Why Do Our Selfies Look Different Than Mirror Images?

Some days we take pictures, and they seem crispier, more attractive, and ten times more appealing than photos. Why does this happen, though?

Reverse Is The Case

Many times, photos show us the opposite position of what we see in the mirror. Sources have pointed out that often times, when we take a photo of ourselves using the front-facing camera on an iPhone, the result is an image of our face, not as we see it, but as others see it. More often than not, we are used to viewing our faces as it would appear in a mirror, however, selfies tend to show us something else since they capture a still image of our faces as others see it, rather than how we would see it in a reflection.

Do Mirrors Lie?

Many times, seeing ourselves from a reverse angle can be a bit jarring because our faces aren’t distinctly symmetrical. Many times, our features don’t line up in photos the same way they do in the mirror, and that can be confusing. For example, when we look at your face in photographs, it may appear that parts of our features don’t line up with each other perfectly, and that all goes back to symmetry.

Technicality Matters Too

The type of camera lens used can influence the way that  pictures turn out. Certain experienced photographers have said that varying types of lenses make people look slimmer, compared to others. For example, experts have said that a longer lens tends to make people look slimmer, while a shorter lens make the face appear rounder.

Proximity

Proximity matters, and depending on how close or far we are to the lens, this can affect the outcome of what we look like. Features that have the closest proximity to the lens are going to be more pronounced. When we take selfies, we have closer proximity to the camera lens.

At the end of the day, the good news is that people generally like the version of you they see, as opposed to the image of ourselves that we see, so don’t be afraid to keep taking those selfies.