Picture vs Mirror!

[Joanne108]

I had some time to dress up to the nines this morning. I took my time. I thought I looked really good. So I took some pics, and they looked horrible. I looked at the pics and myself in the mirror. In the pic my ~250 dollar wig looked like a Halloween wig, my clothes looked like the weren't washed for a year. My make up did even show up. The only thing that looked OK were my forms. However I looked at myself in the mirror and I still looked fantastic. Time to get a new camera or learn how to use the damn thing better. Other than that I am thankful that I can crossdress without anyone flipping out!

[Yoshisaur]

Yup same thing happens to me all the time

[AllieSF]

Yes, pictures don't lie and can tell a thousand things, so they say. Actually, it is probably the lighting. Take some selfies in the same mirror as a test. Did you use a flash? That many times will wash out colors from makeup and then make a wig shine like plastic or even worse, like greasy hair. Natural indirect light is usually the best but not always easy to find. One true thing about pictures is that they are a static point in time reflection and when looked at with time, i.e. not a fleeting glance, we will eventually see all the wrinkles and blemishes that we so quickly ignore, don't see, in that quick glance in the mirror.

[Cheryl_Layton]

Just wait 'till you see yourself in a video!
I agree with Allie in that the lighting makes a huge difference. Try soft, even diffuse lighting for the kindest type. Even GGs need soft lighting to give the best pictures. Note that makeup for photography needs to be slightly heavier for the best results.

At least with the pictures you can study them and identify exactly what it is that doesn't make you look as you would like.

No one said that crossdressing was easy!

[Teresa]

Joanne,
Basically your reflection is direct ( not through a lens or photographic imagery ) your camera is influenced by other factors, quality and direction of light and lens focal length. If you are using a phone camera the lens is very wide rendering an unflattering picture. If your avatar shows the wig in question you're wearing it too far forward , no matter how expensive a wig is if it's wrong for your face shape and colouring then it's never going to work 100%. Also we all love long flowing blond hair but I'm afraid it doesn't work so well as we get older.
Try experimenting by doing each stage at a time and take pictures as you go, it becomes clearer where the appearance you want is going wrong .

Please don't take this the wrong way but I photographed a theatre company for many years and wigs played an important part in the quality of the production, the favorite saying from the directors was , " You're looking too wiggy !" In others words it was either being worn wrongly or it was the wrong wig for the actor.

[JessicaL]

It's very normal. Our brain adjust the image our eyes received to make a presentable one, and that's where the discrepancy comes in. Just like to get an idea of one's own voice, a recording device is necessary, to get a real idea of how we look like, we need photos/videos. Doesn't just happen to crossdressing, it's just in guy mode we don't realize/care less

[Tracii G]

I agree your wig is way too low on your head push it back to a more normal hair line.

[cheryl]

Totally relate! Sometimes I think my mirror is my best friend, and my camera not so much. But everyone can have good and bad angles in a pic.

[Sky]

It's very normal. Our brain adjust the image our eyes received to make a presentable one, and that's where the discrepancy comes in. Just like to get an idea of one's own voice, a recording device is necessary, to get a real idea of how we look like, we need photos/videos. Doesn't just happen to crossdressing, it's just in guy mode we don't realize/care less

Right on the money.

[Jill_cd]

Same here. While looking at myself in the mirror, I see a fairly attractive woman. Looking at pictures though, I see a guy in a wig and makeup. But we keep at it, right?

[Helen_Highwater]

Counter argument; I have posted pics of me that folks say look really good, womanly, even passable. Yet I know in reality I wouldn't pass in a blind school. The camera can work both ways. Making you look better, or, not so good, lets put it that way. There are so many factors. Just persist in trying to be better and learn from your mistakes

[Lena]

You just need the camera further away so you can't see details. in seriousness, don't judge based on pictures in the picture forums. Sometimes, it takes 20 shots to get that one that looks good.

[Krisi]

The camera doesn't lie. The camera sees you as others see you. The mirror is a reverse image. Most photo software will allow you to reverse a photo so it looks like what you see in the mirror, but that's not what you really look like.

