What you look like to others

[GSSSS]

This is just a small guide, nothing too crazy and not detailed at all.

Can you actually 100% accurately know what you look like IRL?​

The answer is no, you can’t. But you can get close to it, and that’s the purpose of this guide.

What affects what you look like in pictures and mirrors?​

• angle
• distance
• lighting
• movement
• lens distortion
• familiarity

Familiarity​

• You see yourself in the mirror every day, so you are familiar with your face. No matter how much you try to convince yourself that you’ll see yourself exactly how others see you, it won’t be fully true.
• Studies have shown that we tend to find familiar faces more attractive.
• Because of that, the version of yourself that you usually see in the mirror can often feel better looking simply because your brain is used to it.
• When you see yourself flipped in a selfie or in a photo, even though it is still your face, it can look “off” or worse to you.
• This is because your brain notices every small asymmetry more when the face is shown in an unfamiliar way.
• For example, if one eyebrow is slightly higher, one side of your jaw sharper, or your nose slightly tilted, your brain is already used to seeing it one way in the mirror.
• When it gets flipped, those same features suddenly stand out much more.
• That does not mean you actually look worse.
• It mostly means the image is less familiar to you.
• Others are already used to seeing the non-mirrored version of your face, so it usually does not affect how they see you as much as it affects how you see yourself.

Distance​

• Distance plays a huge role in how accurate a picture of you is.
• The closer a camera is to your face, the more your features get distorted.
• This is especially noticeable in selfies because the phone is usually very close to your face.
• Your nose is physically closer to the camera than your ears, cheeks, and jaw.
• Because of that, the nose often appears larger while the sides of the face appear pushed back.
• This can make your face look different from how it looks in real life.
• The farther the camera is, the more natural your proportions will usually look.
• That is why photos taken from a bit of distance often look much more accurate than close selfies.

Lens Distortion​

• This is one of the biggest reasons people look different in selfies.
• Phone selfie cameras usually use wider lenses.
• Wide lenses tend to stretch features, especially when the face is close to the camera.

This can make:

• the nose look bigger
• the forehead look larger
• the jaw look smaller
• the face look longer or wider

depending on the angle and position.
This is why selfies can sometimes make someone who looks good in person look average, and vice versa.

A back camera photo from a normal distance is usually much closer to real life than a front camera selfie.

Angle​

• Angle can completely change how your face looks.
• Even moving the camera a few centimeters higher, lower, or to the side can make a major difference.

A higher angle can make:

• eyes look bigger
• jaw sharper
• nose smaller

A lower angle can make:

• jaw heavier
• nose larger
• face broader

The same thing applies to side angles.


Some angles naturally make certain features look stronger, while others can make them look weaker.
This is why one picture of you can look amazing and another can look bad even if they were taken seconds apart.

Lighting​

• Lighting changes how your face structure and skin look.
• Good lighting can make your skin appear smoother and make your features look softer.

Bad lighting can exaggerate:

• eye bags
• skin texture
• wrinkles
• shadows
• asymmetries

For example, harsh lighting from above can create strong shadows under the eyes and nose.

Natural light from the front usually looks much better and more balanced.
This is why the same person can look completely different depending on the lighting.

Movement​

• People do not see you as a still image in real life.
• They see you moving, talking, blinking, smiling, and changing expressions.
• Movement makes a huge difference.
• A still photo freezes a single moment.
• Sometimes that moment catches an awkward expression, a blink, or a bad angle.
• In real life, those moments pass instantly.
• Because of this, many people look better in person than they do in pictures.
• A video is often closer to how people actually see you than a still photo.

Conclusion​

No mirror or photo can perfectly show how you look in real life.

The closest options are usually:

• mirror pictures
• back camera photos from a distance
• videos
• photos in natural lighting

The truth is usually somewhere between your best and worst pictures.

 

[PepsAreNatty]

dnr some of it but ill bump and read later

 

[iqletandrew73]

I love when small postcount users make guides instead of repfarming and spamming, very informative thread, mirin work g

 

[GSSSS]

I love when small postcount users make guides instead of repfarming and spamming, very informative thread, mirin work g