Photo accuracy

[earl25]

ok so im at a loss here. If  i take a picture of myself selfie through a mirror i look ok, anytime i have a rergular camera even with lens i come out extrenly assymetric. the other day i went to get my school id and the camera they used was not some garbage photo id camersa. it was a regular camera with a lens. i came out deformed. one side of my face much higher and larger than the other. one eye massivly lower. so which image is accurate

[earl25]

This wasnt a littld assymetry this was deformed

[earl25]

It was im hoping it just photo distortion

[Milli_Meters]

Get some one else to take a few  pics of you at varying distances with a decent camera. Mirror is kinda inaccurate cause it flips the image.

You can also invest in a "true mirror".

[David_D]

If you take pictures of yourself in the mirror and then flip them horizontally, you'll have more accurate images of you than would be given without using a mirror. The camera lens will emphasize those areas closest to the lens. Without a mirror, a nose might look larger relative to other facial structures, for instance.

I think the lens distortion can impact the horizontal or the vertical dimension.

[ditterbo]

Maybe the picture was taken at a slightly different angle of yourself, unintentionally. Just that it wasn't a 0 degrees, straight on shot.

[Aurelius]

The effect you experience is lens distortion. I think the most realistic "setting" is at 135mm or so. Obviously at 18mm there will be severe distortion. Its also affected by how far away you are from the camera and wether you are in the center or the edges of the picture. Its more severe at the edges. Also, the nearer you are to the camera, the narrower/longer your face will appear.

Here is some pics that make both effects more visible:




If you dont have a DSLR or other good camera where you can adjust that stuff, there are ways to correct lens distortion with photo shop.
Just google lens distortion and portrait photography.

[buzzhead]

This is probably why portrait photographers have you position your head in certain ways.

[GJ]

I think the most realistic "setting" is at 135mm or so.

Actually the human eye sees around ~50mm (if using a full frame sensor). That's why above that is a telephoto lens and below is a wide angle.
Of course that will depend on full frame vs crop sensor if in the digital world.

[Millis]

50mm looks like the most natural and attractive lens to me.

When I get closer to a mirror, my face appears wider. When I get closer to a camera it appears longer. Strange.