good" side) when looking in a mirror. When someone snaps a picture, it's likely not taking this in to account, so it seems wrong. However, with a good photographer you should be able to get a nice picture that does retain your best features.
 
I think I look good in pictures. I don't think I look good in a mirror. Take that for what it's worth.

On another note, I personally think I look good as of right now(although I looked better in the past...less flab in my stomach...better teeth) but because I think I look good, as others see me...picture wise, I think other people think I try and look good(even though I try and look worse in fact) and thus don't like me...even when I don't try at all. It's a damned if I do, damned if I don't situation. Look good...people just say he's trying to get by on his looks. Look bad...people say what a poor fool, if only he put in some effort. I'd rather take the latter. I'm not trying to attract people who like me for the way I look.

I hate being judged on my looks one way or the other. It pisses me off when people say..."You don't look like that type of person." Well who the hell do I look like? What do looks have to do with mind? Am I supposed to be a walking billboard for everything I believe in? Get past the skin people and get in the mind.
 
Juice said:
I don't have a subscription to the major psychology journals now that I'm out of school, but there's significant research on this. Once a human recognizes that it's looking at its own image in a mirror, it does all sorts of realtime touch-ups corrections. Presumably it's an instinct to boost self ego; maybe our primitive ancestors would lose the will to fight after seeing their ugly selves in water's reflection.
Click to expand...

So you're saying that when the brain recognises a reversed image of ourselves, it touches it up..... :S

And non-reversed images somehow don't trigger this?
 
Eyes are much more sensitive (absorbs more light) to light compared to camera lenses. So the mirror image is much closer to what you really look like. of course you can make a photography look very close to what you look like, but that is in ideal conditions.
 
Yixian said:
So you're saying that when the brain recognises a reversed image of ourselves, it touches it up..... :S

And non-reversed images somehow don't trigger this?
Click to expand...
I was about to say the same thing Juice did, but without his academic background info. I doubt it's the reversed nature of the image, but that you/your brain recognize that you're looking at you because of the bio-feedback you see.
 
I find that I usually look better in pictures than in the mirror.
In the mirror I'm fully analyzing myself and all my imperfections whereas in a picture I seem to only convey my main physical attributes and it's harder to see the imperfections.
But either way, I look goooood :D or atleast that's what I tell myself.
 
Squirrel Killer said:
I was about to say the same thing Juice did, but without his academic background info. I doubt it's the reversed nature of the image, but that you/your brain recognize that you're looking at you because of the bio-feedback you see.
Click to expand...

Interesting to get a source on this.

Whenever I see a photo of someone, it becomes much easier to spot their flaws. I've always assumed a still image is easier to analyze, and hence criticize, than real time feedback.
 
Juice said:
I don't have a subscription to the major psychology journals now that I'm out of school, but there's significant research on this. Once a human recognizes that it's looking at its own image in a mirror, it does all sorts of realtime touch-ups corrections. Presumably it's an instinct to boost self ego; maybe our primitive ancestors would lose the will to fight after seeing their ugly selves in water's reflection.

Sorry people. You just don't look as good in the mirror as you think.
Click to expand...


If you find out which Journal, please PM me. I would love to read it.
 
To others, you look closer to what you look like in the mirror. Camera takes a static image that can at times make you look worse or better than what you actually look "in motion". But others see you in motion, even if it's a micro-motion like when you're standing still in front of the mirror.

Also, when you look at the picture, or even a video of yourself you tend to focus and analyze yourself much more than what others normally do. I find that unless they have some special interest in you, others will usually just gloss over you, and have some general image/impression of what you look like to them.

For what it's worth, I can look much better in photos than I look in the mirror and vice versa - it's all about making the right face, posture, etc.
 
Well, yeah...I look nice in mirrors but whenever I see a photo of mine, I think "WTF". Ironically, the photos where I try to prepare myself for it are the worst. I look better on photos where I didn't know that someone was taking a picture of me.
 
Squirrel Killer said:
I was about to say the same thing Juice did, but without his academic background info. I doubt it's the reversed nature of the image, but that you/your brain recognize that you're looking at you because of the bio-feedback you see.
Click to expand...

In which case it'd work the same for both photos and mirrors :P
 
I think the camera is more prone to lying. You can't truely capture reality with an image, and it doesn't cover all lighting and angles etc. There are a lot of redeeming features on a person that a camera sometimes fails to capture, perhaps even magnifying the negatives too. A mirror is you but reversed. I don't see how that makes much of a difference, your features etc are still the same, just on opposite sides. For me personally, I find I look better in the mirror and the camera generally makes me look worse but there are times where it can enhance (mostly if I am taking my own photo as opposed to someone else photographing me). It really does depend on various factors!

Also, the mirror is a 3D image of you in motion with a photograph being 2D, how can anyone say the photograph will be more reliable? A mirror reflection is a closer representation of how others will see you. I know quite a few people who look good in person, but are not terribly photogenic, and vice versa!
 
The camera lies more, obviously. It's a still, 2D image, where as the mirror is a moving 3D image just like real-life. Of course it's reverse, but that doesn't mean much. And yeah, camera's don't necessarily capture an image exactly as the eye sees it.
 
Mirrors show you a 3dimensional image. Cameras do not. Cameras lie. The single lens of a camera can't capture as much detail as your two eyes looking into a mirror. The mirror is more accurate. Not everyone is photogenic.
 
I knew someone in college that had a camera that could see through clothes. There's no way I'd parade around school without a shirt. >;( So, a camera, definetly.
 
Juice said:
I don't have a subscription to the major psychology journals now that I'm out of school, but there's significant research on this. Once a human recognizes that it's looking at its own image in a mirror, it does all sorts of realtime touch-ups corrections. Presumably it's an instinct to boost self ego; maybe our primitive ancestors would lose the will to fight after seeing their ugly selves in water's reflection.

Sorry people. You just don't look as good in the mirror as you think.
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting, any more info?
 
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