Why do we look somewhat different in pictures than in the mirror? Which one is the real “you”?
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The image of yourself in the mirror is flipped. It’s not the image others see when they look at you , it’s what you see when you look at yourself.
Images of you in pictures aren’t flipped, it makes a slight difference as faces are rarely perfectly symmetrical. Seeing a picture of yourself can be weird, because it looks an awful lot just like you but something seems wrong. Not quite right because people are more used to seeing the flipped image of themselves in reflections.
On top of bwibbler’s explanation, the cameras focal length also changes how your look, you can go online and see how it changes. Basically, the longer the focal length, the more of your face is visible, the shorter the focal length the more of a fisheye effect.
Neither is actually the “real” you. The mirror shows you a mirrored/reversed image of yourself and not what others see. A picture also shows you a somewhat distorted image of yourself because of the way lenses and cameras work together. The weird reality is that you’ll never see yourself the way others see you. The good news is that’s OK. They won’t ever see themselves the way you see them either.
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