Some of
us run for cover whenever a camera is pointed at us. Are you one of those who
dislike having your picture taken because you always seem to come out hideous? You
may even feel jealous of your friend who always comes out flawless in
photos. Being photogenic comes naturally
to some of us. Whether you come out good in a picture or not, there is
something that can help you appear better. The next time you are
posing for a picture, make sure your left cheek is facing the camera.
The reason
for this suggestion is simple. Your left side is perceived as your best side. Your best
side may be your left cheek, according to a study by Kelsey Blackburn and James
Schirillo from Wake Forest University in the US. Their work shows that images
of the left side of the face are perceived and rated as more pleasant than
pictures of the right side of the face, possibly due to the fact that we
present a greater intensity of emotion on the left side of our face.
Others can judge human emotions in
large part from the expressions on our face. Our highly specialized facial
muscles are capable of expressing many unique emotions. Research suggests that
the left side of the face is more intense and active during emotional
expression.
Blackburn and Schirillo investigated
whether there are differences in the perception of the left and right sides of
the face in real-life photographs of individuals.
The researchers explained that
posers' left cheeks tend to exhibit a greater intensity of emotion, which
observers find more aesthetically pleasing.
Participants were asked to rate the
pleasantness of both sides of male and female faces on gray-scale photographs.
The researchers presented both original photographs and mirror-reversed images,
so that an original right-cheek image appeared to be a left-cheek image and
vice versa.
They found a strong preference for
left-sided portraits, regardless of whether the pictures were originally taken
of the left side, or mirror-reversed. The left side of the face was rated as
more aesthetically pleasing for both male and female posers.
These aesthetic preferences were
also confirmed by measurements of pupil size, a reliable unconscious measurement
of interest. Our pupils usually dilate in response to more interesting stimuli
– here more pleasant-looking faces, and constrict when looking at unpleasant
images. In the experiment, pupil size increased with pleasantness ratings.
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