Is an IPhone 5 camera as realistic as a mirror?

I'm asking this because I look absolutely awful on that camera. But on a mirror I actually look pretty good. Because if it is, I want to fix it.

Part of that is the perspective distortion of the camera phone's wide angle lens. You might be able to get more flattering photos than you do from it by experimenting with a different camera position and head tilt. One possible thing to try is take the camera phone with you in front of the mirror. Use the mirror to try to see what the camera's monitor is showing. This of course has problems such as if you are looking at the mirror you are not looking at the camera lens. However, it can give you some idea of how the camera position and angle and head position are affecting the image.

The image in the mirror is *twice* as far away as the mirror itself. The image in your phone is the same distance away as your phone. This causes perspective distortion if you hold the camera too close (i.e. At arm's length).

This, along with the lens distortion mentioned by that masked man, makes the phone image look unflattering. *No one* would look good when shot from so close. Have someone else take the photo, or perhaps use the mirror when taking a picture of yourself.