Do you perceive yourself differently in a photograph than you do in a mirror?

[tlitody]

Do you perceive yourself differently in a printed photograph than you do in a mirror?

I guess this is a somewhat self indulgent question prompted by the fact that I dislike seeing myself in photographs but think nothing about looking in a mirror. Why is that? Is it the permanence of a photograph? Is it vanity? I don't know.

 

[SciAggie]

I had never thought about it - but my reaction is like yours. I would rather take the pic than be in it. I don't know why. It's not like others don't know what we look like. I will be curious to see how others respond.

 

[Trooper]

An interesting piece on this topic recently aired on NPR. Start listening around 9:20.

http://www.radiolab.org/2011/apr/18/mirror-mirror/

I like my image in a mirror, but I'm almost always disappointed by photographs of me. People taking pictures of me aren't usually photographers, though. Perhaps this is why self-portraits are so popular with photographers--if you want it done right, do it yourself.

 

[Particular]

I see myself reversed in a mirror. Seriously, we are not as symmetrical as we think we are.

 

[Keith]

I used to dislike the way I looked in photos ... then went through an intense period of doing self portraits and got totally over it. Inspired by Richard Jenkins (pitxu) incidentally!

It's just one of the reasons I believe self portraiture is a healthy exercise in understanding yourself and not introspectively self indulgent, as some seem to view it.

 

[gb hill]

I like myself better in the mirror. It's Stanley Kubrick's fault.

 

[GoneSavage]

I see myself reversed in a mirror. Seriously, we are not as symmetrical as we think we are.

This is the truth. We get used to looking at the reversed-version of ourselves in mirrors and then don't like it when photographs show us what we actually look like.

 

[peterm1]

I absolutely look better in mirrors. No idea why but in pictures my face always looks rounder - mitigated a bit when I shoot with a longer focal length. I think thats why I took up photography - that way I am behind the damn camera :^)

 

[Chris101]

I take a lot of pictures of myself, so I'm fine with that. When I was younger I liked looking at myself in the mirror. Since I've gotten old ... not so much.

 

[jmcd]

At one time it was not uncommon for portrait photographers to present clients with a backwards proof, which the client would feel comfortable with because it was the same view he or she was used to seeing in the mirror—hopefully comfortable enough to place an order. These proofs were not "fixed" and would fade away after a couple of days.

 

[_larky]

I'm really good looking in the mirror. Sadly in every photograph I look like a Tangerine that was recently trod on.

Which I guess means I look like that in the real world.

 

[sevo]

If you don't, you might want to switch labs or reconsider your printing procedures - your prints obviously are mirror-reversed... ;-)

Seriously, we are quite considerably asymmetrical.

 

[Jamie123]

Like everone else I, too, don't like looking at myself in photographs. However, I generally don't stop people from photographing me as it would be unfair since I'm usually the one sticking a camera in everyone's face.

I also don't always like to look at myself in a mirror, though. For example, I hate looking at myself in the mirror too long when I'm at the hair dresser because I start noticing all the flaws in my face 🙂

 

[Sparrow]

... I look good in both, but sadly cannot post a photo to prove it as this is a poll and will not allow images to be posted

 

[thegman]

I prefer how I look in the mirror to photos, and don't really like having my photo taken. It's mostly vanity I expect.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I voted 'yes', simply because of the mirror reversal (though you get that with e.g. Harman Direct Positive portraits anyway). But I can't say I get excited about it. In my book, a photographer who photographs people but objects to being photographed is being fundamentally dishonest and is applying a peculiar double standard. Note 'objects to being photographed'. I'm not saying you have to like being photographed, just that getting upset about it is weird. And no, I'm not saying that the OP is being weird. This is a general observation applying to all those who get paranoid about having their picture taken, which is not the same as disliking it.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Muggins]

Funnily enough, I've got some Victorian photos of my gt gt gt grandmother as an old lady. We've also got an ambrotype (for US readers - UK equivalent of a tintype, but on glass with a black background) of her as a young woman, and she has a distinctive lump on her nose. It's on the same side on the portraits as in the ambrotype, which is odd because the ambrotype is of course reversed. I'm reasonably sure that the photographer(s) were deliberately offering people photos printed from reversed negatives.

 

[Mesti3K]

Man, I look at least 5 years older in my pictures. And I can see the bald(ing🙂) spot on the back of my head..

 

[Vics]

The photo looks foreign to us because it's reversed left to right from the image we see in the mirror.

 

[GSNfan]

Try to stare at yourself in the mirror for 2 minutes without turning away and you'll find out how hard that is... On the other hand you can 'select' a good photo and place it on the desk and feel good about it.

In other words, if you want brutal honesty then mirror is your friend, not only of how you look but how you perceive yourself. So, in my case I trust the mirror more than the photograph and my answer to the OQ is yes.