In a series of studies, Epley and Whitchurch showed that we see ourselves as better looking than we actually are.
According to psychology, when we see ourselves in the mirror, we tend to think of ourselves as prettier, than how we actually look to others, in real life. That's the perception of the mirror, vs what you look like to others in real life.
Conclusion. There are some people who overestimate their physical attractiveness, but on average, as research has shown, most people tend to underestimate how physically attractive they are.
Do we really look better in the mirror? No, we just look more familiar to ourselves in the mirror, so we don't really look at ourselves. Given a non-reversed image of our face, in a digital image or by using two mirrors, it is just unfamiliar enough to trigger a proper visual inspection.
Summary. Mirror images provide a more accurate perception of self due to the mere exposure effect, while camera images show how others see us. Selfies offer a unique perspective but can be distorted and less accurate than mirror selfies.
Hold two hand mirrors in front of you with their edges touching and a right angle between them like the two covers of a book when you're reading. With a little adjustment you can get a complete reflection of your face as others see it.
The camera lens also plays a part.
But the problem might not be your angles, it could be lens distortion. Because of the proximity of your face to the camera, the lens can distort certain features, making them look larger than they are in real life. Pictures also only provide a 2-D version of ourselves.
04/5The camera angle
It is important to understand that pictures are a 2-D version of real life. This simply means that photos tend to flatten your features or distort them due to certain angles.
One major factor is that photos generally show us the reverse of what we see in the mirror. When you take a photo of yourself using some (but not all) apps or the front-facing camera on an iPhone, the resulting image captures your face as others see it. The same is true for non-phone cameras.
People gravitate toward you. Attraction by definition means that other people will feel the need to be near you. If you are attractive, you may find that you naturally become the center of conversation or of a large group of friends. People send you messages or contact you out of the blue.
According to psychology, when we see ourselves in the mirror, we tend to think of ourselves as prettier, than how we actually look to others, in real life. That's the perception of the mirror, vs what you look like to others in real life.
This may be because when we look in a mirror, our image is reversed left to right, which can make us look different than we expect. In photographs, however, our image is not reversed, so we are likely to perceive ourselves as looking more like we do in reality.
People see you inverted in real life, or the opposite of your mirror image. When you look in a mirror, what you're actually seeing is a reversed image of yourself. As you're hanging out with friends or walking down the street, people see your image un-flipped.
In short, what you see in the mirror is nothing but a reflection and that may just not be how people see you in real life. In real life, the picture may be completely different. All you have to do is stare at a selfie camera, flip and capture your photo.
The evidence from psychological research suggests instead that we tend to think of our appearance in ways that are more flattering than are warranted. This seems to be part of a broader human tendency to see ourselves through rose colored glasses.
Given that FOV and the distance you can hold the camera from your face is going to top out at around 2.5 feet for most people, your features closest to the camera will seem quite exaggerated, and is not an accurate representation of proportions.
The answer is complicated. While mirrors can provide an accurate reflection of our physical features, they can also distort our appearance in subtle ways. Factors such as lighting conditions and the angle of reflection can also affect how we look in the mirror.
It is important to understand that pictures are a 2-D version of real life. This simply means that photos tend to flatten your features or distort them due to certain angles. Also, since photos store everything, any awkward movement which goes unnoticed in real life is captured for everyone to see.
Those dots together create your image, and 1 individual dot of light is a pixel. Since the back facing camera has 12 megapixels, and the front has 7 megapixels, there is almost twice the image quality in the back facing camera. The more pixel data you have, the better quality image you'll be able to produce.
Back camera is how you look from other people, and typically shot from distance people normally see you, so perspective will be also likely going to be close.