Question by Tom: Mirror or photographs?
This is really frustrating to me.
If I take a picture of myself on my phone, I look completely different to how I look in a mirror.
People say a mirror image isn’t what you actually perceive yourself to look like (because everything is ‘flipped).
Yet I go to a gym (which practically has mirrors for walls), and If I’m side-by-side with somebody and look at them, then look at their reflection, both look EXACTLY the same, wouldn’t that mean that my reflection would look exactly the same to them and thus what I look at in the mirror is some-what more ‘precise’ than a photograph?
Thoughts?
Best answer:
Answer by Luv2Answer
Good question. One thing to consider is that a photograph is pretty one dimensional and when you are standing in front of a mirror you can see more depth and it is live and not a moment in time.
What do you think? Answer below!
I say a mirror image is “what you perceive yourself to look like”. Why, because you see yourself far more often in a mirror than you do a photograph. In a mirror, what is on the left in reality is on the viewer’s left in the mirror. Looking at a photograph, that on the left appears in the photograph on the viewer’s right. Since you seldom see yourself in that manner, it looks unusual but it is in fact exactly as you appear.
A camera records exactly what it sees. There are no adjustments for what one would perceive or like to see. Sometimes the camera is very cruel. Your reflection is not how someone views you UNLESS they too are looking in the mirror.
Try this. Take a straight on face shot. Put the photograph into a photo editing program. Create a selection of exactly half of the face, left or right side – makes no difference. Copy this half on to another layer and flip it horizontally. Now move it to the opposite side to create another complete face, a face of identical features on both sides of a centerline. Hmmm, scary.
Don’t forget the lighting aspect. A mirror shows the whole room as it is actual lit, plus is a true reflection. A photo is the best lighting it can make up from the settings and equipment on it. You will also find that people glance into a mirror but stare into a camera, the different looks and different thought processes going on make a difference.
lighting plays a major part in photography. the lighting when you look at the mirror can be different when you take a photograph esp when using a flash. The slightest change in lighting direction and intensity can change the way you look. In addition, mirror image is 3 dimensional (more depth) while photographs are 2D. Photographs are also flipped images as if you are also looking at the mirror.