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    Self-image - Mirror vs Camera

    Posts: 2
    edited March 7 in Motivation and Support
    Hey guys! So I often take photographs of my legs and body on my camera and I look so thin its crazy! My self image is high and I walk the streets with confidence. However, when I look in the mirror I see fat, fat everywhere. i seem so much bigger than in photographs! Does anyone else have this experience? It's quite hard to deal with! It can be so disheartening.I've attached a photograph which I took in a mirror and then of myself just to put into perspective the difference. Do you believe your mirror reflection or your camera?

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    Replies

    • Posts: 2
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    • Posts: 20,316 MFP Moderator
      I don't see fat everywhere in the mirror. I know that I've lost a lot of weight. I definitely see the loss in the mirror. However, every once in a while, someone catches a picture of me that surprises me when I see just how small I've become. :)
    • Posts: 948 Member
      we are our own worst critic.
    • Posts: 35,719 Member
      There's no difference... It's all in your head.
    • Posts: 416 Member
      I'm the reverse, I feel I look bigger in pictures than in the mirror. I think that is because I have a wider frame and the weight loss is more apparent in 3D than picture.
    • Posts: 253 Member
      There is no difference, and there isn't "fat everywhere". Like that was stated above, we are our own worst critics. We see flaws that no one else see.
    • Posts: 233 Member
      edited October 2014
      What do you mean, "do you believe your mirror reflection or the camera..." ? It's not a matter of believing, it's about knowing. So I get my weight from the scale and my measurements from a tape.

      And BTW, I think you should put this camera down for a while.

      Is your profile up to date ? Because I saw you still have to lose over 25 pounds.
    • Posts: 2,402 Member
      I think when we look in the mirror is a reflection of our views of ourselves, so if you have some body image concerns it can play out that you don't see yourself accurately in the mirror. I actually see myself as quite a bit slimmer than I am so am usually surprised at how big I am in camera pictures.
    • Posts: 64
      edited October 2014
      You are more critical of the image in the mirror because that is the version of you that you are most familiar with. It's mere-exposure. Usually people have a preference to that image because of its familiarity but if you are hypercritical of what you see in the mirror, a photograph can be different enough that you can see yourself with fresh eyes. By the way, however you see yourself in the mirror vs the photograph, people see you like the photograph. And they generally prefer the photograph to the mirror image of you.


      But that question answered, I think you look perfectly fine in both cases!
    • Posts: 1,009 Member
      I'm just the opposite. I don't feel fat when I look in the mirror but when I see a still photo of myself I think I look too heavy. I don't know why- maybe I can suck it in or keep my chin up so as not to show the double chin in the mirror, but the camera does not lie about weight.
    • Posts: 892 Member
      So far I've lost 87 pounds… and I still am waiting to look in the mirror (or even just look down at my stomach or legs) and actually be able to tell that I've lost weight. I know that I have… the scales tell me so. The measurements tell me so. The clothes I wear tell me so. Practically the whole rest of the world tells me so. But when I look at myself, like you, I just see how much fat I still have. And even with photos, it's not until I compare them side by side that I can really see a difference.

      I think it's perfectly normal. We are our own worst critics and besides we live with ourselves. We see ourself not just everyday… but constantly throughout the day as well. Changes are hard to notice in ourselves.

      I would suggest rely on more objective measures of progress. The scale, measurements, how your clothes fit. And other NSV's, like being able to run faster or further or lift more. Or health measures from your doctor. If you feel confident in yourself, then throw away the camera and ignore the mirror. We see in both what our mind tells us is there.
    • Posts: 712 Member
      I see just what I want to see in the mirror.
      The camera is a cruel reality check.
      :(
    • Posts: 4,088 Member
      It's weird, when I was much bigger I always saw myself bigger in pictures than in the mirror. Now that I've lost a lot of weight, it's the opposite and I am now surprised when I see how thin I am in pictures because I don't see myself that thin in the mirror.
    • Posts: 18,781 Member
      edited October 2014
      There is actually a scientific explanation for this.

      We see ourselves in the mirror daily, multiple times a day. We are used to ourselves, and we pick every single little change and are out own biggest critics.

      HOWEVER, when we see ourselves in photos... We're the other way around. We aren't seeing a mirror image, we're seeing ourselves as we really are - how others see us. It's a small change, but it's enough that what you see in the photo is not the same as what you see in the mirror/window/reflection multiple times a day. So because it is less familiar, because you don't know that image as well.

      People aren't symetrical, so your reflection and a photo of yourself actually look slightly different. Like ideantical twins but with minor environmental differences.

      Try an experiment. Have someone take a photo of you, then print it out normally but also print out a version where the photo has been flipped to a mirror image (you can do this in photoshop, or more self service photo printing booths can). Look at one photo, then the other (not side by side at first) and see which one you like better.

      Interestingly, the one you like better gives an indication of your current opinion on your physical self.

      If you like the non-mirrored one, it can indicate you have a lower opinion on your physical self, because it indicates that you pick flaws in your reflection but feel the less familiar photo looks better and that your objective opinion of yourself is higher than your subjective opinion.

      If you like the mirrored one better, it shows that you have a higher degree of confidence in your appearance, and that confidence can take a knock when you look at the less familiar picture (the old "I like how I look then see a photo and go "omg??" syndrome).

      Anyway, it's all quite interesting. But yes, there is a psychological reason why you have a different reaction to a photo of yourself than a reflection. It's all about perspective.
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    • Posts: 704 Member
      4ever420 wrote: »
      It's weird, when I was much bigger I always saw myself bigger in pictures than in the mirror. Now that I've lost a lot of weight, it's the opposite and I am now surprised when I see how thin I am in pictures because I don't see myself that thin in the mirror.

      This is more me lol.
    • Posts: 24
      Also: A printed photo catches the exact image. But "viewing a picture" on a computer screen can be totally misleading, depending on the configuration of the screen and other digital elements. The wider the screen, the wider the butt. ;)
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