Vanishing Tattoos & Piercings – How Mirrors Work!

Mirrors can be tricky things… especially when it comes to transformation pictures! They can make tattoos swap arms and legs! They also can mean that, from different angles, tattoos and piercings can seem like they’ve disappeared. So here’s a handy guide on how mirrors work!

How Mirrors Work | Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

Sometimes, we have people who claim that transformation pictures are fake, or that they are misleading. This is because one picture has been taken as a selfie in the mirror and the other has been taken by someone else. This can lead to all kinds of confusion! So here is an example that helps to explain the difference…

Before picture taken by someone else:

How Mirrors Work | Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

After picture, taken as a selfie in the mirror:

How Mirrors Work | Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

The tattoo magically disappeared, right?!

So, how does this happen? Well… a mirror reflects the image, so it is backwards. If you take a picture of yourself in a mirror, your right arm is reflected to look like your left arm and vice versa.

If you have a picture taken of you, the reflection does not happen, so your right arm looks like…. Your right arm!

So if a comparison picture uses one image taken in a mirror and one image taken by someone else, tattoos and piercings will swap sides.

How Mirrors Work | Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

This does not mean that the pictures are faked. It certainly doesn’t mean that someone has not achieved their weight loss because you can’t see their tattoos visible on the ‘same’ arm.

Have a go yourself! Take a photo in a mirror and watch how everything on your right side now looks as though it’s on your left side.

Now ask someone else to take a photo of you; you’ll notice that everything on your right side stays on your right side.

Mirrors. Complicated, right?!

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