Camera vs. mirror - YouLookFab Forum

Category

General

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Camera vs. mirror

JR

Veteran

I've been getting to know the delayed timer on my camera as a result of this forum. And I have noticed something bizarre (I have never spent much time getting pictures of myself before). My clothes look better in the mirror than they do on the camera. *I* look better in the mirror than I do on the camera. I look tubbier and thicker in the photos. I suspect that is because my eyes lie to me when I look in the mirror, and the camera is telling the truth.

Although I would dearly love to believe it's the other way around.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, which of these is fairest of all?

Am I the only one?

General

42 replies

Latest reply was from Mander

Anonymous

No, JR! Many of us have noticed this phenomenon! But pictures of you taken *in the mirror* tell the truth, right? Aside from the fact that your image is reversed? Yes, the camera is our friend. I can't tell you how many outfits or pieces I've culled after seeing the way they really look. I think we twist and turn and suck in for the mirror, making everything look *just so*, but the camera catches angles that we'd rather not see.

Anonymous

Oh heck yes -- the camera is cruel sometimes. I just keep trying new things though, I figure in order to gain valuable and supportive criticism I have to put myself out there to receive it. Certainly most of my outfits that I think are really good in my mirror end up looking wretched on the camera. Also, a body in movement and rest are totally different. I do not photograph well, and I like to think I look a little more graceful in motion!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I like the camera for the rear side angles that are hard to see in the mirror. For me, the camera image and the mirror image seem congruent. Honest truth, after posting a rear pic of a racerback tank here a year and a half ago, I started doing push ups and dips lol!

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Photographs are always a revelation since we can see ourselves while not looking directly at ourselves. I think photos can be misleading also but do give a fuller view than the mirror.

JR

Veteran

I think on the whole, the camera is giving a more truthful image. *sigh* But Ceit definitely has a point; a body in movement looks very different.

I didn't watch TV at all for a number of years (I still watch almost none). I saw all the Jennifer Anniston pictures on the tabloids at the groceries and I couldn't see what the fuss was about. Then when I saw an episode of Friends, I got it. She was rivetting. Still photos just don't give you the whole story, for better or for worse.

But there is a now a pair of pants - practically new - that I no longer want to wear out of the house... *sob*

Deborah

Veteran

JR why don't you post the pants for us? It may just be a matter or correcting the proprotions, or something simple to make them work for you.

Today for example, my skirt looks much better in the mirror and IRL than the photo I took. I feel pretty confident that is an accurate assessment so I am wearing the skirt tho make a few tweaks to make it work better IMO. However I find the camera to be a very good tool for assessing outfits and have been known to change because the photo is revealing things I am not seeing in the mirror. I think it's a bit of a balancing act when it comes to assessing out outfits in photos. It's a good day when the mirror and the photo reflect the same thing

I would love Angie to chime in on this as I would love to know here thoughts.

D'Ellen

Veteran

One of the reasons I don't photograph myself. I very much dislike looking at pictures of me (especially this older lumpier me) and I've always been super critical of myself in photos. I can recall getting rid of a new blouse I thought I loved after seeing a candid photo of myself in it, and it may just have been that the picture was taken at a wonky angle. Light, shadows and camera angle can deceive. I'm obsessive enough about the fit of my clothes and the appearance of my aging face and body without analyzing them on film. It's just better for my emotional well-being if I don't. I would rather be oblivious and happy. : )

rae

(website)

Veteran

Both cameras and mirrors can distort, so it depends on which is higher quality.

Great mirrors are really hard to find these days - the heavy ones, silver backed (I think), that lay very flat. Most mirrors in the average home (I forget where I read this, darn it!) have a very subtle "fun house" effect because the surface ripples a bit. This can make us look wider OR thinner, depending on the rippling.

Cameras are much easier to control, and most of us can take a very true-to-life pictures now that digital photography is big. Aida taught us at the last Octoberfest that the camera will distort the *least* if you zoom in a bit (counteracting the curvature of the lense, which is more distorting at a wide angle) and set the camera at around mid height. However, a camera will still distort if you take the picture at an angle, or from too far up/down.

JR

Veteran

Deb, in the case of those pants, I caught a glimpse of all the extra fabric bagging out at the back of the thighs. They are just too big, and I had fooled myself into believing it was just a little bit.

I also like to think that people don't notice the rolls around my waist as much IRL because I can distract them with inane chatter, LOL!

April

Veteran

I think Rae is right -- the mirror and the camera can both distort. The angle of the camera matters a huge amount, making us seem leggier or stumpier, even bustier or more flat-chested.

But the mirror seems to distort in a way that we generally prefer, whereas the camera can be more cruel. I'm not sure that means the camera is necessarily more accurate.

Deborah

Veteran

JR you are too funny:) I might have to try your strategy for taking the attention away from my tummy issues! I have a similar problem with pants and jeans but the extra fabric seems to sit at the side of my thighs. I have to remember to really look a this when Im trying on pants as sometimes I haven't noticed it until I get them home.

JulieJohn

Veteran

Believe it - you ladies are so beautiful. Mirrors and cameras can never capture what makes us sizzle! Luckily we get to know each other through this forum so we can indeed see the Jennifer Aniston inside each and every woman.

JR

Veteran

So true about angles. I reject some photos as just false. There is a photo of my stunningly beautiful niece (which unfortunately got front-page newspaper coverage) in which she looks like a gorilla. She is a soccer player and the angle, the expression of her face flash frozen while she was in full motion, it all combined to make her look just awful. And yet this girl very literally turns heads while walking down the street.

