Mirror Mirror On The Wall??

This is a silly post, but I overheard someone the other day saying how they never liked seeing photos of themself - that photos always look different than when they see themself in a mirror. I've found that to be true also. While I usually can't stand seeing myself in photos, most of the time I think I look OK in the mirror. Not like supermodel fabulous or anything - goodness knows I have my share of flaws, but I sometimes feel slightly good about my looks when I look in the mirror. Not so with photos - yuck!

So I'm wondering if anyone else experiences this phenomena? Do you feel like you look different in the mirror than you do in photos? And if so, which one is right? How do others see your appearance? The way you see yourself in the mirror or the way you look in the photos?

And by the way - yes, I do get told that I have too much time on my hands and that I tend to overthink things - LOL

I've experienced this. I've also noticed that the person taking your photo influences how you look in it. Someone who loves you takes a better photo of you; I don't know how. I think a live person is a better representation of a being than a photo of one second in time. What do you think?

I hate my picture being taken and only do so when I absolutely have to as in the case of a driver's license. My father in law has never honored my request for not being in photos. I've been looking through ablums and wonder "who's that?" Turns out that it was me. There are very few pictures of me that look like me.

Maybe you're on to something there Doh! The only "good" photos of me were taken by my parents when the kids were babies.

I think too that you can move and are alive in a mirror whereas you're static in a photo. A photo is only a moment in time and can remind you of good or bad memories, like Doh says, depending on who took the picture and how you were feeling about having it taken.

I don't care for myself in pictures but I am usually surprised by myself in mirrors. I've gained so much weight over the years that I see a completely different person than I'm expecting. Twenty years can make a huge difference (sorry for the pun :-)

I think seeing yourself can always be a surprising experience. I just finished coaching sessions with a communications consultant around communication skills for interviews that were videotaped, and while I knew it was me on the video, I was really surprised at how I looked vs how I felt. And lets not even get me started on the subject of what I think my voice sounds like when it's played back.

--splitimage

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Doh2007 said:
I've experienced this. I've also noticed that the person taking your photo influences how you look in it. Someone who loves you takes a better photo of you; I don't know how. I think a live person is a better representation of a being than a photo of one second in time. What do you think?

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You want to know what's weird? I find that the opposite is true for me. If my hubby or another relative or friend takes a photo of me, I usually look goofy. If a stranger takes one (this happens to us on vacation - we'll ask a stranger to take our photo) it usually turns out pretty good. I wonder if it's something to do with your perspective on the person taking the photo. Like for me, I'm usually carefree and let my guard down around my hubby. If I'm interracting with a stranger, I feel some need to impress them. Maybe that translates into a better photo from a stranger, for me anyway?

And interesting perspective on a live image vs. an image caught in time. No matter when you look at a photo, you are always younger in it than you are now. Even if it was taken just seconds ago. When you look in the mirror, it's an instant image. I wonder if that has anything to do with it?

This is so interesting seeing everyone's responses. I look forward to hearing more.

I have that very same experience Misty. I like my reflection in teh mirror but I hate my photos. They never look anything like I see myself in life. I don't take to the camera.

I avoid mirror and pics at all costs! My daughter sneaks a pic of me on her cell, then when she isn't looking I delete the pic.

I hate me

I have one observation and a photo story to share.

I wonder if it is because when we look in a mirror, we are standing but often in a photo we are sitting? Who knows but that thought came to mind.

Years ago I had some film developed and there was a picture of my brother in there. He's older and taller than I am but gosh he looked like a giant in this photo! I finally figured out that my little 5-year-old had taken the picture so the perspective was from down low, making him seem so much taller

Once again you've read my mind Perna! I am also surprised by my reflection in the mirror because of a great amount of weight gain in a very short period of time. But even when I was thin, I would see these pictures and really not know who was in the picture!

I have also had the experince but have you noticed you look diffrent in a picture depending on the camera itself. I hate how I look on my camera but on my best friends camera I always take a decent picture.

Yup! I know what you're talking about. While I don't like my looks, they seem to be better in the mirror than they are in photos. It could be the lighting, the camera, my mood, or even who's taking the pic.

My family went out to dinner tonight to celebrate my youngest's and his wife's birthdays. They are three days appart. Because we had a birthday and it was obvious with the flowers and balloons, the host came over to take a pic. My DIL insisted that we would ALL be in it. Because I'm the shortest, since I sit in a wheelchair, I always manage to be in the center.

That fat, gap-toothed old lady wasn't me!! They had to have drug in someone off the street! She was way darker than I am and she was ORANGE!! UUUUGGGHH!! I guess it doesn't help that everyone else in the picture is fair and I'm the only olive skinned person in that group. Of course, it could have been the lighting, the poloroid camera... who knows... but it's U-GULY of me!

You know... when I dream about myself, I'm walking and I'm thin... what does that mean??