First I'll just start with a question for everyone.
Have you ever looked at decent quality photos or video footage of your family members? They tend to look almost identical in photos and IRL, but you tend to look much more subhuman in photos than in the mirror. Do others try to convince you that you look "fine" in photos? Fine meaning the same as in person.
People that you know well IRL never really significantly stand out in photos or video footage or at least you never tell yourself "damn, my dad looks like a different person in photos compared to IRL."
Think about why that is and stop coping. What you see in photos is 99.99999% what others see when they look at you. Before you start crying about distortion, just think.
Modern smartphone cameras are more than good enough, especially from further away. Basically, you're seeing what other people see when they look at you and your brain simply isn't used to it, but it's a much more accurate representation of what you look like to other people compared to mirrors.
Your brain has a way to cope so it changes the perception of yourself in the mirror. You also tend to subconsciously adjust your face and angles when looking at the mirror which is frauding, but that's also beside the point. What matters is your own brain. To others, you look the same whether it's IRL, in photos or in the mirror.
Cameras are very close to human eyes in their ability to fairly accurately process visual information which is why other people tend to look normal to you in photos and video footage, but you always stand out or look "off."
Place the camera 10ft away and record yourself. That is what people see.
What people need to understand is that your brain fucks with you.
Your brain is absolutely not used to seeing your body and face from other people's perspectives (photos, video) so when it does happen it's basically a shock, but it's reality.
There was no way for us to see ourselves from other people's perspectives for hundreds of thousands of years and suddenly we have cameras which are basically like other people's perspectives. We can now see what others see when they look at us and our brains aren't evolved for that, but they are evolved to look at reflections which are flipped/mirrored, "normalized" and corrected by the brain to cope.
>b-but mirrors are more accurate because distortion and things I don't really understand that I'm parroting from reddit threads and articles!1!
The mirror is more accurate only in the way that it shows your brain what it expects to see.
Another thing you can try is record yourself with your family or have someone record you and your family together. Your family members will look like they always look, but you will stand out to yourself. Others will deny it and say you look normal.
I was at my sister's wedding a few years ago and people took photos and video footage. Everyone looked normal (normal meaning the same as IRL), but I looked very off and much less attractive than in the mirror. What I was in fact seeing is what other people see when they look at me.
The brain is not ready for that kind of information.
Obviously, front facing camera selfies from 10" away when looking down are not that accurate, but people underestimate modern smarphone cameras. A camera 10ft away is very accurate if you want to visualize what others see.
tl dr: Modern smartphone cameras from a bit further away are an accurate representation of what you look like to other people
Have you ever looked at decent quality photos or video footage of your family members? They tend to look almost identical in photos and IRL, but you tend to look much more subhuman in photos than in the mirror. Do others try to convince you that you look "fine" in photos? Fine meaning the same as in person.
People that you know well IRL never really significantly stand out in photos or video footage or at least you never tell yourself "damn, my dad looks like a different person in photos compared to IRL."
Think about why that is and stop coping. What you see in photos is 99.99999% what others see when they look at you. Before you start crying about distortion, just think.
Modern smartphone cameras are more than good enough, especially from further away. Basically, you're seeing what other people see when they look at you and your brain simply isn't used to it, but it's a much more accurate representation of what you look like to other people compared to mirrors.
Your brain has a way to cope so it changes the perception of yourself in the mirror. You also tend to subconsciously adjust your face and angles when looking at the mirror which is frauding, but that's also beside the point. What matters is your own brain. To others, you look the same whether it's IRL, in photos or in the mirror.
Cameras are very close to human eyes in their ability to fairly accurately process visual information which is why other people tend to look normal to you in photos and video footage, but you always stand out or look "off."
Place the camera 10ft away and record yourself. That is what people see.
What people need to understand is that your brain fucks with you.
Your brain is absolutely not used to seeing your body and face from other people's perspectives (photos, video) so when it does happen it's basically a shock, but it's reality.
There was no way for us to see ourselves from other people's perspectives for hundreds of thousands of years and suddenly we have cameras which are basically like other people's perspectives. We can now see what others see when they look at us and our brains aren't evolved for that, but they are evolved to look at reflections which are flipped/mirrored, "normalized" and corrected by the brain to cope.
>b-but mirrors are more accurate because distortion and things I don't really understand that I'm parroting from reddit threads and articles!1!
The mirror is more accurate only in the way that it shows your brain what it expects to see.
Another thing you can try is record yourself with your family or have someone record you and your family together. Your family members will look like they always look, but you will stand out to yourself. Others will deny it and say you look normal.
I was at my sister's wedding a few years ago and people took photos and video footage. Everyone looked normal (normal meaning the same as IRL), but I looked very off and much less attractive than in the mirror. What I was in fact seeing is what other people see when they look at me.
The brain is not ready for that kind of information.
Obviously, front facing camera selfies from 10" away when looking down are not that accurate, but people underestimate modern smarphone cameras. A camera 10ft away is very accurate if you want to visualize what others see.
tl dr: Modern smartphone cameras from a bit further away are an accurate representation of what you look like to other people
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