But now I'm wondering, do very slender women see themselves as skinnier in photos than in the mirror? If that's the case, I would say we are looking for what we want to see in the mirror. And if they see themselves as plumper in the photos, then maybe it's true what they say about the camera adding pounds. (A hopeful hypothesis there, from my point of view.) I hope some of our charming gamines chime in on this issue.

JR

Veteran

Bionda, photos tend to discourage me too, but oh well... The occasional one makes me happy.

Rae, I somehow missed your post at first, it must have come up while I was typing. Interesting thoughts there; I will have to try the zoom trick.

For forum picks, it might be wise to set the camera higher than I have been. It's a kid's-eye view and might actually give tummies more prominence than IRL or at least than the adult angle IRL. Another encouraging thought, LOL!

JR

Veteran

But I seriously think I am going to start photographing my backside in changing rooms... I seem to be missing important info otherwise.

Sunita

Veteran

I know that both my full length mirror at home and the one in the office loo make me look thinner than I am. So I share your feelings of let-down when I see pics of myself! But I still use mirrors to check my outfits before I head out the door (I use a handheld mirror to see the reflection of my back in the full-length mirror).

It's a good idea to use your cell phone to take pics in a store changing room. I find it useful not only for the back view but also to compare sizes, colors, and fit w/o taking items on and off repeatedly!

Abie

Veteran

I take most of my WIW photos in the mirror because it's easiest for me to do quickly. I used to think the same thing though, that I always looked better in the mirror than the camera, even between pictures I took in the mirror.

What I found that as I took more and more pictures of myself and had more pictures taken of me, I got more comfortable looking at myself in pictures and the two versions just kind of came together in my head where I don't think that now.

I agree that both cameras and mirrors can distort, but at least for me, the biggest difference was that I never took or had a lot of pictures taken of myself before, and I'm much more comfortable with it now.

A similar brain phenomenon that has always happened with me in pictures is that I would hate them when I first looked at them, but a couple of years later I would think they were good pictures of me.

My advice is to take more pictures, and post them too. Sooner or later you won't bat an eye. I have even posted some middle of the night crazy hair pictures where I was trying something on recently, and while I can cop to the fact that they weren't flattering pictures at all, they were for a good cause and didn't even come close to ruining my day as they might have done in the past.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Rae is right. SO much can go right or wrong with the camera. You really have no idea until you get into photography and understand light, angle and depth of field.

I'm going against the grain. I prefer the way I look on camera than in the mirror.

fern

Veteran

I got a better camera and my pictures improved.
I got a tripod & remote too. It's a work expense (which is mostly true). I will have to play with the height to see how it affects my outfit photos.
I have a skinny mirror at home, and I don't see weird discrepancies in my photos, but sometimes when I see my reflection when I'm out and about - I say yikes!

marianna

Veteran

This is one of the main reasons I stopped posting WIWs. I was obsessing over getting just the right photo and it was taking toooo much time. I swear it has to be the angle!

JR

Veteran

It is rather hard work getting those photos isn't it? And I'm not even posting most of them. But I think it's a useful exercise for me to get a different perspective. Even if it's a little disconcerting.

Abie, I know you're right about just getting used to it. I was, before, but this whole shifting body image thing is getting me. I was resigned to what I was before, and now I am trying to readjust my mental images and it's trickier than I expected. Especially now that I'm getting mixed messages. Interesting dynamic going on.

So Angie, you feel you look better in photos? Maybe a function of having somebody really good on the other side of the camera? ;o)

Thank you everybody for the input.

Aida

Veteran

What Rae and Angie said. As a basic starter improvement, do make sure you 1) have the camera somewhere around the middle of your height OR lower if your midsection is wide and you don't want to emphasize that (whatever is closest to the camera will be larger), and 2) zoom your camera IN as much as possible so the angle isn't so wide (which also reduces the curvature of the lens and provides a lot less distortion).

Angie, I fully understand your feeling! I also tend to prefer how I look on camera more than in the mirror these days, except for up-close shots of my face since I can't zoom in enough to remove the wide angle on the camera when holding my arm out. I've been wondering lately if that's weird or if I've just gotten too good and photographing myself in a flattering way :\

sarah

Veteran

Well, if I had Greg taking pictures of me instead of the dining room table + self-timer, I'd probably prefer photos of me, too LOL!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Interesting to learn about the zoom. I can attest to angle . . . the BF has a knack of taking pics from his eye height and I look like a miniature person when he does. My best shots were from bar height in the old FL kitchen. Lots of white around and rib high camera position.

rae

(website)

Veteran

I also prefer how I look via camera - now, that is. I used to cry when I saw pictures of myself. Slowly realized that most of them were taken from a downward angle, making my shoulders and upper arms look big, broad, and manly.

KathyL

Veteran

Thank you so much for the tips. I started taking pictures recently and got so depressed by how dumpy I look in the camera compared to the mirror. I will need to figure out how to use a timer and tripod to see if that helps and play around with the angle.

MNsara

Veteran

Verrry interesting! and it's one of the reasons I don't often take pics of WIW :-\

According to Aida's #1, I should set my camera at bust height

Lyn D.

Veteran

Thank-you for this post JR- it has really got me thinking on this subject.
I know why I prefer pics that I have taken with the mirror, as Clearly-Claire said we do tend to hone in on our self-percieved problem areas and make adjustments.
When someone else takes the photo we can't see exactly what our face or body is doing, so the pic is more honest but less appealing to ourselves.

JR

Veteran

I am still trying to figure out how other people are seeing me. Aida, why would we put the camera that low? I'm having a little trouble figuring that out. Wouldn't shoulder height or even higher be better? And more accurately reflect how other people see us?

12