Whats more accurate, looking in the mirror or a photograph?

[kaexbabey]

i think the most accurate is taking a picture next to a window, or outside with no flash. or just looking at yourself with a mirror in natural daylight. biiig difference i tell ya. because taking pics will make you look different with different flash settings. like if it's too bright, then it will completely change the way e/s or lipstick looks on you in real life.

 

[spacegirl2007]

the mirror is a reverse left-to-right image of what you look like.
a photo (or probably video actually) is more accurate for what you look like to other people.
the most accurate depiction would be in a "true mirror":

true mirror: non-reversing mirrors

in a photo, you are frozen in one milisecond of time. naturally a lot of people dont like the way they look in photographs. also because we are SO used to looking at ourselves in a reverse mirror, there can be the effect of "that's not what i really look like!" (this is further explained in the link above). but usually if you ask other people, they will say oh that's not a bad photo of you! sure, that's what you look like. its all just a matter of perception. where you are probably thinking "that's not what my hair looks like" or something specific, other people are more likely to look at you as a whole.

 

[ginger9]

The problem I have with mirrors is they are not all consistent. Ever go shopping and find that some mirrors in the stores are more flattering than others? Some mirrors are actually sliming and they stretch you out, some can warp the other way and make you look shortened and stout. Lighting is also very important.


I like to take whole body pictures with a camera because I think it may be more accurate reflection of what I look like (less so face shots). Because I find that looking in the mirror, depending how I feel that day, sometimes I think I look fat, while other days I feel great about what I see. I think for me, what I see in the mirror can sometimes be affect by my mood.

 

[luvsic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacegirl2007 the mirror is a reverse left-to-right image of what you look like. a photo (or probably video actually) is more accurate for what you look like to other people. the most accurate depiction would be in a "true mirror": true mirror: non-reversing mirrors in a photo, you are frozen in one milisecond of time. naturally a lot of people dont like the way they look in photographs. also because we are SO used to looking at ourselves in a reverse mirror, there can be the effect of "that's not what i really look like!" (this is further explained in the link above). but usually if you ask other people, they will say oh that's not a bad photo of you! sure, that's what you look like. its all just a matter of perception. where you are probably thinking "that's not what my hair looks like" or something specific, other people are more likely to look at you as a whole.

Interesting...

although I'd like to own one of these true mirrors, I don't have 200+ bucks I can shell out...I did try the 90 degree angle test though with two hand mirrors. What I saw in the reflection wasn't so bad

but I really want to see what I would look like full-length...

 

[BEA2LS]

the true mirror thing is so interesting! i never thought it like that..

 

[melozburngr]

I think mirror.. lol I recently tried online dating, and my pictures are not terribly unflattering, I thought they were more or less good representations of me... but you know what EVERY single guy I went out with said in the first date? You look WAYYY better in person than your photos... Some of us just arent photogenic, and the what you see in real life version is 100% better! lol (at least that's what I think, and if it helps me sleep at night? Meh, not going to question it too much)

 

[wifey806]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wifey806 i always thought mirrors don't give a true reflection..? Is it like in PhotoShop type of programs where you can swap a pic to its "mirror image"? Cuz in pics I'm like "that's how people see me??" heck, maybe high def video is best lol :*)

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacegirl2007 the mirror is a reverse left-to-right image of what you look like. a photo (or probably video actually) is more accurate for what you look like to other people. the most accurate depiction would be in a "true mirror": true mirror: non-reversing mirrors

thank you for that! i thought i was crazy for thinking this for so long!

 

[lumiere]

Yeah, I think the photograph is more accurate. Although I wish it were the mirror.

 

[perfectdefect]

I hope it's mirror cause everytime I see a photo of myself i think i'm super gross but when I look in the mirror i'm usually happy with what I see. I really don't photograph well...

 

[luvsic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lumiere Yeah, I think the photograph is more accurate. Although I wish it were the mirror.

I look sooo horrible in photos...although it honestly depends sometimes on what the lighting is and what angle I take the photo at. Out of hundreds of pictures, I'll be lucky to find one I like. Flash tends to wash out my face, and distort my features, and no flash means that I don't always get captured in the best lighting. IRL I have small eyes, but they are a little more deep set than what shows up in pictures - a beady, yucky bug-looking eye. And my nose in person is much, MUCH smaller than how it photographs, for some reason the lense makes my nose look GINORMOUS and horribly bad...even my mom said that pictures really don't do me justice. I feel the same way. I hate it when people say I look "fine" or "good" or "just like you" in pictures when I really do look horrible...I pray to God they're not more accurate than the mirrors.

But I don't think photos are more accurate since the lighting can be toyed with and angles can make you look entirely different...but maybe that's just my excuse for not being photogenic

I want to try out that true mirror thing.

 

[jackie100]

Wow, thanks all for your responses. I didn't realize there was so much technical aspects of it as in a photo pixelating the image etc.

I would also love to use the "true mirror" somewhere to see how I "accurately" look but I'm not ready to spend $200 on a mirror either.

 

[k.a.t]

I'm hoping mirror lol

Luvsic..I'm the same...I always end up taking hundreds of pics to end up with about 3 I actually like =/

I really want a true mirror now lol

 

[Ggxox]

My make up always looks fantastic in the mirror but washed out and rubbish in photos. There was a really useful thread on here for how to take good make up pics but I can't find it now...anyone got a link?

xoxo

 

[lafemmenoir]

To the OP we are >>>here<<< on this topic, as I posted in WOC forum that since I been attempting to do FOTD with my new camera, I could not tell you the horror I had from the photo. I looked a hot @#$ mess and my eyes were so not white I looked jaundice, greasy and my hairs?

 

[fintia]

I am not that photogenic too.. I have to take tons of pictures to finally get like 2 or 3 that are good and post them here... lol I look a bit different in pics that when I look myself in the mirror..

 

[CherryAcid]

I would like to think a mirror is more accurate because i photograph so badly i can take 20 pics of me and only 1 or 2 if that make me look semi decent. I always seem to look like i have 20 chins and a huge pregnant belly in pics. I'm not thin by any means but im certainly not fat

Though on one point my skin always looks nice in both pics and mirrors

 

[giasexy]

Of course this would be mirror reason being have you ever been told oh wow the pictures do you no justice well that's true . Cameras can add weight or slim you down when really that's not true also they also can make you seem tall when your short cameras are made with different settings and can be 95% off in some cases like when you take a picture of the sky looking at it from a mirror then from camera its more unappreciated. hope this helps.

 

[Jenrbelt]

I lean toward mirror, too. I think photos are just unnatural anyways. I mean how often are people actually still? While a photo captures a moment, the way in which we look to others must be a combination of all of our movements added together.