Do you look different to yourself in pictures than you do in the mirror?

[Alfred001]

I'm watching s12e1 of Curb Your Enthusiasm and there's a moment where Larry says to Leon, have you noticed that when you take a picture you don't look nearly as good as you do when you look in the mirror? Because the mirror is how you look to yourself and the photo is how others see you.

This is exactly what I've also noticed and hearing LD say that on the show made me realize that this is apparently a universal phenomenon? Have you noticed this as well?

I've always been struck by how much more attractive I look to myself in the mirror vs. how I appear in pictures, especially if the picture was taken by someone else and my feeling has always been the one Larry expresses, that the picture is probably how I actually look and how other people see me, whereas when I look in the mirror there's probably some kind of psychological self-esteem maintenance mechanism going on to convince myself I actually look better.

Anyway, have others noticed this as well? I'm interested in hearing "no" answers, as well, because I'm curious whether this is really an universal (or at least common) phenomenon.

[CharonY]

Have you considered the fact that a photo is a frozen moment in time and that depending on conditions and effort, the outcome can differ vastly? In contrast, in a mirror you can pose until you like what you see?

[MigL]

I don't know ...
The left and right sides of my face are always swapped in the mirror.
Maybe 'handsomeness' has chirality 😄 .

[Peterkin]

4 hours ago, Alfred001 said:

Have you noticed this as well?

Very often. But then, the only recent pictures I have of myself were taken by an official at the Department of Transit, where I have to stand just so in poor light and look up that the camera. I imagine a professional portrait photographer would make me look better than the mirror.