Sometimes the flash or other artificial lighting will change colors a bit. Some photo software allows you to correct the colors but it's easier to just use natural light if you can.

The bottom line is, photos (and videos) can be used as tools to improve your look and presentation.

[Teresa]

Krisi,
I'm sorry to disagree with you but even before photoshop and digital imagery , a camera can lie in the hands of a professional, we had to know how to bend the rules to make a living, you have to know how to flatter people with a camera and lighting.

A mirror does give a reversed view but otherwise it's a true image,

[Beverley Sims]

Joanne,
Photoshop is a wonderful thing, it lies like the mirror does.

Those all revealing photos with the camera do show you where the tweaking needs to be made. :-)

[Joanne108]

Thanks for the advice. I'll try out some new techniques for my next shoot.

[Jacqueline StGermain]

You always hear the camera doesn't lie, but you can make it fib a little with lighting etc.
I think we've all had the experience of thinking you look great ( personal bias aside ), look at the picture and wonder what happened.
I've probably deleted 80% of photos I've taken myself

[AnnaMarie]

As the third photographer on here I'm going to come in with my opinion too. A professional photographer before looking at the subject or the background will look at the light and the quality of it. Diffused, soft, hard, contrasty, they all have there own place in the world of photography. The direction of the light is so important too. Photograph someone who is broad lit (ie. camera in the same direction as the key light source) will make someones face look fatter than if they were short lit (shot from the opposite side). Shoot someone lit from below and it's horror lit, shoot someone from above and it's more natural (ie. where the sun is in the sky). Focal length of the lens can either produce very flattering looks or if shot wide, large hands, large nose etc. Phone cameras can only do so much and whilst a good camera is helpful - the photographer and how he / she uses it is the most important part of the image.

[xNicolex]

I sometimes hate cameras for this very reason. I asked my gf if what shows up in the camera is what she sees she says no I look much better in real life, and she ain't biased when it comes to telling me what she thinks if i'm fugly she'll tell me same with the mirror I spend an hour or two getting ready makeup, wig etc, and I look at myself and say hey sexy then I take a couple of quick selfies and its just so depressing . but the camera is a lair alot of the time also depends on the camera quality if you use a low pixel camera the picture will not be as good.

[Robin414]

I purged 20+ years ago at the advice of an old RCA camcorder, piece of ...! The camcorder wasn't all that great either! ��

[Sky]

Do you girls ever watch Brain Games on the NGChannel? It's fascinating. In some of the shows you will learn a few things about how our brains process visual information and "massage it" to our liking.

[Nikki Elle]

Two things to keep in mind

1) The mirror is fluid - constantly showing updates as we react to it.
2) The camera is static - it's a snapshot in time. It's great, it's bad, its in between.

How many of us take photos looking for the 1 or 2 exceptional ones out of 30, 40, 50....The point is that the camera freezes everything in time and allows for critical examination. The mirror changes as we perceive unflattering looks: we change the tilt of the head, we move in/out for better lighting, we maximize the presentation - it's very dynamic and we see what we want to see.

If you want to improve your photo skills - study the photos that work well. What was the lighting? lighting source(direction? zoomed in/out? flash? flash angle? Work at repeating those setups that work, then you can expand your skill set. If you get really serious, go take a class to learn how much you didn't know.

[CindyT]

I was always told by more than one woman that "The camera adds ten pounds"! I agree with the others about trying different types of lighting, different levels. There are lot's of web sites with tips on taking photos also. I have done this for years and years, it just takes a lot of practice. Even professional photographers will take many photo's of a certain scene and select just a few to publish. Keep trying, you will get it!!

[Krisi]

Yes. a professional photographer can make a person look better in a photo than they look in real life, but that's not what I'm talking about. A photo is a "snapshot" of reality at that moment in time. If your friend snaps a picture of you, the camera shows what that friend saw at that moment.

[tanya_cd]

If you think you look different in pics than you did in the mirror, its just angles and lighting.