Which is me??

When I look into a mirror, the person I see is probably not the person you see.  Sometimes I see a funny looking female with a lumpy face and a surprised look in the eyes.  Sometimes I see someone attractive and lovely. Sometimes I see wrinkles and age. Other times I look as I did at 45. Sometimes I glance at a mirror and wonder who that person is.  I hear from friends that I’m not alone in this –  many look in the mirror and see a stranger. Who is this person looking back at me?

After many unhappy purchases of clothing, I’ve finally realized this arbitrariness also applies to dressing room mirrors. Modern technology has provided an answer!  I can’t tell in a mirror if a dress or top will look good on me, but I can use my cell phone to take a picture of myself in the mirror. And, for some unfathomable reason, that gives me a truer image. Go figure!

Not that photographs are my friends. For years I’ve taken pictures of myself, mostly for PR purposes.  The pictures I take look attractive, even glamorous.  Occasionally friends will take pictures of me – and in those I look like a funny little duck!  Huh??  What really hurts is that they look at the picture and say, “This is a good picture of you!”

I mentioned this to a photographer friend and asked him why on earth would this happen. He looked intensely at me and said, “You don’t show them your glamorous side, only your funny side.”  Hmmm, could this be true?  Is there no such thing as objective appearance?  Even in photography which I thought of as The Eye of Truth?  Is it all only a reflection of subjective impressions?