Camera-shy women put their best side forward for the lens
THE growing number of camera phones – and would-be photographers – means looking good for a close up is a daily worry for many of us. Fortunately, more and more women are ensuring the camera always captures their best side – by knowing just which one that is.
Almost half of women say that they will always turn a particular way when confronted with a camera. Ladies said they preferred one side over the other because of their hairstyle or parting, the profile of their nose or to avoid a mole or scar.
And, according to a poll of 1 000 women, more preferred to be photographed from their right side.
The results showed that the “selfie” culture has exerted more pressure on women to look attractive in photos, with over half admitting they panic when a photo captures them off-guard.
The survey, commissioned by an online dating company, found that 23 percent said their right side was better, compared with 18 percent for the left.
A confident 16 percent boasted that both sides were “great” and 43 percent said they did not consider an advantage from either side.
The marginal preference for the right side, however, might be ill-advised.
A 2012 study by American psychologists at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, found that people tend to find the left side of a face more attractive.
Even when a photograph is digitally mirror-reversed, the original left-hand profile of both men and women was favoured. The researchers in that study found that not only did more people say they preferred the look of left-hand cheeks, they also had larger pupil sizes when looking at them, signifying pleasure.
The psychologists said the bias towards the left might be linked to the division of the brain. The right side of the brain, which is linked to emotion, controls the left side of the face.
It means that the left side of the face is more likely to display emotions.
But whichever side is better, the research indicates that the boom in social media has made people far more anxious about photographs.
The poll was commissioned by Fuzzy Banter, a dating app service which blurs users’ profile photos until they feel comfortable enough to reveal them. It found that a third of women have become more anxious about having their photo taken since the advent of social media.