Why You Always Look Bad in Photos. Hint- There's a Scientific Explanation!
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Why do you always look "off" in photos? Nervously scroll by the pictures you were tagged in last weekend because you never take good photos, and hope your friends don't notice you didn't add it to your timeline?
So why do you look like a rockstar in the mirror, but a starfish in the photo?
The single most often asked question I receive as a Dating Consultant, right up there with "I'm a nice guy with a job, and I don't live in my parents basement- how come I'm still single?" is "Which profile photo should I use, I look bad in them all?"
The truth is you actually look better than you think.
Believe it or not, there is a scientific explanation.
The simple answer is your face is actually backwards.
Science tells us we react more positively to things that we see more often.
Since you see yourself most frequently in the mirror, that is your preferred self image that is locked and recognized. When your face is unflipped by the camera, slight facial asymmetries are on unfamiliar sides, so you appear unappealing and alien to the facial recognition part of your brain.
The scientific term for this phenomena is called "mere-exposure".
It's why your friends call you crazy and tell you you look great in that photo of you standing together, but say they are the ones who look weird.
They aren't just being nice! They are being honest- The picture image of you is how everyone else in the world sees you.
You are the only human who is familiar with the mirror image you.
So rest easy and smile big the next time you pose for photos. The resulting picture shows the real, good looking you :)
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nice post, thanks for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it :)
Very nice
Thanks! :)
Hey I have read about this before and know you are right in your article...it still doesn't help.. I think we need to look at ourselves more in photos.. I don't like my photo taken and well .. great post..
You can always flip your photos using an image editor :) You'll appear "normal" to yourself. But then you'll look "off" to everyone who looks at you, lol!
This is one of those "wow it is so obvious now" things that I had never heard of or thought about before - makes perfect sense! Great post :)
This makes me happy!
Thanks :)
Thanks for clarify this. After any photo I'm always thinking: "who's that girl? Looks like me, but definitely is not" haha
I know, right?! Glad I could help :)
Well that's a relief lol. But it does make sense especially after the
It's true :) Try this real quick- using your photo editor, flip a picture of you that you think makes you look weird, but your friends say you look good in. See the difference? It's pretty profound.
:)
I might try it one of these days though I'm not big on taking pics anyways :P
Great post, i believe this 80% since science seems to have explanation to everything
LOL! 80%?
I've had permanent 'beer goggles' when it came to myself as a young man, then one day BAM, I look old. It's a harsh reality. Now I try to only be photographed for pictures that matter, passports, driving license etc when I have just come back from a holiday so I look healthy and tanned. Sad but necessary. 😆
You are a celebrity! Thats the only time they take photos, too ;) Lighting helps, too, lol
Yeah, but I know some very attractive people whom don't look good in their social media pages' photos. I find myself wanting to tell them, "Hey, I hope you know you actually look a lot better than your pictures do." But I never say it because it might be awkward, embarrassing for them, and I might end up having one of those foot in my mouth moments.
right.
Lol
Ah wow, what a fun fact! I had no idea this was the case. Although I guess I have a somewhat realistic idea of my appearance :)
Isn't it crazy what our brains succumb us to!
Yep!