Mirror Image vs. Real Life

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  • beautifulbeast11
    beautifulbeast11 Posts: 202 Member
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    OMG that happens to me all the time. I hate taking pictures now... I hate it!
  • 10acity
    10acity Posts: 798 Member
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    This has definitely happened to me, but I've also had the opposite happen on occasion. (Oh hey, I don't actually look gigantic. Huh.)

    Most recently, a photographer friend asked if she could test out some new equipment on me. I really hate having my picture taken, but I'm also pretty vain (hey, I'm pretty!) so I thought if anyone can make me look good, she can. Of course, she's still a great photographer-- but I don't know what I expected her to do about the 30 lbs I had gained over the previous 2 years! I looked at those shots and for the first time in a long time, all I could see was FAT. It wasn't a pleasant experience, but it did wake me up. I just looked at them again the other day, and almost 20 lbs later, I definitely do not look like that anymore! Phew!

    We look at ourselves every day, and things tend to change slowly. It's easy not to see something we don't want to see.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    Every day. Unfortunately for me, most of my candid AND posed shots go straight to widespread social media before I see them and when I do, I try to hide my fat *kitten* under a rock.
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
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    Photos can be very unforgiving. -_-;
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
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    I have abs in the mirror, but not in real life!!?!?

    I can has your mirror?!
  • thebaconbeast
    thebaconbeast Posts: 560 Member
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    When I look in the mirror I don't see what everybody tells me they see , I Just see a guy in the mirror looking at me funny.
  • star0207
    star0207 Posts: 21
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    Does anyone else ever look in the mirror and think "Hey, I don't look that bad!" but when you see a photo of yourself, you have the OMG moment where you're like "Holy crap, I look like a cow!" Yeah. That moment just happened. I saw a candid photo of me from three weeks ago and it was the first time I really saw how fat my legs and knees looked... I don't really see myself that way when I look in the mirror. Sure, I know I'm overweight but I thought I looked okay, you know? Just wow. Talk about motivation!


    What do you see when you see yourself in a mirror versus in a photo? Do you see a difference like I do or is it the same?

    ugh! i know the feeling :(
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Race photos are particularly bad like that for me. Those photographers do it on purpose! :tongue:

    It's in their training manual.......they wait until they get either the worst possible angle, most embarrassing jiggle or capture you making a face looking like you are suffering terminal flatulence.
  • carrigsl
    carrigsl Posts: 3
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    I am trying not to look in the mirror.

    Last week a friend took a photo of me while we were at Zumba. (FYI, anyone in Boston, there are free Zumba classes on the Esplande on Tuesday nights at 6:00 pm. BIG FUN)

    I saw the pic on facebook and was horrifed at how my arms look.
    It motivated me to finally start using MFP.
  • littledumplings
    littledumplings Posts: 223 Member
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    So true this thread...i'm the same, got to a place where I think, yeah, I look good in the mirror...then I see a photo and want to cry! Body dysmorphia but the other way around! Also, I think I let myself get so big, as I didnt think I was that big? if that makes sense?
  • anneouel
    anneouel Posts: 70 Member
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    I have a mirror (everyone who looks in it agrees) its full length and I swear the person who made it must have made it special cause it makes anyone look good in it. If I ever want a confidence boost I look in it, but then the camera goes "nope" and makes me look bad D:
  • welly5
    welly5 Posts: 293 Member
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    This isn't quite the same but I was living in an apartment with a warped mirror that make my lower half look HUGE! I sort of knew the mirror was warped but after 6 months of living there with that being the only mirror I just accepted that was how I looked

    One night I went out dancing and the bathroom had a full length mirror and I was SO SURPRISED by how much thinner lower half looked that I made my friend stand in front of the mirror too to see if she looked the same in real life and in the mirror. It was like instantly losing 10 pounds haha.
  • ThePhoenixRose
    ThePhoenixRose Posts: 1,985 Member
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    I am the exact opposite. I look in the mirror and think my arms look flabby, my thighs could be more toned, my stomach is too round, the list goes on....and then I see myself in photos and I'm like "oh...I actually look pretty small...."

    ^^This.
  • kaseysospacey
    kaseysospacey Posts: 499 Member
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    Yes! I was a bridesmaid on Saturday I was like-hey. I look pretty good. Then I saw wedding photos.
  • galegetsthin
    galegetsthin Posts: 1,352 Member
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    Mine is the other way around. I look in the mirror and wanna yak. But, if I see a picture, I am like "Oh..... that ain't so bad.".
  • Catzwitch
    Catzwitch Posts: 205 Member
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    I ahve this exact problem. I look in the mirror and think I look pretty ok, but I have to take pictures of myself to remind me that I am not! I was at 235 and thinking I still looked good until I saw pictures. Ick!
  • 150930
    150930 Posts: 19
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    yep. i stopped taking pictures. i will go with my eyes instead of the camera's. denial - i know. happiness - priceless.
  • kmm7309
    kmm7309 Posts: 802 Member
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    Uh... yeah... this happens to me every time. I've been taking lots of full-body shots to have for when my weight is gone, to document my journey. Every time I take a picture I want to cry, because I look like a house. My best friend insists that these are good pictures, but I don't like them. I know I have a long way to go, but you would think that 40+ pounds down and I would be happy with myself!

    I think the biggest problem is how badly I've AVOIDED photos my whole life. So I don't really know what I looked like in photos before, above the neck.
  • summer8it
    summer8it Posts: 433 Member
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    I really think it's because when we're looking in the mirror, we naturally position our head and body in the most flattering pose. We can't do that when someone is taking a photo of us!

    You're onto something here. I got a little bit of model training from Teresa Tapp, one of my fitness gurus, and WOW was it enlightening. So much can be done just be changing the angle of your body, the way you point your toe, the way you tilt your chin.... It's changed the way I pose for photos forever!

    Posture also makes a huge difference in how heavy or slim you appear to be, so if someone snaps a candid photo when you're slumping, of course it's going to look horrible.
  • ElliieMental
    ElliieMental Posts: 189
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    Oh my god! This has just happened to me. I mean I look in the mirror and think I look ok, i have a great night, boogy with my hubby and feel like a princess (even though i know i'm not really a princess) then the next day i see a picture and it takes me 6 months to summon the courage to go out again :grumble:

    I am supposed to be going out for hubby's birthday in a week but its only a week since i last felt this trauma - i don't want to go out feeling like a freak cos i just wont be much fun :sad:

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