Why do mirror reflection and photo images of ourselves look so different? Which one more accurately depicts how others see you?
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Yes, there are some subtle differences in facial proportions between a mirror and a camera lenses because of focal distance, but that’s not what you’re asking about.
No one’s face is perfectly symmetrical. In fact if you take half of a person’s face, copy and flip it, and stick it together to be perfect in Photoshop, our brain rebels and finds it super creepy and ugly.
By looking at yourself over and over in the mirror, your brain has gotten used to your asymmetries in a certain configuration. When you see them flipped by a camera, it’s “new” to your brain again and so looks weird / unattractive.
However, realize other people’s brains have *also* gotten used to the flipped camera you, the same way your brain has gotten used to the mirror you. If they saw mirror you, they would think it looks equally weird to them as camera you looks to you.
So camera you is what people actually see, physically. But mirror you is closer to how people actually “see” you, attractiveness-wise.
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