iPhone as shave evaluation tool?

[temjeito]

File this one under odd but potentially useful...

My brother, who got me into traditional shaving, is living in Israel. We've gotten into this sort of routine, where I send him pics of my shave every night - one of the hardware and software, and one if my face.

I snap these pics with my iPhone. For the equipment, I try to match some of the amazing shots I've seen in this site from the likes of warhawk and turtle and many others, with limited success, and for the face I take a shot of one side from below my neck looking up.

What I have discovered is that the pics always show way more redness and irritation than I can see with the naked eye in the mirror. Its like an infrared camera or something that specifically senses razor burn! So, I've started referring to the pics myself, to see where I may have slipped in my technique, but not noticed.

 

[barbapapa]

if you don't already do - take the pics without flash and without indoor lights. the best would be natural light on a cloudy day.

 

[MRoney]

Thats pretty cool!

 

[brucered]

take a look at yourself in the car mirror at the height of the morning, driving to work...(shows all redness)

then look at yourself at the bathroom mirror, indoors...(shows little to no redness)

very different lighting makes things look very different. granted there is a 20min buffer from the car to work, but as someone stated above, try a pic without the flash.

 

[temjeito]

I don't use flash, but indoor lighting is a necessity as I shave at night. I snap the pics right after shaving, at the mirror, so it's the same lighting, though obviously a different angle. I wonder if it has to do also with the way the iPhone camera compensates for being a camera phone (longer exposure and/or digital enhancement?)

 

[Oregoneon]

take a look at yourself in the car mirror at the height of the morning, driving to work...(shows all redness)

I agree with this, when I was first getting my DE technique down I was surprised to see tons of bumps and redness in the rear view mirror in the car on my way to work. Only to see hardly any visible redness in the mirror at work. I'm not sure if it's the light, the angle, or the mirror itself, but it sure is an unflattering view of your morning shave.

 

[Deuce_AGR]

take a look at yourself in the car mirror at the height of the morning, driving to work...(shows all redness)

then look at yourself at the bathroom mirror, indoors...(shows little to no redness)

very different lighting makes things look very different. granted there is a 20min buffer from the car to work, but as someone stated above, try a pic without the flash.

I have noticed this happening to me. I'll finish shaving and my face will look pretty decent in the bathroom mirror. Maybe a little redness will appear after I finish dressing. When I get in the car and start driving, if I look in the mirror, my neck looks horrible.

So here's my question....what do other people see? Does my technique still suck that bad that I look like a murder victim? Am I still shaving horribly? Which mirror is correct? I'm trying to shoot for irritation free, but different mirrors tell me different things. What mirror and lighting setup should I trust? If I see any redness at all, does that mean I've failed shaving correctly?

I apologize for the rambling paranoia. I thought I was making progress at this game, and now I'm second guessing myself.

Just in case anyone has any insight, here's my setup: Prep is shower before shaving, Tech with GSB, Cold water shave, Proraso red cream, WTG, XTG, ATG. Finish with Nivea ASB.

 

[brucered]

I think, what you see is what you get.

If you see redness in the car mirror in natural light, so can others.

 

[Deuce_AGR]

I think, what you see is what you get.

If you see redness in the car mirror in natural light, so can others.

Blast! Back to the drawing board......

 

[temjeito]

I think, what you see is what you get.

If you see redness in the car mirror in natural light, so can others.

+1, with a caveat: I think angle plays a role. In the bathroom mirror, light is coming from above, putting your jawline and neck in shadow. In the car, or other natural light settings, light is hitting your neck and jaw more directly. Also, you're probably stretching out your neck to look at it at an odd angle in the rearview. Probably what people are seeing in normal situations is a bit less dire than what you're seeing in the rearview.

...he said hopefully.

 

[RaiserLiebe]

Fluroescent light, regular incandescent bulb, and natural filtered (cludy day) light are all different in color temperature. That's why the white balance is adjustable on digital cameras. Try white balance before your snap?
But yes I agree, if you see redness outside I imagine that's the truest picture.