[Physics] How to make mirrors give more authentic image of theself

opticsreflection

My friend bought two normal mirrors from some shop probably IKEA, looking like this one:
enter image description here

My images are different from the two. One is a little fatter and shorter, and the other a little thinner and taller. I wonder what can possibly be the reasons?

  1. They basically look the same, smooth and flat surfaces, almost the same size (one has a label saying 37x134cm), except one having a little thicker
    decoration border than the other. The one with thinker edge is the
    one giving me fatter and shorter image.
  2. I don't have other things to place them, so I just make both of them
    stand on the floor, with a small angle lying against the wall.
    Although the two mirrors are placed in the same way, will different
    placement of the mirrors change my image?
  3. What kinds of mirrors (size, …) and how to place them will give me more
    realistic image of myself?

Best Answer

When mirrors give distorted images like that, it's usually because they're slightly curved. A "fun house mirror" is a typical (though extreme) example of this effect. So to get a realistic image, all you need to do is find a mirror that is as flat as possible. The placement of the mirror doesn't have any effect on whether the image is distorted, although it does allow you to see yourself from a different perspective.

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