—Mary Koseian, Newington, Connecticut They see a face much closer to the one in the mirror. Although we may tend to pose a bit for the mirror, we also pose for photos, so that cancels out. What’s different is that a photo captures all the tiny shadows on your face at the moment, freezing them in time and thus making them appear like lines or wrinkles. In front of a mirror and in person, that doesn’t happen. Photos—even when they are totally unaltered—always mislead, whether it’s about age or anything else.