Static photographs are currently the most often employed stimuli in research on social perception. The method of photograph acquisition might affect the depicted subject's facial appearance and thus also the impression of such stimuli. An important factor influencing the resulting photograph is focal length, as different focal lengths produce various levels of image distortion. Here we tested whether different focal lengths (50, 85, 105 mm) affect depicted shape and perception of female and male faces. We collected three portrait photographs of 45 (22 females, 23 males) participants under standardized conditions and camera setting varying only in the focal length. Subsequently, the three photographs from each individual were shown on screen in a randomized order using a 3-alternative forced-choice paradigm. The images were judged for attractiveness, dominance, and femininity/masculinity by 369 raters (193 females, 176 males). Facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) was measured from each photograph and overall facial shape was analysed employing geometric morphometric methods (GMM). Our results showed that photographs taken with 50 mm focal length were rated as significantly less feminine/masculine, attractive, and dominant compared to the images taken with longer focal lengths. Further, shorter focal lengths produced faces with smaller fWHR. Subsequent GMM revealed focal length significantly affected overall facial shape of the photographed subjects. Thus methodology of photograph acquisition, focal length in this case, can significantly affect results of studies using photographic stimuli perhaps due to different levels of perspective distortion that influence shapes and proportions of morphological traits.

Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Czech Republic

National Institute of Mental Health Klecany Czech Republic

See more in PubMed

Ambady N, Skowronski JJ, editors. First Impressions. New York: Guilford Press; 2008. 368 p.

Rubešová A, Havlíček J. Facial appearance and personality judgments In: Chadee D, Kostic A, editors. Social Psychological Dynamics. Kingston: University of the West Indies Press; 2011. p. 113–44.

Calder AJ, Rhodes G, Johnson M, Haxby J. Oxford Handbook of Face Perception. Rhodes G, Calder A, Johnson M, Haxby J V., editors. Oxford University Press; 2011.

Carré JM, McCormick CM. In your face: facial metrics predict aggressive behaviour in the laboratory and in varsity and professional hockey players. Proc R Soc B Biol Sci. 2008;275(1651):2651–6. PubMed PMC

Třebický V, Fialová J, Kleisner K, Roberts SC, Little AC, Havlíček J. Further evidence for links between facial width-to-height ratio and fighting success: Commentary on Zilioli et al. (2014). Aggress Behav. 2015;41(4):331–4. 10.1002/ab.21559 PubMed DOI

Haselhuhn MP, Ormiston ME, Wong EM. Men’s facial width-to-height ratio predicts aggression: A meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2015;10(4):e0122637 10.1371/journal.pone.0122637 PubMed DOI PMC

Mileva VR, Cowan ML, Cobey KD, Knowles KK, Little AC. In the face of dominance: Self-perceived and other-perceived dominance are positively associated with facial-width-to-height ratio in men. Pers Individ Dif. 2014. October;69:115–8.

Valentine KA, Li NP, Penke L, Perrett DI. Judging a man by the width of his face: The role of facial ratios and dominance in mate choice at speed-dating events. Psychol Sci. 2014;25(3):806–11. 10.1177/0956797613511823 PubMed DOI

Stirrat MR, Perrett DI. Valid facial cues to cooperation and trust: male facial width and trustworthiness. Psychol Sci. 2010;21(3):349–54. 10.1177/0956797610362647 PubMed DOI

Windhager S, Schaefer K, Fink B. Geometric morphometrics of male facial shape in relation to physical strength and perceived attractiveness, dominance, and masculinity. Am J Hum Biol. 2011;23(6):805–14. 10.1002/ajhb.21219 PubMed DOI

Kleisner K, Chvátalová V, Flegr J. Perceived intelligence is associated with measured intelligence in men but not women. PLoS One. 2014;9(3):e81237 10.1371/journal.pone.0081237 PubMed DOI PMC

Třebický V, Havlíček J, Roberts SC, Little AC, Kleisner K. Perceived aggressiveness predicts fighting performance in mixed-martial-arts fighters. Psychol Sci. 2013;24(9):1664–72. 10.1177/0956797613477117 PubMed DOI

Geniole SN, McCormick CM. Facing our ancestors: judgements of aggression are consistent and related to the facial width-to-height ratio in men irrespective of beards. Evol Hum Behav. 2015;36(4):279–85.

