Why do I look different in photos than in the mirror?
Two reasons. The mirror shows you a reversed image you have looked at every day; the photo shows the version everyone else sees, which feels unfamiliar. And most cameras (especially phone front-cameras) use focal lengths that compress facial features in ways the human eye does not.
The mere-exposure effect, documented by psychologist Robert Zajonc in 1968, predicts that humans prefer faces they have seen most often. The face you see in the mirror is the version you have looked at every day of your life. Photos show the non-mirrored version, which most people find unfamiliar and therefore less attractive even when the photo is objectively a good likeness.
Phone front-cameras typically use focal lengths between 20mm and 30mm equivalent, which exaggerates the size of features closest to the lens (usually the nose) and flattens the cheekbones. Portrait photographers use 85mm or longer lenses precisely to avoid this distortion. A selfie taken at arm's length will always look different from a portrait taken from three metres away.
Lighting is the third factor. Mirrors are usually lit by ambient room light coming from multiple angles. Photos are often taken in single-source light that creates shadows you do not normally see. The Beauty Report accounts for all three factors when reading a selfie.
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