Mirror, Mirror

By: Regina, Website Developer

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who really is the fairest of them all?

One thing we can admire about the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is that she was very confident with her looks (perhaps it was just vanity or insecurity, but let’s give her the benefit of the doubt.) She spent her days looking into a talking mirror and incessantly asking it who was the fairest in all the land. And of course, the mirror had no other option but to stay and repeat the same answer. The Queen was overjoyed to know that she was the most beautiful, but then one day the mirror told her that her step-daughter, Snow White, was actually the fairest, which set off a chain of events that ultimately led to the Queen’s death and Snow White’s happily ever after.

Why did the Evil Queen spend all of her days looking at the mirror? Why couldn’t she just take a picture of herself or something? Well, actually, there are three reasons: at the time, pictures were too advanced, all those pictures would probably not be good for the environment, and you actually look better in the mirror than in pictures or real life.

"... you actually look better in the mirror than in pictures or real life."

Mirrors Lie

Mirrors are perhaps the easiest and the most convenient way to look at ourselves. In fact, according to HuffPost, we check ourselves out about eight times a day. Of course, that number varies for different people. But, since we look into the mirror so much, we accept that as our original face. However, the image in the mirror, in fact, is not what you actually look like. Instead, it is just a flipped version of yourself. Photographs show the original version and because we are used to our mirrored self, we expect that mirror image and are disappointed when we do not see it.

Another reason we look so different in photographs is that our faces are not symmetrical. As a result, many features may look slightly off. For example, if in the mirror, your nose slants in one direction, you would look a little different to yourself when it slants the other way in pictures.

Look At It Through A Different Angle

Lighting and angles are arguably the most important factors while taking a photo. Various camera angles can make certain objects appear bigger or smaller. On the other hand, we can adjust to different angles in the mirror, making us look more flattering. Lighting adds to this, as most lights are set above the mirror, giving us the illusion of a perfect glow. It can be quite difficult to achieve this in a natural setting.

Nevertheless, everyone has their own beauty, whether they see it or not. So, never be afraid to take that picture!