We need to talk about mirror dismorphia.
Never heard of it? It’s a little phenomenon we’ve come across often enough, where we look great in the bathroom, putting on our makeup, but not so great in the resulting photos from nights out. What’s up with that? Why can’t our photos be as flawless as, say, Kim Kardashian West, any of the Hadids, or our spirit animal Zoe Foster Blake?
A reddit thread has finally answered the question about why photos don’t represent our true, most beautiful selves, and the answer is good old science.
Are you ready for some myth-busting? So the major reason is the disparity between 2D (photos) and 3D (mirrors). A mirror will give you the most animated and in-depth representation of your face, the closest approximation of actually being in front of your beautiful visage.
A photo, however, can be more stilted and flattened. It’s literally a two-dimensional representation of you. And let’s face it, that’s never going to match up to the real thing, is it?
As one Reddit user said, “It also has to do with the tiny movements in your face and your head turning side to side, up and down, etc. These little movements provide a full 3D picture of yourself. Meanwhile, a photo is static and can only show one portion of your face at a time.”
Don’t even get us started on flash, which makes everything look cold, harsh and completely flat. It’s not unusual to find your gorgeous, glowing IRL tan completely dissipate in front of your eyes in a photograph. Blame your phone’s camera and its wide-angle lens. Blame your bathroom’s non-flash reliant flattering light. Blame the fact cameras seem to miraculously appear in the exact moment when you are not living your best life, and you’re putting all of the pizza slices, or all of the sav blanc, in your mouth.
Blame whatever you like, just don’t blame yourself. Because you’re gorgeous. It’s all your phone’s fault.