Park JH, Buunk AP, Wieling MB. Does the face reveal athletic flair? Positions in team sports and facial attractiveness. Pers Individ Dif. 2007;43(7):1960–5.

Postma E. A relationship between attractiveness and performance in professional cyclists. Biol Lett. 2014. February 5;10(2):20130966–20130966. 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0966 PubMed DOI PMC

Loehr J, O’Hara RB. Facial morphology predicts male fitness and rank but not survival in Second World War Finnish soldiers. Biol Lett. 2013;9(4):20130049–20130049. 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0049 PubMed DOI PMC

Kleisner K, Kočnar T, Rubešová A, Flegr J. Eye color predicts but does not directly influence perceived dominance in men. Pers Individ Dif. 2010;49(1):59–64.

Roberts SC, Havlicek J, Flegr J, Hruskova M, Little AC, Jones BC, et al. Female facial attractiveness increases during the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle. Proc R Soc B Biol Sci. 2004;271:S270–2. PubMed PMC

Bryan R, Perona P, Adolphs R. Perspective distortion from interpersonal distance is an implicit visual cue for social judgments of faces. PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e45301 10.1371/journal.pone.0045301 PubMed DOI PMC

Hong G, Luo MR, Rhodes PA. A study of digital camera colorimetric characterisation based on polynomial modelling. Color Res Appl. 2001;26(3):76–84.

Jenkins FA, White HE. Fundamentals of Optics, 4th Edition New York: McGraw-Hill; 2001. 766 p.

Kingslake R. Optics in Photography. Bellingham, WA: SPIE Press; 1992.

Burriss RP, Troscianko J, Lovell PG, Fulford AJC, Stevens M, Quigley R, et al. Changes in women’s facial skin color over the ovulatory cycle are not detectable by the human visual system. PLoS One. 2015;10(7):e0130093 10.1371/journal.pone.0130093 PubMed DOI PMC

Stephen ID, Smith MJL, Stirrat MR, Perrett DI. Facial skin coloration affects perceived health of human faces. Int J Primatol. 2009;30(6):845–57. PubMed PMC

Hehman E, Leitner JB, Gaertner SL. Enhancing static facial features increases intimidation. J Exp Soc Psychol. Elsevier Inc.; 2013;49(4):747–54.

Schneider TM, Hecht H, Carbon C- C. Judging body weight from faces: The height–weight illusion. Perception. 2012;41(1):121–4. PubMed

Peron A, Morosini I. Photometric study of divine proportion and its correlation with facial attractiveness. Dental Press J Orthod. 2012;17(2):124–31.

Verhoff MA, Witzel C, Kreutz K, Ramsthaler F. The ideal subject distance for passport pictures. Forensic Sci Int. 2008;178(2–3):153–6. 10.1016/j.forsciint.2008.03.011 PubMed DOI

Deutschmann R, Deutschmann R. Multiple flash photography: Off-camera flash techniques for digital photography Buffalo: Amherst Media; 2011. 126 p.

Kelby S. The Digital Photography Book, Vol. 3 The Digital Photography Book, volume 3. Peachpit Press; 2010.

