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by Jay1986 on November 14th, 2006

Jay1986

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The image i see of myself through a camera looks different to the one i see in the mirror. the image through the camera makes all my facial assymetries seem more prominent, like skewer teeth etc etc. Why is this? why do i look better in the mirror?

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Answers. 3 helpful answers below.

  • by Welshen on November 14th, 2006

    Welshen

    One thing may looks different via different image forming systems.The working principle of mirror and camera are absolutely different.As the light hit on an object,certain part of the light will be reflected on the surface of the mirror.When the reflected light finally reach our eyes,we see ourselves in the mirror.When it comes to the camera,lights cross through the lens and then hit the CCD inside.Then the CCD transform the optic energy to electric signal.At last we store the signal using certain image format.Obviously,distortions will occur in the image forming process.such as the changes of contrast ratio,brightness,shape and so on.With the changes of all the parameters mentioned above,we may find it different to see in mirror and through the camera.

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  • by Shaunocerous on November 14th, 2006

    Shaunocerous

    I would have to disagree somewhat with the previous answer.

    I work with images all day in my occupation . . . whether you flip an image horizontally or not will not change your features except for the fact that your big left ear will now be a big right ear :)

    What does make a difference is the angle at which the photo is taken and the focal length of the lens being used. The smaller the focal length eg.24mm the more distorted your features will be (Big nose becomes bigger). . . the longer the focal length eg. 300mm the more aesthetically pleasing your features (It flattens your features in a positive way). . . But that is only true dependant on the angle of the camera to the subjects face . . .

    Good looks are all about the correct angles & "good" Distortion.

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  • by ChrisDG on November 14th, 2006

    ChrisDG

    The camera shows you exactly as you are. The light that is reflected from you enters the lens and the light beams cross over (just as in your eyes) so that in the image captured, as the observer is looking at you, the light from your left side hits the right side of the camera film as you are looking at it and vice versa. But remember, the camera and so the film is 'facing you', as in it is looking in the opposite direction to where you are looking, this means that the light from your left side will cross over to reach the right side as you are looking at it but actually the left side of the film as it is positioned facing you. Obviously the same goes for the right. This is exactly how someone else facing you would see you because the lens in their eyes would do the same job as the lens in the camera of reversing the imaging to compensate for them facing in the opposite direction to you.

    In the mirror, this is not happening because the image displayed in the mirror is not passing through a lens first, so the light coming from your left side is shown on the left side of the mirror, the light from yuor right side is shown on the right side of the mirror. But because the mirror is facing you it is therefore in the opposite direction to you and because no crossover of the light from left to right and vice versa has occurred, you see a 'mirror image', that is your left arm in reality looks like the right arm of the person in the mirror. So if you look in the mirror you will not see your image as it really is (or how others see you), you are seeing it reversed from left to right.

    This makes your facial assymetries more prominent to you because when you look in the mirror (quite often day to day), you get this idea that the image you see is really you, and so any deviation from this image that you percieve in error as normal looks wrong to you. So you notice these differences more. And of course it is human nature to think this differences make you wierd when in fact this is how everyone sees you and is used to seeing you (they have no other frame of reference) so they don't notice these differences.

    I know it is kind of hard to explain in words but I can't be bothered finding a picture.

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