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Influencer Alex Light shares how cameras can 'distort' your appearance in candid post

Alex Light shared a candid video highlighting how cameras can distort your appearance. (Photo via @alexlight_ldn on Instagram)
Alex Light shared a candid video highlighting how cameras can distort your appearance. (Photo via @alexlight_ldn on Instagram)

Alex Light is reminding her followers just how much cameras can distort your appearance.

The body positive influencer took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a video showing how different camera lenses can dramatically alter how you look.

Light's video featured a slideshow of seven close-up images of her face taken with various camera lenses to show the nuances between the images. The video also featured on-screen text, saying, "same picture, different lenses" and "cameras distort how you look — don't let it affect how you feel."

"Do you like what you see in the mirror but hate the way you look in photos because it’s so different? Please don’t. Cameras are powerful in their ability to capture an image, but also in their ability to distort an image," she captioned the post. "These seven photos were taken at the same time (well, a few seconds apart) but with different lenses and the difference is vast — look at the first one compared to the last one!!! Wild."

"Cameras do funny things and it can mess up the image and we just cannot let that affect our self-esteem," she continued. "We are living, breathing, wonderful 3D human beings whose true beauty cannot be captured by a picture."

Fellow influencers and fans loved the inspirational post, praising Light for drawing attention to this "serious issue."

"Mirrors can also distort. Hence why when shopping we often will echo sentiments of, 'Oh it’s a skinny mirror,'" wrote Canadian influencer The Birds Papaya.

"This is so clever and a brilliant way to prove a pivotal point," commented a fan. "Yes, Alex. Always spot on!"

"Thank you for this! My body dysmorphia has been wild lately because I feel like the person I see in the mirror is not the one I see in photos," said another follower. "It's a serious issue."

Another link between photographs and mental health is the rise of body dysmorphia from filters and selfies. Research shows that those who frequently use filters on social media often have greater feelings of dissatisfaction with their actual body and face.

"We’ve always had the challenge of images being filtered and doctored to make unrealistic measures for what beauty looks like," Dr. Helen Egger, child psychiatrist and co-founder of mental health company Little Otter told Forbes. "What is taking it to the next level with these filters is it’s not just seeing an image of a celebrity who is unrealistic and measuring yourself against that person, it’s measuring your real self against a pretend image of yourself."

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