Does the mirror or camera lie?

So, I'm a little confused. When I look in the mirror, my face is symmetrical and I look fairly decent. I like what I see. Now when I take a picture (specifically with the iPhone 5's camera) with a camera, the left side of my face is bigger than the right and my eye looks squished. I seriously don't understand. Which one tells me what I really look like?

Cameras

Camera. Some people are just photogenic. I look fine in a mirror but when I'm in photos, something weird happens. Experiment with different angles, lights and expressions to create a nice look that you can use.

Both should show the same thing. It probably has something to do with position, lighting, pixels, etc.

My guess would be the camera is completely accurate

When you look at a mirror your face is half size of what actually is

Neither. What you see in the mirror can often be influenced by your brain, ie: people who are anorexic and think they are fat. Cameras catch a brief moment, the transition to another expression, the pose, lighting and what lens you are using all play a part in what you see. Using an iPhone at arms length distorts the face because it is a wide angle lens, not meant for close faces. Read this article to understand lenses and distortions: http://www.photographytalk.com/photography-articles/slanted-lens-lighting-tutorials/2887-how-lens-focal-length-shapes-the-face-controls-perspective-a-lighting-tutorial

Everyone has an open and closed side of their face, it is the portrait photographer's job to balance the face with light and posing.http://www.bing.com/search?q=facial+symmetry&qs=AS&form=QBRE&pq=facial+sy&sc=8-9&sp=1&sk=&ghc=1&pf=2&pfs=4&ppfsrcig=08073b46041f48deac8eade039d80fd9

It's your eyes. People see what they want to see - just like the relevant cliche.

When you look in the mirror, you are interpreting the light how you want to. The brain is making a million different decisions and interpreting what it wants. Consider this experiment, if you show 1000 people the same thing, and ask them what they saw, you will not get the same description. They see what they want to see.

On the other hand, cameras can only see what they see. The science has relatively been unchanged in 150 years. It can't see what is behind a tree but a human can imagine what is there. It can't change the light as it were, in the same way human eyes interpret things differently. In a similar experiment above, if 1000 different cameras took the same picture of the same thing, you will get 1000 identical images. (For pedantic serious people, I'm assuming under the same metering and aperture, shutter, sensor image size and iso)

The camera doesn't lie. It can't change what it sees. (Although it can be manipulated - photographers use big cameras, big lenses, filters and lights to emphasize and hide particular characteristics).It is the human eye that interprets photographs and reality differently.

Next time, try staring at yourself in the mirror for a good 3-5 minutes. You may begin to notice the same things you noticed looking at your picture.

Neither "lies" they are inanimate objects and incapable of thought or speech. They merely record or reflect what is put in front of them.

Your view of yourself is formulated by what you see in your makeup/shaving mirror. A photograph delivers a different perspective. I skilled portrait photographer can duplicate the make-up mirror view. Professionals know how to adjust camera to subject distance and they know what power (focal length lens) to use and they know how to light a subject to enhance facial features. Such photography is an acquired skill obtained from trial and error or better, formal study. Making beautiful portraits is an art form.

Yes.