Same thing happens to me, I get all done up, looking in the mirror and thinking I look good. My bf will give me a compliment and I'm feeling great. Then I take a picture and get so depressed because what I see is totally different that what I saw in the mirror :( But it just motivates me to keep going so that one day I will be happy when I look at pictures!! :)

This is slightly off-topic, but I was thinking about this thread last night, & it caused me to wonder if something similar to this phenomenon is part of what causes so many celebrities to struggle with eating disorders. Every picture of them that appears in a magazine is airbrushed so that, no matter how good they look, they are always going to look in the mirror & see someone heavier & less perfect than the self they see in their photos. I could really see that messing with someone's head, leading them to constantly feel that they have to diet, exercise, etc. so that they can really look like that person in the pictures!

I also have no full length mirrors at my house and have developed a tic about checking myself out in the gym, etc. Its like--That's not me. Wait, that's me. How is that me? Yup, its me. Oh God, I look like I am normal. Wow.

Yup. Still there. That girl in the mirror is me. Walking around in these tight yoga pants looking pretty ok.

And so it goes. I try not to look at myself but I am still not used to it. Still!

A few nights ago I was trying on my bathing suits at home--one a bikini--in prep for my cruise next week and I was completely horrified by my cellulite and some wrinkly floppy stomach skin. I went to Target and tried on bathing suits there--totally demoralizing, I looked horrid, and all the bottoms were too small, I guess I underestimated the sizing. Today I went to Forever 21 and Old Navy and I was amazed to see myself in those mirrors looking not too bad.l

Because of this phenomenon, I trust no mirrors and believe them all to be distorted in some way. Otherwise, how would I look different in all these different mirrors?? I can't really, truly see myself at all, and so I can't tell if I am one of those people who actually looks ok in a bikini, or if I am being ridiculous and will cause other people's eyes to burn out of their sockets if I appear in public in a two piece....

This is distressing. I think, at this point, I will probably spend the week all covered up regardless....just like my old fat days.

well...maybe I can take a digital one of myself, or enlist my fiance to help, and I can see how I "really" look from an actual photo.

Originally Posted by shatteredfallendove:
Rember the camera adds 10 lbs.

That is true somewhat. I remember reading somewhere that when you look at yourself in the mirror, it is a 3D image. Meaning, you can see the curves, dimensions, and shadowing so that the object appears 3D. But in a photo, it is a 2D image. All those curves, dimensions, shadowing you saw in the mirror - well, they now have been flattened out for the image.

In conclusion, you look heavier in photos because everything was a bit flattened out.

Does that make sense to anyone? Haha

Originally Posted by :
I trust no mirrors and believe them all to be distorted in some way. Otherwise, how would I look different in all these different mirrors??

Man ain't that the truth. How is it I look amazingly tall and slim in the 3-way mirrors at Catherine's and I look dumpy and normal in my full-length bedroom mirror? What did they do to their mirrors to make that happen? And why can't it happen everywhere LOL?