Is your reflection a surprise?

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And I'm not talking catching sight of yourself in the mirror and wondering how you could possibly have put on weight.
This is one of the weirder things that happens to me and I'd appreciate some insight if its autism-related, because I do find it disturbing. I do not recognise my own reflection immediately, especially if I'm unprepared for it. Out buying groceries today, wearing the same limited choice of clothing that I always wear, I saw myself reflected head to foot in something and it took me a good five seconds to recognise that it was actually me. Same deal with the kitchen window at my parents' house - it is facing the end of a dark hall, so if you walk into the room with the lights on from the hall, your reflection suddenly appears in the kitchen window, and it makes me jump every time because I have no immediate recognition of that reflection as me. Similarly, people appear to just automatically be aware of how they look - their external appearance. If they tried to visualise how they looked in their head without a mirror, that would be automatic. They know how they appear to others externally. Maybe it's face blindness, but I never thought I had that much of a problem there, as I am capable of recognising other people. But with my own appearance, I have this disconnect, in that I have no idea what I actually look like. No automatic, inherent recognition. Of course I know in theory what colour and style my hair is, what my skin tone is, what colour my eyes are, my height and build, but even so the amalgamation of all those things being reflected back at me never triggers an immediate realisation, connecting that image with 'me' without a conscious effort and being well prepared to encounter it. Similarly with photos - unless I know I am in a photo and make a conscious effort to pick myself out, I probably wouldn't identify the image in the picture with myself. I'm that bird, pecking the reflection of itself in the glass, thinking there is another bird.
Anyone else experience this, or have insight?

I kind of experience it. I recognize myself right away, but it often feels like my appearance "morphs". I sometimes feel like my eyes fluctuate in size or I gain and lose weight despite my weight staying the same. Or my weight might change without me noticing. It's been like that for my whole life. I often look at myself in the mirror because of that. I often get scared that people think I'm a narcissist.

I bet it's much more common in autistic people.

I experience more what DevilKisses said.
Some days I look in the mirror and see a hundred things wrong with me, in every little blemish... And I feel ugly. And then later I'll be in a good mood and look in the mirror and think I look good.. different even. I have a hard time picturing what other people must see when they look at me. It must vary from person to person though. We all see things differently.
I've spent a long time looking in the mirror because of it though, trying to find the person I saw yesterday who looked so much better... A lot of that may have to do with my facial expression and seeing my own mood.

I've never not recognized myself in a mirror or photo, but I do sometimes feel surprised by how I look.

I've noticed something similar for me, especially if I've been thinking about something and pass by a mirror, it'll take me by surprise. I mean, logically, I know it's me, but it doesn't *feel* like me... It's hard to explain but it's weird.
I have similar situations, like the other day when I woke up, I thought I was in my parents' house, in my old bed, 14 years in the past. All the sensations were there, the smells, the sounds, the memory of where everything was organized...

All the time. I've always assumed it is due to facial blindness (I can never remember faces, I just remember other cues like gait, smell, postures, clothing style, voice).

I always get surprised at how I look in the mirror - because I cannot internalise that it is "me" looking back. Make sense?

Oh, I also don't really respond emotionally to photographs of humans. So maybe there's the clue.

Generally I don´t like the look of my reflection, but that´s another problem, - but once I did, many years ago, catch a strange wild-eyed woman in the mirror. Very strange. It was, as I later have understood, a schizophrenia-like experience of which I have had a few in times of distress.
Common for people with autism, I was told, but not leading to schizophrenia.

My experience is much like yours.. Facial Blindness, Cues of familiar people, Lack of emotional response to images of human beings. (Likely why most of my photography/videography rarely includes humans)

When I normally look at myself in the mirror I only focus on minutia.. cheek, eye, eyebrow, side of nose, etc etc etc.. checking things over, you know. But those times when I pull back from the mirror and get a full look at myself it unsettles me. Like "Holy CRAP! That's ME!" Then I shake it off and admonish myself for being a dumbass.

I do get rather animated when I recognize people on tv or in movies tho

Sometimes I don't feel like I can recognize myself either. If I'm in a public place and I see myself walk by in the mirror it feels really strange because the expressions on my face don't always match how I feel. When I'm off guard and I see my reflection I usually have this scared and confused look on my face even when I'm in a good mood. Sometimes I also look a little hunched over too even though I think that I'm standing up straight. It makes me not want to look at my refection in public.

I experience this as well. When I see my reflection it is not what I expected. I do still recognize it as me but it is a surprize to be reminded of what I look like.

I don't know how typical or atypical this is.