Cooper EA, Piazza EA, Banks MS. The perceptual basis of common photographic practice. J Vis. 2012;12(5):8 10.1167/12.5.8 PubMed DOI PMC

Banks MS, Cooper EA, Piazza EA. Camera focal length and the perception of pictures. Ecol Psychol. 2014;26(1–2):30–46. PubMed PMC

Todorov A, Olivola CY, Dotsch R, Mende-Siedlecki P. Social attributions from faces: determinants, consequences, accuracy, and functional significance. Annu Rev Psychol. 2015;66(1):519–45. PubMed

Little AC. Facial attractiveness. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci. 2014. November;5(6):621–34. 10.1002/wcs.1316 PubMed DOI

Rohlf F. TpsRelw (version 1.46). Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook: 2008.

Bohrnstedt GW. Reliability and validity assessment in attitude measurement In: Summers GF, editor. Attitude Measurement. Chicago: Rand McNally; 1970. p. 81–99.

Kleisner K, Priplatova L, Frost P, Flegr J. Trustworthy-looking face meets brown eyes. PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e53285 10.1371/journal.pone.0053285 PubMed DOI PMC

Rohlf F. TpsSuper (version 1.14). New York: Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook; 2004.

Fritz CO, Morris PE, Richler JJ. Effect size estimates: Current use, calculations, and interpretation. J Exp Psychol Gen. 2012;141(1):2–18. 10.1037/a0024338 PubMed DOI

Borenstein M, Hedges L V., Higgins JPT, Rothstein HR. Converting among effect sizes Introduction to Meta-Analysis. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd; 2009.

Oksanen AJ, Blanchet FG, Kindt R, Legendre P, Minchin PR, Hara RBO, et al. Package “vegan.” 2015. p. 280.

Team RC. R: A language and environment for statistical computing Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2013.

Hayduk LA. Personal space: Where we now stand. Psychol Bull. 1983;94(2):293–335.

Lefevre CE, Perrett DI. Fruit over sunbed: Carotenoid skin colouration is found more attractive than melanin colouration. Q J Exp Psychol. 2015;68(2):284–93. PubMed

Pezdirc K, Hutchesson M, Whitehead RD, Ozakinci G, Perrett DI, Collins C. Fruit, vegetable and dietary carotenoid intakes explain variation in skin-color in young caucasian women: A cross-sectional study. Nutrients. 2015;7(7):5800–15. 10.3390/nu7075251 PubMed DOI PMC

Whitehead RD, Re DE, Xiao D, Ozakinci G, Perrett DI. You are what you eat: Within-subject increases in fruit and vegetable consumption confer beneficial skin-color changes. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e32988 10.1371/journal.pone.0032988 PubMed DOI PMC

Burke D, Sulikowski D. A new viewpoint on the evolution of sexually dimorphic human faces. Evol Psychol. 2010;8(4):573–85. PubMed

Sulikowski D, Burke D, Havlíček J, Roberts SC. Head tilt and fertility contribute to different aspects of female facial attractiveness. Ethology. 2015;121.

Perona P. A new perspective on portraiture. J Vis. 2010;7(9):992–992.

Sexual Dimorphism: The Interrelation of Shape and Color

Congruence in European and Asian perception of Vietnamese facial attractiveness, averageness, symmetry and sexual dimorphism

Immunoactivation Affects Perceived Body Odor and Facial but Not Vocal Attractiveness

Attractive and healthy-looking male faces do not show higher immunoreactivity

Africans and Europeans differ in their facial perception of dominance and sex-typicality: a multidimensional Bayesian approach

Environmental convergence in facial preferences: a cross-group comparison of Asian Vietnamese, Czech Vietnamese, and Czechs

Perceived attractiveness of Czech faces across 10 cultures: Associations with sexual shape dimorphism, averageness, fluctuating asymmetry, and eye color

Toward a New Approach to Cross-Cultural Distinctiveness and Typicality of Human Faces: The Cross-Group Typicality/ Distinctiveness Metric

360 Degrees of Facial Perception: Congruence in Perception of Frontal Portrait, Profile, and Rotation Photographs

The Bogazici face database: Standardized photographs of Turkish faces with supporting materials

Predictors of Fighting Ability Inferences Based on Faces